Registers list hazards and stop there
A column of hazards with a severity rating tells an auditor nothing about whether the risk is being managed. The control, its hierarchy level, and its verification date are the parts that matter.
Hazard Register Template (NZ)
A working hazard register built on the HSWA duty to manage risk — not a list of hazards, but a live record of what was identified, what control sits on it, at which level of the hierarchy, and when it was last verified as still effective.
⚖️Maps to GRWM Regs 5–7
👷Reviewed by OH Professionals
✏️Editable .docx + .xlsx
NZD 99
Instant DownloadInstant download · Editable .docx + .xlsx
New Zealand moved away from the old hazard-register-as-list model when HSWA 2015 replaced the 1992 Act. The obligation now is to manage risk: identify hazards under Regulation 5, apply controls in the order set by Regulation 6, and ensure under Regulation 7 that those controls remain effective. A register that lists hazards without recording the control level and the last verification date does not evidence any of that. This one is structured around the duty rather than around the list.
Everything gets controlled by PPE and a procedure
Regulation 6 requires elimination first. When the register makes the control level an explicit field, defaulting to the bottom of the hierarchy becomes visibly a choice.
Nobody knows when it was last reviewed
Regulation 7 requires controls to be maintained so they remain effective. Without a verification date per entry, "we have a register" is not evidence of anything.
Who this is for
- Subcontractors and trade businesses
- One register for the business, extended per site through your SSSP.
- Main contractors
- Site register that consolidates hazards introduced by every trade on site, with ownership recorded against the PCBU that introduced them.
- SiteWise and Tōtika applicants
- Prequalification asks to see hazard identification and risk control in operation. This is the core artefact.
- Office and non-construction PCBUs
- The regulations are not construction-specific. The register ships with a non-construction starter set covering manual handling, workstation, psychosocial and contractor-on-site hazards.
The hazard register records hazards and their controls. If you are assessing a specific task or tracking business-level risk over time, those are different documents.
What's inside the template
Excel — 5 sheets; Word — 12 pages (procedure + forms) · Formats: XLSX, DOCX
- Excel Sheet 1 — RegisterOne row per hazard: description, source, who is exposed, existing controls, control level, residual rating, owner, last verified, next review.grwm 5
- Excel Sheet 2 — Control hierarchy referenceRegulation 6 levels with worked examples so the control-level field is applied consistently.grwm 6
- Excel Sheet 3 — Verification logDate, verifier, method, finding, action raised. This is the Regulation 7 evidence.grwm 7
- Excel Sheet 4 — Starter hazard setsPre-populated construction, workshop and office hazard lists to work from rather than start blank.
- Excel Sheet 5 — Review logRegister-level review history: date, reviewer, changes, reason.
- Word Section 1 — Hazard identification procedureHow hazards are identified, by whom, on what trigger — new task, new plant, incident, worker report, scheduled walk.
- Word Section 2 — Risk evaluation methodThe likelihood and consequence method, written out so ratings are reproducible between assessors.
- Word Section 3 — Control selectionHow the hierarchy is applied and what justification is required before settling below engineering controls.
- Word Section 4 — Worker engagementHow workers contribute hazards and how their input is recorded — the participation link.
- Word Form A — Hazard identification formField form for reporting a new hazard, sized for a clipboard or phone photo.
- Word Form B — Site hazard walk checklistStructured walk prompts by area and activity.
Compliance checklist
HSW (General Risk and Workplace Management) Regulations 2016 regs 5–7
The register is structured so each of the three core risk-management regulations has a field that evidences it, rather than being asserted in a policy statement elsewhere.
- reg 5Identify hazards that could give rise to reasonably foreseeable risks to health and safety→ Sheet 1 — Register, plus Word Form A and Form B as the identification mechanisms
- reg 6Eliminate risks so far as is reasonably practicable; where not, minimise by substitution, isolation, engineering, then administrative controls, then PPE→ Sheet 1 control-level field, referenced against Sheet 2
- reg 7Ensure control measures are effective and maintained so they remain effective→ Sheet 3 — Verification log
- HSWA s36Primary duty of care so far as is reasonably practicable→ Word Sections 2 and 3 — the reasonably-practicable reasoning is written, not implied
How this template compares
Reviewed by OH Professionals
Written and reviewed by the occupational health and safety team at OH Consultant. A large number of hazard registers still circulating in New Zealand are built on the "significant hazard" model from the Health and Safety in Employment Act 1992, which HSWA 2015 replaced. This register is built on the current risk-management duty and says so explicitly, because the difference changes what you are required to record.
Legislation referenced
- Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 — Section 30 — Management of risks ↗
- 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 5 — Duty to identify hazards ↗
- Health and Safety at Work (General Risk and Workplace Management) Regulations 2016 — Regulation 6 — Hierarchy of control measures ↗
- Health and Safety at Work (General Risk and Workplace Management) Regulations 2016 — Regulation 7 — Duty to maintain control measures ↗
Frequently asked
Is a hazard register legally required in New Zealand?+
HSWA 2015 does not name a "hazard register" as a required document in the way the Asbestos Regulations name an asbestos register. What is required is that you identify hazards (GRWM reg 5), apply controls in the hierarchy order (reg 6), and keep those controls effective (reg 7). A register is the ordinary way businesses evidence that they have done so, and it is what prequalification schemes and main contractors ask to see.
Is this the same as the old "significant hazard register"?+
No, and the distinction matters. The significant-hazard concept comes from the Health and Safety in Employment Act 1992, which was repealed by HSWA 2015. The current duty is to manage risk across identified hazards, not to sort them into significant and non-significant. Registers still built on the old model tend to under-record.
What is the difference between a hazard register and a risk register?+
The hazard register is operational — physical and health hazards in the work, with controls against each. The risk register is a business-level view that can include commercial, regulatory and reputational risk alongside safety risk, tracked over time with owners and treatment plans. Larger businesses run both; smaller ones usually start with the hazard register.
Do I need a separate register for each site?+
Usually you keep one business-level register for hazards inherent to your work, then extend it per site through your SSSP for site-specific hazards. The Excel workbook supports that pattern with a site column and filterable views.
How often does it need reviewing?+
There is no fixed statutory interval. The template sets a per-entry next-review date and triggers a review on any new task, new plant, incident, or worker-reported hazard. Sheet 5 records register-level reviews so the cycle is demonstrable.
Does it come pre-populated?+
Sheet 4 contains starter hazard sets for construction, workshop and office environments so you edit rather than start from an empty grid. They are a starting point for your own identification process, not a substitute for it — the hazards in your work are yours to identify.