On October 2, 2026, WorkSafe New Zealand announced that its health and safety inspectors will proactively visit residential construction sites across the country from October through December 2026 to assess how the risk of falling from height is being managed. The three-month assessment campaign is part of WorkSafe's standing strategic priority on construction as a high-risk sector, and the information gathered will be shared back with the industry to highlight current practices and areas for improvement.
NZ residential construction builders and principal contractors (PCBUs), subcontractors and tradespeople, scaffolding and height-access contractors, and roofing contractors working at height must immediately identify fall-from-height hazards on their sites and ensure effective controls, edge protection, compliant scaffolding, secure ladders and harness systems, are in place for every task at height, including short-duration work, or face improvement notices, prohibition notices, prosecution or fines under the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015.
Who is being inspected, and what controls must be in place?
WorkSafe inspectors are visiting residential construction sites to check that businesses have identified where workers could fall from height and put effective safety controls in place. WorkSafe Area Manager Barney Hoskins says inspectors want to see that businesses have identified where workers could fall and put effective controls in place. The focus extends across the whole site, including subcontractors and tradespeople, because construction sites are dynamic environments where multiple trades work alongside each other. Good communication and co-ordinated planning are needed to keep controls effective throughout a project.
A common myth WorkSafe is targeting is that fall-prevention controls can be relaxed for short-duration tasks. Whether a job at height takes five minutes or five hours, if there is a risk of falling then appropriate fall-prevention control measures must be considered and put in place. WorkSafe's investigations show lives are saved when businesses take the time to identify hazards, assess the risks, select the right equipment for the task, and ensure it is used correctly.
Ladders are involved in about 40% of fall-from-height injuries in construction, while falls from or through a building are the most common cause of fatal or very serious injuries such as spinal fractures and head injuries. That makes ladder selection, edge protection, scaffolding standards and harness systems the priority checks inspectors will apply.
Why is falls from height a standing WorkSafe priority?
Falls from height remain a persistent cause of injury and death in residential construction, despite being a well-known critical risk. Each year on average, falls from height cause 4 fatalities, 100 serious injuries, and around 1,000 injuries that require more than a week away from work. Around 40% of falls from height occur in construction, making it the sector where the hazard is most concentrated.
WorkSafe's enforcement data shows how heavily its construction action is weighted toward this hazard. Over the past two years, about 45% of enforcement notices and 70% of prohibition notices in the construction sector concerned the risk of falls from height.
| Metric | Figure |
|---|---|
| Average fall-from-height fatalities per year | 4 |
| Average serious injuries per year | 100 |
| Injuries requiring more than a week away from work (per year, average) | around 1,000 |
| Share of falls from height occurring in construction | around 40% |
| Share of construction enforcement notices about falls (past two years) | about 45% |
| Share of construction prohibition notices about falls (past two years) | about 70% |
What enforcement can WorkSafe use on site?
Although the campaign's primary focus is to engage with and educate businesses, WorkSafe will take action where serious health and safety risks are not managed. Inspectors can issue improvement notices and prohibition notices, and WorkSafe can prosecute or fine PCBUs under the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015. Where risks are found, the inspector works with the business to support the improvements needed to meet its health and safety responsibilities.
The August 2026 case shows what happens when a prohibition notice is ignored. An Auckland company was fined after work continued on a residential building site following a prohibition notice for working near an edge without adequate fall protection. The site also had temporary platforms, partially removed scaffolding, and non-compliant and unsecured ladders, illustrating the cumulative failures inspectors will be looking for.
What has changed in the working at height guidance?
WorkSafe has updated its Working at height in New Zealand good practice guidelines to better reflect the Health and Safety at Work Act. The revision adds current WorkSafe notification and notifiable event requirements, and introduces new content and examples on risk management, safety decking, worker engagement, and contemporary control expectations. The updated guidelines are the reference inspectors will measure site practice against during the visits, so residential builders and contractors should review them before an inspection.
Continuous, per-jurisdiction monitoring surfaces regulator inspection campaigns like this the moment they are announced.
Review the updated Working at height in New Zealand guidelines, confirm that edge protection, scaffolding, ladders and harness systems meet the standard for every task at height on your residential sites, and brief subcontractors and trades before WorkSafe inspectors arrive.
