Workplace harm costing NZ billions – how do we improve safety?

Workplace harm's costing the country billions of dollars a year.  

A report from the Business Leaders Health and Safety Forum has found workplace harm cost the country $5.5 billion in 2025.  

Forum Chief Executive Francois Barton says that's made up of a mix of injuries, illness and deaths. 

He told Ryan Bridge the industries with the highest rate of harm are the primary industries – construction, farming, manufacturing, and areas in transport and logistics. 

Barton says the blueprint for safety isn't more helmets, hi-vis, and checklists, it's about how we can change the work itself to make it safer. 

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