Workplace emergency plan template for New Zealand

A workplace emergency plan must tell people what to do, who coordinates the response and how the plan will be tested. Under regulation 14 of the Health and Safety at Work (General Risk and Workplace Management) Regulations 2016, a PCBU must prepare, maintain and implement an emergency plan for its workplace. The plan must cover an effective response, evacuation, early notification of emergency services, medical treatment and assistance, and communication between the authorised response coordinator and others at the workplace. It must also set out testing arrangements and information, training and instruction for relevant workers.

Use the fillable framework below after identifying the emergency scenarios that fit your workplace. A small office plan may be short. A construction site, remote operation, hazardous-substance location or facility with people who need assisted evacuation will require additional detail and may be subject to other rules. The WorkSafe workplace emergency plans guide is the official starting point. This template does not itself meet the duty until the PCBU has adapted, communicated, implemented and tested it.

1. Plan identification and approval

Check that the location used when calling emergency services is unambiguous. At a large site, record gate/access instructions, building name, floor, GPS or rural address details where useful. Ensure after-hours workers can find the plan and contact numbers even if a network or power supply fails.

2. Emergency scenarios and response choices

List the scenarios reasonably foreseeable for the work and location. WorkSafe gives examples including fire, gas leak, utilities outage, natural disaster, robbery and bomb threat. Add any task-specific release, injury, vehicle, environmental or remote-work event that requires urgent action. Do not assume the same response—evacuate, shelter, isolate or withdraw—fits every event.

For each scenario, add what workers should not do. For example, no one should re-enter an unsafe building merely to retrieve equipment. Only people trained and authorised for a particular response should attempt it. The template must not invite an untrained person to fight a fire, enter a contaminated area or rescue someone from a confined space.

3. Alarm, communication and command

How to raise the alarm: [alarm points / verbal call / radio channel / phone / lone-worker device]. Who can initiate evacuation: [names or roles]. Response coordinator and deputy: [names, shift coverage, location]. How the coordinator communicates with workers, visitors, contractors and emergency services: [methods and fallback if power or mobile networks fail].

The coordinator should receive information on what happened, affected area, missing people, hazards and access, then pass it to emergency services at the earliest opportunity. The plan should identify who calls 111 and who meets responders. A “someone will call” line is not an assignment. For shared premises, agree how alarms and information move between PCBUs; WorkSafe's overlapping-duties guidance says businesses must consult, cooperate and coordinate where their duties overlap.

4. Evacuation and accounting for people

Attach a map showing exits, assembly points, alarm equipment, first-aid supplies, utilities and relevant hazards. WorkSafe recommends a detailed floor plan; confirm the map matches the physical site and remains usable after layout changes. Check routes on every shift, including when stores, temporary barriers or contractor work could block them.

For a mobile crew, replace a fixed-building assumption with site-specific access, muster, communication and nearest assistance arrangements. At a customer or principal's site, clarify how this PCBU's workers learn and follow the host's emergency procedures while retaining their own applicable duties.

5. Medical treatment and assistance

First-aid arrangements: [trained people and shift coverage; kit/AED locations; access for workers and visitors]. Calling an ambulance: [person/role, exact location to give, gate access]. Supporting the casualty: [stay within training, scene safety, handover details]. Post-event care: [contact process, support and investigation].

The plan must include medical treatment and assistance procedures. It should link to the workplace's actual first-aid risk assessment, not assume a fixed number of first aiders for every site. See WorkSafe first-aid guidance when deciding cover and equipment.

6. Training, testing and review

WorkSafe says plans should be tested at least yearly and reviewed when activities or the physical workplace change, people with emergency responsibilities change or new risks are identified. Testing may range from a scenario walk-through to a practical drill, depending on the work. Record what the test showed: alarm audibility, time to communicate, route obstructions, visitor accounting, coordinator handover and any missing equipment. Assign corrective actions and confirm closure. Engage workers in the plan and proposed changes.

Test record: Date [ ]; scenario [ ]; people involved [ ]; response observed [ ]; problems [ ]; action/owner/due date [ ]; retest required [ ]; worker feedback [ ]; approved change/version [ ].

Review record: Trigger [ ]; risks reconsidered [ ]; changes to procedures or map [ ]; workers/other PCBUs informed [ ]; approvals [ ]; effective date [ ].

Special-case checks before using this template

• Hazardous substances: The general emergency plan may not satisfy additional emergency-plan duties under the Hazardous Substances Regulations and WorkSafe guidance. Check substances, quantities, location and response provisions; make safety data sheets accessible.
• Major hazard or high-risk operations: Additional sector rules and specialist planning may apply. Seek competent advice and use the applicable WorkSafe guidance rather than treating this generic form as the only required document.
• Shared sites: Agree who activates alarms, communicates with whom and controls each part of the response. A contract cannot simply shift all HSWA duties to a host or subcontractor.
• People who need assistance: Plan with the individuals and relevant managers, maintain privacy and ensure deputies and equipment exist in practice.

Next step: Complete and test the plan with the workers who will use it. A current Complys New Zealand product page may be linked only after its exact route and supported document/record capabilities are verified. Software may help store a current plan and evidence of tests, but it does not create an effective response on its own.

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