The due diligence duty of officers in New Zealand: origins, implementation and corporate governance

Abstract

Officers are directors, chief executives and others who have “significant influence over the management of a business” and who must apply use “reasonable steps: as part of due diligence to ensure the business complies with any duty under the New Zealand Health and Safety at Work Act.

The origins of the due diligence duty for workplace health and safety of “officers” in New Zealand is briefly described. Then, based on a literature review and engagement with New Zealand health and safety professionals, a wide range of “reasonable steps” that workplace health and safety professionals might enable available to such officers is reported. The work suggests that due diligence should form part of normal corporate governance.