By EMA Manager of Employment Relations & Safety Paul Jarvie
It’s a no-brainer that every business leader wants a safer workplace. Beyond the human toll, injuries disrupt operations, increase costs and add pressure to already stretched teams.
The latest ACC report, Injuries in New Zealand 2025: How we’re getting hurt and how you can make a difference, shows the scale of the issue.
In 2025, workplace injuries resulted in 20.8 million working days lost and an estimated $8.7 billion in lost economic output. ACC paid $3.1 billion in weekly compensation, with time away from work now the largest driver of injury-related costs.
Skills Shortages and Lost Opportunities
For employers, this means skills shortages, delayed projects and lost opportunities for growth.
While the total number of workplace injuries has remained relatively stable over the past few years, the economic and productivity impacts are growing as more work time is lost and compensation claims increase.
Manufacturing remains at the centre of this challenge. ACC reports that manufacturing injuries accounted for more than 700,000 days of weekly compensation in 2025, representing an estimated $295 million in lost productivity. Small manufacturers are particularly affected, with businesses employing six to nine people reporting 115 injury claims per 1,000 workers.
Remember, employers fund all workplace injury costs via their levies. Lower costs could lead to lower premiums.
Lost time from manufacturing injuries is equivalent to the production of more than 500,000 complex circuit boards or 4,700 modular homes. For a sector already dealing with skills shortages and global competition, these losses constrain productivity and growth.
For those of us who have spent decades in health and safety, the injury profile is all too familiar.
High-risk industries such as manufacturing, agriculture and construction bear the brunt. ACC identifies strains and sprains, slips, trips and falls, and vehicle incidents as the main causes. Many occur during routine tasks, which underlines the need for constant attention to risk.
Targeted Interventions Make a Difference
At the EMA, we do not accept workplace harm as inevitable. Evidence shows that targeted interventions make a difference.
Through Project Whakahaumaru, a partnership between ACC, EMA and manufacturers, we identified the need to have a full understanding of the root causes of harm and identifying practical steps businesses can take. This included using a multidisciplinary approach, not just the worker and the doctor.
One clear lesson is that safety improves when businesses build capability, not just meet compliance requirements. Strong safety performance depends on leadership, engaged workers, effective supervision and proactive risk identification. Changing from a safety programme to a ‘harm prevention programme’ will create clearer goals and targets.
This is particularly relevant for musculoskeletal injuries, which remain widespread in manufacturing. Risks often develop over time through manual handling, repetitive tasks, awkward postures and poorly designed workflows. Simple changes, such as redesigning workstations, adjusting working heights, rotating tasks, introducing mechanical aids, monitoring work and workload, and involving workers in solutions, can significantly reduce risk.
The next step is job and process redesign. Rather than expecting workers to adapt (which they cannot do), businesses can redesign roles and systems to remove hazards at their source. This can require investment and planning, such as reconfiguring production lines or introducing automation, but the benefits extend beyond safety to productivity, quality and reduced absenteeism.
Supporting Injured Workers for Better Recovery
Supporting injured workers is equally important. Experience from both ACC and the EMA shows that early intervention improves recovery.
Businesses that stay in touch with injured staff, provide suitable duties and support a return to work achieve faster outcomes. Staying connected supports physical and mental health, retains skills and reduces the cost of prolonged absence.
Developing recovery plans, training managers and identifying alternative duties in advance can all reduce lost work time.
On 2 September, I will host a forum with ACC to update Members on last year’s Recovery at Work trial. I encourage you to attend to hear what was tested, what worked, and what may be applicable in your business.
Reducing harm across sectors requires collective effort and the ACC report provides an excellent example. The Forestry Industry Safety Council was established following an exceptionally bad year in which 10 forestry workers were killed in 2013 and around 170 were seriously injured.
The shared approach to training, leadership, certification and mechanisation that the Council led helped to reduce injuries and fatalities while also delivering economic benefits.
Sector-wide challenges require coordinated responses. Sharing knowledge, building capability and committing to continuous improvement are essential.
The latest ACC figures reinforce the scale of the problem, but also the opportunity. We already understand the causes of most workplace injuries. We must ensure more businesses have the capability and commitment to act. Fewer injuries mean healthier people and stronger businesses.