Workplace Exposure Standards – Still Misunderstood

The recent announcement on regulatory relief for the manufacturing sector has highlighted some concerning misconceptions about Workplace Exposure Standards (WES). Some public commentary has incorrectly implied that WES are compulsory, regulatory, or out of step with international benchmarks — even suggesting they increase the cost of goods to consumers.
(Source: https://www.beehive.govt.nz/release/regulatory-relief-manufacturing-sector)

But the issue isn’t the WES guidance values — it’s the misunderstanding of what WES are, and how they are meant to be used.

Let’s clarify a few key points:
🔹 WES are guideline values. In New Zealand, WES are not mandatory limits, regulations, or enforceable standards.
🔹 Prescribed Exposure Standards (PES) are enforceable and mandatory. PES are set under the Health and Safety at Work (General Risk and Workplace Management) Regulations 2016. At present, New Zealand has only one PES — for ethanedinitrile (EDN). 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘯𝘰 𝘗𝘌𝘚 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘴𝘶𝘣𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘧𝘵𝘸𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘥𝘶𝘴𝘵, 𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘸𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘥𝘶𝘴𝘵, 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘶𝘮𝘦, 𝘰𝘳 𝘧𝘭𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘥𝘶𝘴𝘵.

𝘚𝘰, 𝘥𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘞𝘌𝘚 (𝘢𝘥𝘷𝘪𝘴𝘰𝘳𝘺) 𝘷𝘢𝘭𝘶𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘗𝘌𝘚 (𝘦𝘯𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘤𝘦𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦) 𝘭𝘪𝘮𝘪𝘵𝘴 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘥?

Rather than questioning the WES values themselves, we should be asking whether we’re doing enough to educate industry on how to understand and apply them. A lack of understanding shouldn’t result in a lowering of the bar for work-related health — especially when New Zealand workers are 10 to 15 times more likely to die from occupational disease than from a fatal accident.

And international comparisons? They’re often not equivalent. Many countries have enforceable exposure limits — so comparing them to New Zealand’s guideline values (WES) is comparing apples to oranges. The correct comparison would be to our PES — of which, again, we have only one.

At the end of the day, exposure risks don’t disappear by raising WES values. Changing a number on paper doesn’t change the risk faced by workers. What matters is how those risks are managed — through effective identification, evaluation, control, and review.

The better question for every business leader is: “𝘈𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘥𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘺 𝘱𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘵𝘩 𝘰𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬𝘦𝘳𝘴?”

We invite Brooke van Velden, WorkSafe New Zealand, any business, industry organisation, or H&S professional wanting to understand more about WES and managing health risks to get in touch.

Sincerely,

NZOHS Council 2025/2026