CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER – BWARE
In the last newsletter, I shared how I first got involved in health and safety, and how a serious workplace incident when I was 21 changed the direction of my life. It was a moment that stayed with me, not only because of what I went through, but because of what it taught me about how quickly life can change when risk is underestimated.
Since then, I’ve spent more than 30 years helping businesses of all sizes understand their risks, build practical systems and create workplaces where people are genuinely safer, not just compliant on paper. Over that time, one lesson has remained constant: not all risks are equal.
Every business faces hundreds of decisions, hazards, and competing priorities each day. But only a small number of those risks have the potential to cause life-changing injury or loss of life. These are the risks that deserve our greatest attention.
The conversations happening across New Zealand right now, including the Health and Safety at Work Amendment Bill 2026, reinforce that same message. The focus is increasingly moving away from compliance for compliance’s sake and towards understanding and managing critical risks.
Health and safety should never become an exercise in producing paperwork. It should help people understand what can seriously hurt them, what controls keep them safe, and what must not fail.
Most business owners genuinely care about their workers, and most workers want to go home safely at the end of the day. The real challenge comes when deadlines tighten, workloads increase and fatigue sets in. That’s when strong systems and clear critical controls matter most.
At BWARE, we’ve always believed that good health and safety is simply good risk management – done early enough to make a difference.
The businesses that do this well know:
Alongside practical advice and updates on the BWARE platform, you’ll also find an important pricing update. From 1 October, BWARE subscription pricing will increase by 5% – our first increase in two years. It’s a modest change that will help us continue improving the platform and the support our members rely on. You can read more in the Pricing Update section below.
SERVICES MANAGER – BWARE
The Health and Safety at Work Amendment Bill 2026 reinforces this direction by placing greater emphasis on identifying and managing critical risks. While the final details are still being worked through, the message is clear: you need to understand what could seriously hurt or kill someone in your business, and make sure the right controls are in place.
Critical risks are the activities, equipment or situations where, if the right controls fail, someone could be seriously injured or killed. Identifying and managing these risks is one of the most important things any business can do to protect its people.
The Health and Safety at Work Amendment Bill 2026 has now become law, with the changes taking effect from 1 April 2027.
A key change is a stronger focus on managing the critical risks that could cause death, serious injury, or serious illness, while reducing unnecessary compliance activity.
Put simply, the changes are about focusing effort on the risks that could cause the most serious harm. Small businesses will be required to manage critical risks, while larger businesses must continue managing all risks and give critical risks the highest priority. Get that right, and you’re not just meeting your obligations, you’re helping keep people safe.
If you’re unsure where to begin, ask your team:
“What are the five events most likely to seriously injure or kill someone in our business?”
If the answers vary widely, or the controls aren’t clearly understood, you’ve just identified exactly where your next conversation needs to start.
At BWARE, we encourage businesses to focus on five key areas to identify risks:
Understanding these five focus points helps reveal where critical risks exist and where strong controls are needed. Documenting these risks in a critical risk register is an important first step to identify what could go wrong, but active risk management means putting the right controls in place and keeping them working.
A risk register identifies what could go wrong and is a good starting point, but it doesn’t show whether the right controls are actually being followed.
BWARE’s digital forms help verify that the controls designed to prevent serious harm are present, effective, and consistently applied.
Examples include:
We will continue sharing updates as we move closer to the 25th of September release, so please keep an eye on your inbox over the coming months. We will provide more information about the upcoming changes, what they mean for members, and how we will support you through the transition.
Unlike our previous major update, this release will happen overnight rather than through a separate migration. Our aim is to minimise disruption while making BWARE faster, more reliable and easier to use. The workflows you already know will remain familiar, and our team will support you before, during and after the change.
To keep improving the platform and the support behind it, we also need to make sure our pricing continues to reflect reliable service, ongoing development, and the practical help our members rely on.
Here’s what members can look forward to:
Just as importantly, we have been careful to retain the workflows and familiarity our members value, while making the platform easier and faster to use.
We will continue sharing updates as we move closer to the 25th of September release, so please keep an eye on your inbox over the coming months. We will provide more information about the upcoming changes, what they mean for members, and how we will support you through the transition.
Unlike our previous major update, this release will happen overnight rather than through a separate migration. Our aim is to minimise disruption while making BWARE faster, more reliable and easier to use. The workflows you already know will remain familiar, and our team will support you before, during and after the change.
To keep improving the platform and the support behind it, we also need to make sure our pricing continues to reflect reliable service, ongoing development, and the practical help our members rely on.
From 1 October 2026, BWARE subscriptions will increase by 5%.
This is our first increase in two years. It helps cover ongoing operating costs and supports continued investment in the future development of the BWARE platform.
We remain committed to delivering practical tools, real support, and continued innovation for our members.
As we continue investing in BWARE, our focus remains the same: delivering a faster, more reliable, and easier-to-use platform that supports our members in their day-to-day work.
Not sure whether you’ve identified your critical risks and controls? Our Critical Risk Workshop helps your team identify the risks that have the greatest potential to cause serious harm or fatality.
Working alongside your team, we’ll help you:
The goal is not to create more paperwork. It is to give your business confidence that the controls protecting your people are understood, owned, and working effectively.
If you’re preparing for the proposed Health and Safety Amendment Bill changes, or simply want to strengthen your approach to serious risk management, our team is here to help.
Once those critical risks and controls are clear, the next step is making sure they’re consistently managed. BWARE helps you capture, check and follow up on critical controls through practical digital tools that fit the way your team works.
Still using paper forms, spreadsheets, or disconnected processes to identify hazards and verify controls?
Our Form Builder & Optimisation Service can turn those processes into practical digital tools within BWARE, making it easier to capture consistent information, assign follow-up actions, and keep critical controls visible.
We can build customised forms for:
Most importantly, digital forms make it easier for workers to identify, record, and manage risks while work is happening, rather than days later in an office.
If you are looking to strengthen your critical risk management processes, talk to the BWARE team about creating practical tools that fit the way your business really works.
In our next edition, we’ll share more updates from the BWARE team, new platform improvements and practical ideas to help you manage health and safety with confidence.
Until then:
If you would like support taking the next step, we can help turn this critical risk focus into clear actions, controls, and everyday routines. To schedule a call or ZOOM session and find out how we can help, please contact our team at helpdesk@bware.co.nz.
Thank you for being part of the BWARE community.
