October - January 2020 - 2021
Health and safety subsidies In collaboration with the Health and Safety Association of New Zealand (HASANZ), ACC will provide subsidies to help small and medium-sized businesses access specialist health and safety (H&S) advice
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here are two subsidies available – a residential construction subsidy and a manufacturing sector subsidy. The intent of this subsidy is to drive action through an action plan or a specific improvement activity. It does not subsidy doesn't cover the cost of an H&S audit or assessment For both sectors ACC will pay up to 50 percent of the fee up to a maximum of $500 for small business (6-49 employees with a payroll minimum of $373,000 a year) and $750 for a medium size business (50 to 99 employees with a payroll minimum of $3.051 million a year). Indicative pricing for HASANZ professional $100$200 per hour. On construction sites the subsidy is available to support businesses in developing an H&S action plan or improvement activity targeted at working in and around vehicles - including moving equipment and plant - on a construction site and/or falls from heights. An action plan is a documented list of objectives, activities, tasks, timelines, responsibilities and other information that outlines how you will address the risks associated with working in and around vehicles and falls from heights in a workplace. An improvement activity is the actions and/or tasks that have been implemented to address a gap or improve the overall health
and safety of a workplace. This subsidy is available to residential construction businesses in the following subsectors: • residential building construction • land development and site preparation • building structure services • building installation services • building completion services • other construction services For the manufacturing sector, the workplace injury prevention subsidy for H&S advisory services can help pay for an H&S action plan or improvement activity, undertaken or signed off by a HASANZ-registered adviser. The action plan or improvement activity must be
in the areas of leadership, worker engagement or risk management. The action plan should respond to the question: What are we going to do to have better health and safety in this workplace? An action plan is a documented list of objectives, activities, tasks, timelines, responsibilities and other information that outlines how you’ll address an H&S gap or improve the overall H&S of a workplace. An improvement activity should respond to the question: What has the health and safety consultant helped us to put in place to improve the health and safety of our workplace? In order to understand the H&S needs of your business, a good first step towards preparing an effective action plan a good
place to start is with an H&S assessment. ACC recommends your business completes an online SafePlus assessment before you engage an H&S adviser from HASANZ. SafePlus is a free, online self-assessment tool, that aims to support H&S improvements for small and medium-sized businesses. It is WorkSafe endorsed, is a simple way to get feedback from people in all parts of your business and provides guidance on the H&S improvement priorities identified by the assessment. Key links: HASANZ HASANZ Register ACC residential construction subsidy ACC manufacturing subsidy Safeplus safetynews.co.nz
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