New Zealand continues to sit near the top of the OECD workplace harm rankings for all the wrong reasons. Our workplace harm rate is 52% higher than Australia’s.
Seventy workers lost their lives in work-related incidents in 2024. Workplace injuries cost ACC more than $815 million in 2025, while workplace harm contributes to an estimated $2 billion in lost productivity every year. In this episode of The Health and Safety Hub, EMA Health & Safety Advisor Rebekah Stephens joins host Kevin Chambers to explore why workplace harm remains such a persistent challenge, the barriers businesses face, and how organisations can move beyond compliance and box-ticking to practical, people-focused harm prevention.
They discuss the Harm Reduction Hub, powered by the EMA, a community-driven platform designed to help businesses prevent harm before it happens. Bringing together expert guidance, practical tools, training, real-world case studies and peer learning, the Hub aims to make health and safety simpler, more accessible and more effective for businesses of every size. It is a place where leaders can find answers, build capability and take meaningful action to create healthier, safer workplaces.
Explore the Harm Reduction Hub. This podcast series is proudly produced in partnership with nib.