Risk Management for Managers Training Course (NZ Version)

Why is the Risk Management for Managers Training Important?

Managers sit at the centre of how health and safety actually functions in a workplace. Decisions about workload, resourcing, scheduling, and how work is structured and monitored have a direct bearing on whether workers stay safe and healthy. When those decisions are uninformed or inconsistent, the risk of harm increases — and the organisation’s exposure to incidents, liability, and regulatory scrutiny rises with it.

Under the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 (HSWA), persons conducting a business or undertaking (PCBUs) and their officers have a duty to proactively eliminate or minimise risks so far as is reasonably practicable. Managers are also required to support genuine worker engagement and participation in health and safety matters — not as a procedural formality, but as a practical expectation.

This course directly supports managers in meeting those obligations by giving them a repeatable risk management process they can apply to the full range of risks they encounter — including those that don’t always make it onto a standard hazard register.

Who Should Complete This Course

• Managers and supervisors responsible for people, processes, or work environments in New Zealand organisations
• Team leaders and middle managers who influence how work is planned, allocated, monitored, or delivered
• Managers overseeing remote or hybrid teams, contractors, or workers in non-standard arrangements
• Any manager or supervisor working with new technologies, automated systems, or AI-enabled tools who needs to understand the associated risk responsibilities

Topics Covered

• Understanding your legal requirements
• Understanding your role in risk management
• Identifying workplace hazards
• Assessing workplace risks
• Selecting and reviewing workplace risk controls

Course Experience

Learners can expect:

• Fully online and accessible anytime
• Interactive and scenario-based learning
• Self-paced completion (pause/resume anytime)
• Assessment: 12-question quiz, 12/12 correct answers required
• Instant digital certificate on completion
• Accessible design (WCAG 2.2 AA compliant; suitable for all literacy levels)

Assessment

There is an assessment for this topic. 10-question quiz, 10/10 correct answers required.

Related Courses

• Duty of Care for Managers Training Course
• Workplace Health and Safety Fundamentals Training Course (NZ Version)
• Conflict of Interests Training Course (NZ Version)
• Warden Training 1: Emergency Preparation Training Course
• Warden Training 2: Emergency Response Training Course
• Managing Slip and Trip Hazards Training Course (NZ Version)
• Mental Health Awareness for Managers Training Course (NZ Version)
• Ethics: Leaders and Managers Training Course

Learning Outcomes

• Identify workplace hazards and assess associated risks using a structured risk management process
• Apply the hierarchy of controls to select and implement appropriate control measures
• Understand legal responsibilities under the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 (HSWA), including duty of care and due diligence expectations
• Recognise psychosocial risks — including those arising from workload, work design, and remote arrangements — and respond appropriately
• Demonstrate worker engagement and participation practices that meet HSWA expectations
• Contribute to a proactive health and safety culture that reduces incidents before they occur

Organisational Benefits

• Supports HSWA due diligence — Gives managers documented evidence of training against their legal obligations, supporting audit readiness and reducing regulatory exposure.
• Reduces incident risk — Managers who can identify and control hazards systematically are less likely to miss the conditions that lead to workplace harm or near-miss events.
• Addresses emerging risk categories — Covers psychosocial risks, remote and hybrid work, and technology-related hazards that are increasingly subject to regulatory attention in New Zealand.
• Strengthens management accountability — Builds consistent capability across your management cohort, so safety decisions aren’t dependent on individual experience or intuition.
• Demonstrates organisational commitment — Documented manager training in risk management is a clear signal to WorkSafe NZ, insurers, and workers that the organisation takes its health and safety obligations seriously.