Essential Training for Health and Safety Reps (Stage One)

This two-day course provides health and safety representatives with the necessary knowledge of the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015, the supporting Health and Safety Regulations and the duties of the representative. Suited to health and safety representatives looking to attain the skills (and qualifications) to effectively promote a safer and healthier place of work.

This training covers Unit Standard 29315 ‘Describe the role and functions of the Health and Safety Representative in a NZ workplace’. Only HSR's that have completed this initial training and achieved this unit standard can issue PIN's and direct unsafe work to cease. All learners have the opportunity to undertake the Unit Standard.

This Workshop / Course is registered with the Management Capability Development Fund. Find out more by visiting Regional Business Partner Network — business.govt.nz

Who can qualify for the subsidy

To access the subsidy for registered training, a business customer must meet the following criteria. They must:

• have undergone a discovery session with a Regional Business Partner growth advisor
• have fewer than 50 full-time equivalent employees
• be registered for GST in New Zealand (this applies to one-to-one training only)
• have a New Zealand Business Number (NZBN)
• be operating in a commercial environment; and
• be a privately owned business, or a Māori Trust or incorporation under Te Ture Whenua Māori Act 1993 or similar organisation managing Māori assets under multiple ownership.

• How to effectively perform the responsibilities of a workplace health and safety representative

• Understand health and safety legal requirements

• Promote the successful management of health and safety issues in good faith

• Representatives' wider roles: network and resource

• The formation and importance of Health and Safety Committees

• The ability to administer a Provisional Improvement Notice or direct unsafe work to cease

• Gain an introduction to workplace health and safety

• Understand worker engagement and participation

• Use good faith practices

• Fulfil the functions of health and safety representatives

• Employ effective risk and hazard management

• Promote workplace health and safety culture

• The ability to act as an effective health and safety representative

• Greater worker engagement and participation

• A more robust health and safety culture within your organisation

• Recently elected health and safety representatives

• Health and safety committee members

• Others with an interest in, or responsibility for, workplace health and safety.

As a participant of the Essential Skills for Health and Safety Representatives (Stage one) Business Canterbury provides you with the opportunity to complete Unit Standard 29315 (Version 2, Level 3, credits 2 - Describe the role and functions of the Health and Safety Representative in a New Zealand Workplace).  This unit standard is woven into the course and is included in the fee you pay to attend (regardless of whether you complete it or not) and is a valuable qualification for all Health and Safety Representatives to have.  Without this qualification your powers as a Health and Safety Representative are limited. 

Achieving this unit standard gives the H&S Representative the ability to issue a Provisional Improvement Notice (PIN), direct unsafe work to safe and complete a letter or recommendation – all of these things mean that the H&S Representative is able to affect real change for their workgroups and deeply understand what their role is and how to do the job properly.  We encourage all of our learners to complete this unit standard as it upskills and educates our wider membership.  Everything you need to know to complete the Unit standard will be taught in this training and the process of assessment will be thoroughly explained to you.  

In order to get your registration processed for the Unit standard we capture information on the first day of training, so we can get learners signed up for the Unit standard assessment.  Please note that this information will only be used by The Chamber, our training partner EMA and NZQA to facilitate access and accreditation. 

Note: Employers' and Manufacturers' Association (Northern) Incorporated trading as EMA Training has been granted approval by NZQA under section 251 of the Education Act 1989 to provide the Certificate in Health and Safety Representation (Training Scheme)

"Leon is an excellent communicator, very knowledgeable and engaging, kept me interested the whole time" Claudine Lemon - Port Blakey - Feb 2025

"This was a great training session, incredibly informative and the passion the facilitator had for his subject was infectious. It is one of the better training courses I have been on in a while." Emmeline Minto - Forte Health - Jan 2025

"Our trainer/facilitator Leon Fox is a master of his craft and this was evident in the quality of training he delivered. The learning experience contained a useful mix of information download connected to relevant examples and scenarios from within in the group. An acknowledgement of different learning styles with exercises and activities pitched to cater for all of them made for a memorable course. Leon is knowledgeable and generous with his knowledge, but not a showoff." - Nov 2024

"The way that Leon Fox was able to break down everything. Before, it seemed like a huge, overwhelming pile of information but the way he presented and went through everything step by step made it very easy to digest. There's is so much from the content that I am able to take with me, with practical examples. That's another thing that was very valuable - Leon's real-life examples of things that went wrong and things that went well within the industry, and what we can learn from that. " - May 2024

Leon Fox is the owner and Director of The Safety Guru Ltd. and Principal of Safety Associates, specialising in OHS consultancy and workplace training.He has previously been an Injury Prevention Consultant and National Trainer for ACC and has managed an industrial labour recruitment agency. Leon brings a mixture of business pragmatism and legislative knowledge to his workshops, laced with a genuine passion for OHS and seeing people go home safely. He is an excellent communicator and culture change facilitator and, as a presenter, Leon engages easily and quickly with groups from all organisational levels.