Hannah Tevita, Senior Associate, Buddle Findlay

In July 2025, Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden signalled a welcome commitment to the manufacturing sector – consultation aimed at “simplifying machine guarding rules and reviewing exposure standards to reduce complexity and improve consistency.”

Since that consultation, the sector has seen no changes to machine guarding rules or exposure standards.

It’s no secret that Minister van Velden has had her hands full with a number of changes across the employment and health and safety sectors – but manufacturers could be forgiven for wondering whether their concerns have slipped down the priority list.

On 9 February 2026, Minister van Velden introduced the Health and Safety at Work Amendment Bill (Bill).  The Bill aims to give both large and small PCBUs (persons conducting a business or undertaking) greater clarity, particularly around the management of critical risks.

Some of these changes may be the first steps in creating clarity for the manufacturing sector.

Critical risks

Machinery capable of causing serious injury – or death – is, without question, a critical risk for PCBUs to manage.  Under the Bill, ‘critical risks’ will be formally defined, with hazards listed in a new Schedule A.  Notably, machine-related risks are explicitly included.

Under this new critical risk framework, PCBUs will be expected to place greater emphasis on identifying and managing risks that could cause serious harm, rather than attempting to address every conceivable risk across the workplace.

For manufacturers, this represents a meaningful – if partial – step forward.  The framework formally validates what most manufacturers are already doing: focusing resources on the risks that matter most. 

That said, it does not yet address the underlying complexity of machine guarding rules or the inconsistencies in exposure standards that prompted the 2025 consultation in the first place.

Industry-led codes of practice

Perhaps the most significant opportunity for manufacturers lies in the proposed changes to industry-led codes of practice.  Under the Bill, industry groups will have a greater role in developing Approved Codes of Practice (ACOPs).

The purpose of ACOPs is to help PCBUs and workers better understand the risks specific to their industries – and how to manage them effectively.  Importantly, ACOPs will act as ‘safe harbours’ for compliance: where a business has followed its industry’s ACOP in relation to a particular risk, it will be accepted that the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 has been complied with.

The Bill allows not only the regulator, but also other persons and organisations – including worker or employer representatives, or representatives of a particular industry or sector – to develop and submit draft codes of practice to the regulator for review and possible recommendation to the Minister for approval.

This is directly relevant to machine guarding and exposure risk.  It may facilitate industry-led ACOPs specifically tailored to the manufacturing and machinery sectors.

This means manufacturers could have a direct say in shaping codes of practice that reflect the operational realities – and align with international machinery safety benchmarks.

Small PCBUs

Small manufacturing PCBUs – defined as those with fewer than 20 workers (or, for fluctuating workforces, fewer than 20 workers for at least 9 out of 12 months) – will be required to comply with their primary duty of care, duty in relation to workplaces, and duties regarding plant and substances only in relation to critical risks.

This directly narrows machine guarding obligations for small manufacturers: they will only need to manage machinery risks that fall within the ‘critical risk’ definition.

In practical terms, a small manufacturer will not be expected to record and manage every conceivable workplace risk – only those that could result in serious harm.

This is a practical step towards simplification and compliance for businesses operating with smaller teams and limited resources.

Where to next?

While the Bill is not the sweeping reform manufacturers were hoping for following the 2025 consultation, it may be laying the groundwork for more targeted changes to come.

The critical risk framework, the expanded role for industry-led ACOPs, and the tailored obligations for small businesses all point in a broadly positive direction.

For manufacturers, now is the time to engage.  The Bill’s industry code of practice provisions, in particular, represent a genuine opportunity to shape the regulatory environment rather than simply respond to it.

Hanna specialises in employment law and regularly advises on matters relating to personal grievances, disciplinary processes, health and safety, organisational change and restructure processes, parental law, privacy and education law.