Most of the requirements under the new Hazardous Substances Regulations will come into force on 1 December. However, there are some areas where there are later commencement dates. Find out more about these and what happens to current certifications and approvals.

The Hazardous Substances Toolbox has practical tools and guidance including:

• The Hazardous Substances Calculator (currently called the HSNO Calculator)
• The Practical Guide to Working with Hazardous Substances
• A workbook to help you create an inventory
• Animated videos about the safe management of hazardous substances
• Information for workers on staying safe around hazardous substances

The Hazardous Substances Calculator is a valuable, time-saving tool available free of charge that you can use to create, edit and access your inventory online. It allows you to:

• Create a compliant inventory
• Identify the majority of requirements you must comply with for the substances in your workplace
• Access guidance material and legislation

The Toolbox and Calculator are available at www.hazardoussubtances.govt.nz.

They will be updated to reflect the new Regulations, but now is a good time to familiarise yourself with the Calculator. Your saved inventory will be accessible when the Calculator is updated, but you will need to update the information to create a compliant inventory.

We are developing a range of guidance documents around managing hazardous substances in the workplace and your obligations under the Hazardous Substances Regulations. The first documents that will come out before 1 December are:

• The Practical Guide to Working with Hazardous Substances – this is an update of the Practical Guide currently on the Hazardous Substances Toolbox
• The Interpretive Guide to Changes to Hazardous Substances Regulations for the Workplace 
• An Emergency Management Flipchart to help you document the processes for a range of potential emergencies in your workplace
• Eight subject-specific quick guides on:

1. Certified handlers
2. Information, training and instruction
3. Inventory 
4. Storing class 6 & 8 substances 
5. Labelling
6. Risk management 
7. Signage 
8. Safety data sheets 

When this guidance has been published it will be available on our website and promoted through this newsletter.

Public consultation on 13 safe work instruments (SWIs) relating to hazardous substances closed on 8 September. We received 39 submissions and are reviewing these, which will help inform any required amendments. Thank you to everyone who took the time to provide this feedback.

The SWIs will be published on our website during November to ensure people can become familiar with these new instruments prior to them taking effect on 1 December. 

The Hazardous Substances and New Organisms (HSNO) Act will still have an essential role from 1 December. Hazardous substances will continue to be approved and classified under HSNO by the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA).

Additionally, the rules for the content and format of hazardous substances labels and safety data sheets; the rules for packaging, disposal and to protect the environment; and to protect people outside of the workplace will continue to be set under HSNO. 

From 1 December, most of these rules will be set in EPA Notices rather than under Regulations. The notices consolidate and simplify many of the rules for hazardous substances. While the notices don’t come into force until 1 December, they are now published on the EPA website. Information about what changes the notices make and when the new rules apply to different approvals can also be found on the EPA website. The labelling, safety data sheets and packaging notices give people at least four years to comply with the new rules. 

We've launched a new shop on our Around the Block tool – a collision repair workshop. The new shop covers risks such as exposure to hazardous substances, where you might find these and what you can do to minimise or eliminate them. 

The 'Around the Block’ tool helps small to medium sized businesses get started with managing their health and safety risks. Animated and interactive, the tool takes users on a journey around the 'block' where they can click on risk hotspots within each of the businesses.