Quick Guide to Health and Safety Legislation Changes

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Free resource developed for EMA Members

We regularly hear from business leaders that getting to grips with compliance complexities is an ongoing challenge.

With big changes happening in health and safety, our in-house experts have put together this 1-page guide for you outlining the major changes, and what they mean for businesses.

Perfect for busy employers and health and safety leaders, this resource should provide some clarity and set you in the right direction – at a glance.

Introducing the EMA's new Safety AdviceLine

Our November 2024 research shows that the majority of EMA Members consider AdviceLine to be an invaluable resource. Launching this month, we’re building on this trusted resource with a new Safety AdviceLine, providing a sounding board, support, and solutions.

Rebekah Stephens joins us to be your health, safety and wellbeing (HSW) expert in the AdviceLine team, and brings a wealth of knowledge on your obligations in relation to HSW.

Our Safety AdviceLine is the gateway to your solutions

Call our Member-only Safety AdviceLine as often as you need. Our in-house Health and Safety Advisor is available to answer your questions and connect you with relevant resources or consultants.

0800 300 362

Meet the team that keeps you compliant and in control

We have a team of advisors, lawyers and consultants who do more than take a case – they’ll help you solve problems and build your business and a future.

Rebekah Stephen

Health & Safety Advisor

Mauro Barsi

Head of Legal, Consultancy and General Counsel

Linda Browne

Health and Safety Consultant

Steve Schroder

Health and Safety Consultant

Keith Robinson

Health & Safety Consultant

Geoff Brokenshire

Health & Safety Consultant

Sheree Camilleri

Health & Safety Consultant​

Susan Rhodes

Health and Safety Consultant

Dave Pinchen

Health and Safety Consultant

Lisa Oakley

ER, HR and H&S Consultant

Damon Jacobsen

Health and Safety Consultant

John Lumby

Health and Safety Consultant

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© 2024 Employers and Manufacturers Association (EMA) Northern Inc. All rights reserved.

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Rebekah Stephens

Rebekah joined the EMA in March 2025 as the health and safety expert on the AdviceLine and is ready to answer your questions. She has a wealth of knowledge in health and safety and can advise on the most suitable training for your team and connect you to the appropriate consultant to use for Health and Safety projects in your business.

Rebekah is passionate about keeping workers safe and believes that the best outcomes are achieved when managers and workers are collaborating for continuous improvement.

She holds a Diploma in Workplace Health and Safety Management Level 6 and has over 7 years of experience in health and safety roles across various industries, including healthcare, social assistance, food storage and distribution, manufacturing, and construction. This gives her unique insights into the challenges NZ organisations face in interpreting and implementing health and safety strategies.

Mauro Barsi

Head of Legal, Consultancy and General Counsel

Mauro is an experienced advocate for businesses and employers and a trusted advisor when you need it most. He brings a powerful mix of practical knowledge in Employment Relations and Human Resources, litigation experience; and time spent as a senior leader in both the public and private sectors, all to help resolve your issues quickly and effectively. 

Having worked in-house with organisations to manage growth and transformation projects, his broad business management knowledge means he brings an overarching approach to issues. Mauro helps businesses shape their organisations through strategy, bargaining, restructuring and the implementation of new people structures, through to managing personal grievances, investigations, and employment disputes.

Linda Browne

Passionate about working in partnership, Linda prides herself on helping businesses take charge of their health and safety and providing tailored solutions that work in the real world. She is a qualified Health and Safety & Quality Manager with more than 20 years of industry experience that includes, pulp and paper, manufacturing, electrical, timber, geothermal and agricultural sectors. She brings expertise in Health and Safety Management Systems, Quality Management Systems, Management Systems and Training and Development Systems to EMA member businesses in the Bay of Plenty.

Steve Schroder

Steve Schroder is the Managing Director of Smart Safety Solutions, bringing over 20 years of experience in both operational leadership and health and safety management. He has worked across a wide range of industries, including manufacturing, logistics, infrastructure, and utilities to name just a few — giving him a strong understanding of how health and safety integrates with real-world operations.

Steve specialises in helping organisations build practical, effective health and safety systems that are grounded in operational reality, not just paperwork. His approach is shaped by years spent leading teams, managing complex worksites, and driving continuous improvement on the ground.

Currently completing a Master’s degree in Workplace Health and Safety, Steve combines academic insight with hands-on experience to deliver tailored, strategic support for clients across New Zealand. Whether it’s auditing systems, developing standards, or supporting cultural change, he brings clarity, confidence, and practical leadership to every project.

Keith Robinson

Keith is focused on creating sustainable, people-focused changes to improve the efficiency of organisations and the effectiveness of people. Health and safety work in the supply chain sector – manufacturing, warehousing, and logistics – is where he is happiest, but he brings his wealth of experiences in diverse industries across the world to EMA member businesses in Auckland and his facilitating. He gets satisfaction from providing full circle support from Health and Safety reviews to templates and training to ensure compliance and sustainable practices and processes into the future.

Geoff Brokenshire

When it comes to hazardous substances, in particular, there are few people who could match Geoff Brokenshire’s knowledge. He has worked and studied in the chemistry industry since 1971; holds qualifications from both in the UK and in New Zealand; and has had a long career across many health and safety disciplines. His specialty is environmental, quality, health and safety management systems, including hazardous substances compliance auditing and advice. Geoff enjoys imparting his considerable knowledge with EMA member businesses in the Waikato region.

Sheree Camilleri

Sheree is committed to making a positive difference to EMA member businesses and their people across the North Island. She thrives on working alongside companies to build their capability and knowledge in Health and Safety, and ensure they own their own processes and systems. Sheree also gives companies confidence and understanding of Health and Safety compliance so they can improve the performance of their business. She enjoys imparting her practical experience and knowledge, including as an inspector for the Department of Labour, in a straightforward and collaborative way.

Susan Rhodes

Susan is an experienced and well respected Safety and Compliance Consultant with 20 years experience across a wide variety of industries, including transport and distribution (rail, airports, long and short haul trucking), manufacturing (both heavy and light), service industries such as food production, retail, office environments, aged care and healthcare. She has a highly successful record of implementing Safety Management Systems, and has a thorough working knowledge of safety compliance and risk. Susan has been consulting for the EMA for four years, helping clients develop and implement health and safety management systems, preparing health and safety systems for audits, developing work instructions and SOP’s as well s other health and safety tasks such as contractor management, risk control etc

Dave Pinchen

Dave comes from a highly successful senior leadership-level health and safety (H&S) career that spans over 20 years working across the UK, Australian and New Zealand health and safety frameworks.


His journey through H&S has seen him helping large, complex and high-risk organisations across various sectors better understand and manage their risks more effectively. His approach simplifies and untangles the perceived burden and bureaucracy of H&S, making it more approachable and welcoming to operational and strategic management teams and their people.

Lisa Oakley

Employment Relations and HR Consultant

Lisa’s approach to helping businesses with their needs is to be a true partner, collaboratively solving problems to ensure that leaders and organisations succeed. She is a past Board member and National Vice President of Human Resources Institute of NZ (HRNZ) with almost 20 years’ experience both in New Zealand – for large companies including Air New Zealand and Spark as well as not for profits – and in Australia. 

Community-focused, Lisa also thrives on working with small to medium-sized businesses and for purpose organisations. Lisa supports seamlessly with everything from People Strategy; Contracts and Policy; Organisational Design and Structure; Talent and Capability; Culture and Engagement; and Industrial and Employment Relations.

Damon Jacobsen

With a strong background in manufacturing (aluminium, wood processing and poultry) and experience working in education, Damon has successfully improved employee-employer relations, and has applied effective HR and HSE practices within the workplace.

Damon sits on five boards and knows what good governance looks like and the importance of clear communication.

Having managed teams and being a co-worker on the factory floor, Damon can relate to people at all levels and of varying educational and ethnic backgrounds. His key driver is helping people who want to do something they care about, and being a rock for people during challenging times.

Qualifications: Graduate Diploma Occupational H&S Management (Southern Institute of Technology), BBS – HR Major (Massey University), Dip General Psychology (International Correspondence School), Occupational Safety & Health (L3) and completion of Lean Management Training and Manage Hazard Identification and Control on Plant and Machinery Training, Certified Workplace Private Investigator (Ministry of Justice).

John Lumby

John brings a wealth of hands-on experience from the dairy, petrochemical, and timber industries, giving him a practical edge when it comes to health and safety. Since 2017, he’s been helping business build safer workplaces with systems that are simple, effective, and tailored to meet real-world operations.

With qualifications in Level 4 OHS Practice and Machine Safety, John also specialises in hazardous substances management and risk control. He takes a collaborative approach – working alongside teams to create a strong safety culture while staying on top of compliance.

At the core, John’s all about making safety a natural part of how work gets done, not just a checklist.