Ensure your compliance certificate is valid

What happened?

John Hickey and a colleague sent draft compliance certificates to businesses following inspections. The draft certificates carried no legal status but closely resembled official certificates. This led some businesses to believe they were compliant when they were not. This occurred in the Wellington and Auckland regions between 2018 and March 2025.

How did it happen?

Rather than making a formal decision and notifying WorkSafe of non-compliant sites as required by law, the two certifiers used their draft documents to seek further information from businesses. This left compliance decisions unresolved and non-compliance not notified to WorkSafe.

Compliance certifiers are required to notify WorkSafe whether they issue or refuse to issue certificates, so that WorkSafe can follow up with businesses that are non-compliant.

Compliance certification is a critical control for managing serious risks associated with hazardous substances. Other certifiers, inspectors, emergency services, and PCBUs rely on compliance certificates and the WorkSafe register to make safety‑critical decisions.

What do they look like?

Distinguishing features of the draft certificates are:

• Titled either DRAFT Request for Information, or DRAFT COMPLIANCE CERTIFICATE 
• Typically printed on green paper
• Signature field left blank
• Includes this statement: ***Not issued until all above compliance items are suitably addressed***

What to do if you have certificates that look like this

If you have a certificate that looks like the one below, please contact us at compliancemonitoring@worksafe.govt.nz

We will assess whether the certificate is valid and then provide you with some guidance to help ensure your business is meeting any requirements for compliance certification.