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Risk Assessment Template (NZ)

Name: Risk Assessment Template NZ
Brand: OH Consultant
SKU: NZ-TPL-RA-001
Price: 99.00 NZD
Availability: InStock
Author: OH Consultant

A task-level risk assessment with a scoring method written out in full — so two assessors working the same task arrive at the same rating, and the reasonably-practicable judgement is on the page rather than in someone's head.

⚖️HSWA 2015 + GRWM Regs 5–7

👷Reviewed by OH Professionals

✏️Editable .docx

NZD 99

Instant Download

Instant download · Editable .docx

Most risk assessment templates hand you a five-by-five matrix and leave the definitions to intuition. The result is that "likely" and "moderate" mean whatever the assessor felt that day, ratings are not comparable between jobs, and the residual score cannot be defended when it matters. This template writes the likelihood and consequence descriptors out in full, requires the control level to be declared against the Regulation 6 hierarchy, and includes a written reasonably-practicable test — the element that actually carries the HSWA s36 duty.

Matrix ratings are not reproducible

Without written descriptors, two competent people rate the same task differently. Defined bands make the score mean something.

Residual risk is asserted, not derived

Dropping the rating after listing a control is not an assessment. The template requires the control level and the reason the residual score changed.

"Reasonably practicable" is never written down

Section 36 turns on what was reasonably practicable. The template has a structured test — likelihood, degree of harm, what was known, availability and suitability of controls, and cost relative to risk.

Who this is for

Trade businesses and subcontractors: Assess a task before it starts, and keep the assessment as the record behind your method.
H&S advisors: A defensible scoring method you can apply consistently across clients and defend under scrutiny.
Businesses introducing new plant or processes: Pre-purchase and pre-commissioning assessment, with the elimination and substitution options assessed while they are still available.
Prequalification applicants: SiteWise and Tōtika both look for a documented risk assessment method, not just completed forms.

This is the task-level assessment. For an ongoing record of hazards and controls, or a business-level risk view, use the registers.

Hazard Register →Risk Register →

What's inside the template

Word — 14 pages (method + assessment forms + worked examples) · Formats: DOCX

Section 1 — Scope and contextTask, location, personnel, plant, duration, interfacing PCBUs.
Section 2 — Hazard identificationStructured prompts across mechanical, gravitational, electrical, chemical, biological, thermal, ergonomic and psychosocial categories.grwm 5
Section 3 — Likelihood descriptorsFive bands with written definitions and frequency anchors, so the rating is reproducible.
Section 4 — Consequence descriptorsFive bands defined by health outcome, not by generic severity words.
Section 5 — Risk matrix and ratingThe matrix with an action requirement attached to each band — what a rating obliges you to do, not just what colour it is.
Section 6 — Control selectionHierarchy of control applied in order, with a required justification before settling below engineering controls.grwm 6
Section 7 — Reasonably practicable testStructured written test against the s36 factors.hswa 36
Section 8 — Residual riskRe-rating after controls, with the reason for the change recorded.
Section 9 — Monitoring and reviewHow the control will be verified as effective, by whom, on what interval.grwm 7
Section 10 — Worker consultationWho was involved in the assessment and what they contributed.
Appendix A — Worked example: working at heightA complete assessment showing the method applied end to end.
Appendix B — Worked example: hazardous substance handlingA second worked example with a health-risk rather than safety-risk focus.
Appendix C — Blank assessment formPrint-ready single-task form.

Compliance checklist

HSWA 2015 ss.30, 36 · GRWM Regulations 2016 regs 5–7

Risk assessment is the mechanism by which the risk-management duty is discharged. Each section of the template maps to the part of the duty it evidences.

GRWM reg 5Identify hazards that could give rise to reasonably foreseeable risks→ Section 2 — Hazard identification
GRWM reg 6Apply the hierarchy of control measures in the prescribed order→ Section 6 — Control selection
GRWM reg 7Ensure control measures remain effective→ Section 9 — Monitoring and review
HSWA s36Ensure health and safety so far as is reasonably practicable→ Section 7 — Reasonably practicable test
HSWA s30Management of risks — eliminate, or minimise where elimination is not reasonably practicable→ Sections 6 and 8 together

How this template compares

Feature	Free matrix template	AU risk assessment form	OH Consultant (NZ)
Cost	$0	NZD 25–60	NZD 99
Legislative anchor	None	AU Model WHS Regs	HSWA ss.30/36 + GRWM regs 5–7
Written likelihood descriptors	No	Sometimes	Yes — five defined bands
Written consequence descriptors	No	Sometimes	Yes — defined by health outcome
Action required per rating band	No	No	Yes
Reasonably practicable test	No	No — different statutory wording	Yes — structured against s36
Health-risk worked example	No	Rare	Appendix B
Worker consultation section	No	Sometimes	Section 10

Reviewed by OH Professionals

Written and reviewed by the occupational health and safety team at OH Consultant. The consequence descriptors are defined by health outcome rather than generic severity language, which matters for occupational health risks where harm accrues over years rather than in a single event — the category most safety-led risk assessments systematically under-rate.

Legislation referenced

Frequently asked

Is a written risk assessment required by law in New Zealand?+

HSWA does not prescribe a risk assessment form. It requires you to manage risk — eliminate so far as is reasonably practicable, and otherwise minimise using the hierarchy in GRWM Regulation 6. A written assessment is the practical way to show the reasoning behind what you did, and it is what main contractors and prequalification schemes ask for.

What does "so far as is reasonably practicable" actually require?+

It requires weighing the likelihood of the risk occurring, the degree of harm that might result, what is known about the risk and ways of eliminating or minimising it, the availability and suitability of those ways, and finally the cost — with cost only capable of outweighing the risk where it is grossly disproportionate. Section 7 of the template runs that test in writing.

How is this different from a SWMS?+

A SWMS is an Australian instrument required by AU WHS Regulation for high-risk construction work. New Zealand has no equivalent statutory document. Here the risk assessment sits underneath your SSSP, and where you need a task-level method statement the NZ convention is a Job Safety Analysis or Task Analysis.

Can I use it for psychosocial risk?+

Yes. Section 2 includes psychosocial hazard prompts, and the consequence descriptors accommodate harm to mental health. Psychosocial risk is within the HSWA definition of health and is not optional to assess.

Do I need this if I already have the hazard register?+

They do different jobs. The register is the standing record of hazards and their controls; the assessment is the reasoning that produces an entry, and it is what you complete for a new task, a new substance, or a change in conditions. Most businesses buy the register first and add the assessment when they need to show their method.

Who should complete it?+

Someone competent in the work being assessed, with workers who do the task involved in the process — Section 10 records that involvement. Competence here means knowledge of the task and its hazards, not a particular certificate.