Plans cover fire and nothing else
Fire is one scenario. Serious injury, hazardous substance release, structural collapse, earthquake, and a person unaccounted for all need a response, and each is different.
Emergency Response Plan (NZ)
Regulation 14 does not just require an emergency plan — it requires communication procedures, testing of those procedures, and instruction for the workers who have to use them. This template covers all three, not only the first.
⚖️Maps to GRWM Reg 14
👷Reviewed by OH Professionals
✏️Editable .docx
NZD 129
Instant DownloadInstant download · Editable .docx
Most emergency plans in circulation are an evacuation diagram and a muster point. Regulation 14 of the GRWM Regulations 2016 asks for more than that: the plan must include procedures for effective communication between the person coordinating the emergency response and everyone else at the workplace, it must provide for testing of the emergency procedures, and it must provide for information, training and instruction to relevant workers on implementing them. A diagram on a wall satisfies none of those three.
The testing requirement is ignored
Regulation 14 requires the plan to provide for testing of the procedures. An untested plan is an assumption, and the test record is what evidences compliance.
Nobody knows who is coordinating
The regulation is built around a person authorised to coordinate the response. If that role is not named, with a deputy, the communication procedures have no centre.
Who this is for
- Main contractors
- Site emergency plan covering all trades on site, referenced by every subcontractor SSSP.
- Workshops and light industrial sites
- Fixed-site plan with substance release and machinery entrapment scenarios alongside fire.
- Offices and retail
- Scaled plan covering evacuation, medical emergency, lockdown and earthquake.
- Prequalification applicants
- Emergency preparedness is a standard section of every prequalification questionnaire.
This is the workplace emergency plan. Building evacuation schemes approved under the Fire and Emergency New Zealand framework are a separate regulatory process.
What's inside the template
Word — 24 pages (plan + scenario cards + test records) · Formats: DOCX
- Section 1 — Site and scopeWorkplace description, occupancy, hours, adjacent risks, access and egress.
- Section 2 — Emergency rolesCoordinator and deputy named, wardens, first aiders, and who has authority to order evacuation.Reg 14 a
- Section 3 — Communication proceduresHow the coordinator communicates with everyone at the workplace, including visitors, contractors and lone workers.Reg 14 a
- Section 4 — Alarm and notificationRaising the alarm, escalation, contacting emergency services, and who briefs them on arrival.
- Section 5 — Evacuation procedureRoutes, assembly areas, roll call method, all-clear authority and re-entry.
- Section 6 — Scenario responsesFire, serious injury or medical, hazardous substance release, structural or trench collapse, electrical incident, earthquake, person unaccounted for, and lockdown.
- Section 7 — Vulnerable personsAssisting people with impaired mobility, hearing or vision, and visitors unfamiliar with the site.
- Section 8 — Emergency equipmentLocation, inspection interval and responsible person for extinguishers, spill kits, eyewash, defibrillator and first aid.Reg 13
- Section 9 — Testing and drillsDrill schedule, scenario rotation, observation method and debrief.Reg 14 b
- Section 10 — Information, training and instructionWhat workers are told, when, and how understanding is confirmed.Reg 14 c
- Section 11 — ReviewReview interval and triggers — site change, drill finding, actual event, new hazard.
- Appendix A — Scenario action cardsOne-page cards per scenario, printable for the coordinator and wardens.
- Appendix B — Drill record formDate, scenario, participants, timings, observations, actions raised.
- Appendix C — Emergency contact scheduleInternal and external contacts, utilities, and site-specific numbers.
- Appendix D — Site plan markup guideWhat must appear on the posted plan and where.
Compliance checklist
HSW (General Risk and Workplace Management) Regulations 2016 reg 14
Regulation 14 requires a PCBU to ensure an emergency plan is prepared for the workplace, and specifies content that most templates omit. Each requirement is mapped to the section that carries it.
- reg 14Procedures to ensure effective communication between the person authorised to coordinate the emergency response and all other persons at the workplace→ Sections 2 and 3
- reg 14Provide for testing of the emergency procedures→ Section 9 and Appendix B — Drill record
- reg 14Provide for information, training and instruction to relevant workers in relation to implementing the emergency procedures→ Section 10
- reg 13Duty to provide first aid — facilities, kits and trained personnel→ Section 8 — Emergency equipment
- HSWA s36Primary duty of care so far as is reasonably practicable→ Section 6 — scenario coverage proportionate to site risk
How this template compares
Reviewed by OH Professionals
Written and reviewed by the occupational health and safety team at OH Consultant. Regulation 14 is unusual among the general-risk regulations in specifying content, and the three specified items — communication, testing, instruction — are precisely the ones absent from most plans in circulation. The template is built around them rather than around the evacuation diagram.
Legislation referenced
- Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 — Section 36 — Primary duty of care ↗
- Health and Safety at Work (General Risk and Workplace Management) Regulations 2016 — Regulation 13 — Duty to provide first aid ↗
- Health and Safety at Work (General Risk and Workplace Management) Regulations 2016 — Regulation 14 — Duty to prepare, maintain, and implement emergency plan ↗
Frequently asked
Is an emergency plan legally required in New Zealand?+
Yes. Regulation 14 of the HSW (General Risk and Workplace Management) Regulations 2016 requires a PCBU to ensure an emergency plan is prepared for the workplace, maintained, and implemented. It also specifies that the plan must provide for communication procedures, testing of the procedures, and information, training and instruction for relevant workers.
Is this the same as a building evacuation scheme?+
No. Evacuation schemes for certain buildings are approved by Fire and Emergency New Zealand under a separate regulatory process concerned with the building. Regulation 14 is a work health and safety duty concerned with the work and the people doing it. Many workplaces need both, and they should be consistent with each other.
How often do we have to run a drill?+
The regulation requires the plan to provide for testing, without prescribing a frequency. The template sets a default schedule with scenario rotation so the same drill is not repeated indefinitely, and Appendix B records each test. Where a building evacuation scheme applies, its trial evacuation requirements apply in addition.
Do we need one for a construction site as well as the office?+
Yes — they are different workplaces with different hazards, access and assembly options. On a construction site the main contractor typically holds the site plan and each subcontractor references it in their SSSP rather than writing a competing one.
Who should be the emergency coordinator?+
Someone who is normally present, has authority to order an evacuation, and can be reached immediately. The role must be named with a deputy, because the communication procedures in Regulation 14 are built around that person existing and being identifiable.
What if we are a small team on a client's site?+
You still need to know the response, but you would ordinarily adopt the site's plan rather than impose your own. Section 1 includes a short-form path for that case, recording which plan applies and confirming your workers have been instructed in it.