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Workplace risk assessment template

Under the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015, a PCBU must identify hazards and either eliminate the risks or reduce them so far as is reasonably practicable. This template works for any hazard, from a wet floor to a machine guard, and produces a record you can show WorkSafe New Zealand if asked.

Who it's for: health and safety managers, supervisors, and anyone asked to assess a task, area or piece of equipment for the first time.

Free to use and adapt · Last updated 2026-07-27 · No email required

Assessment details

Assessor name and role
Task, area or equipment being assessed One assessment per task or area keeps the record usable
Location Site, building, room or route
Date of assessment
Scheduled review date At most 12 months out, or sooner after an incident or change

Step 1 - Identify the hazards

Walk the area, watch the task being done, and talk to the people who do it. Tick every category that applies. Anything ticked must appear in the risk table at Step 3.

  • Slips, trips and falls (wet floors, uneven surfaces, trailing cables)
  • Falls from height (ladders, platforms, mezzanines, roof access)
  • Manual handling (lifting, carrying, pushing, pulling)
  • Plant and machinery (moving parts, entanglement, crush points)
  • Vehicles and mobile plant (forklifts, delivery vehicles, reversing areas)
  • Electrical (damaged leads, overloaded boards, work near live parts)
  • Hazardous chemicals (storage, use, spill response, labelling)
  • Fire and explosion (ignition sources, flammable storage, hot work)
  • Noise, vibration or temperature extremes
  • Work-related violence or aggression from clients, patients or the public
  • Lone or isolated work, including out-of-hours access
  • Psychosocial hazards (workload, fatigue, bullying, traumatic events)
  • Biological hazards (sharps, bodily fluids, contaminated materials)

Step 2 - Who could be harmed, and how

Workers directly doing the task List roles, not names
Others who could be affected Contractors, visitors, cleaners, members of the public
Anyone at higher risk New starters, young workers, pregnant workers, workers with a relevant medical condition
How harm could occur One or two sentences per hazard, e.g. pallet falls from racking onto a picker below

Step 3 - Rate each risk and record controls

Rate likelihood and consequence as low, medium or high, first with existing controls in place. Anything still rated high needs further controls and a named owner.

HazardLikelihoodConsequenceRatingExisting controlsFurther controls neededOwner and due date
       
       
       
       
       

Step 4 - Choose controls, strongest first

Work down the hierarchy of controls. Personal protective equipment is the last resort, not the first answer.

  • Eliminate: remove the hazard entirely (stop doing the task, remove the equipment)
  • Substitute: swap for something safer (a less hazardous chemical, a lighter load)
  • Isolate: separate people from the hazard (barriers, exclusion zones, separate pedestrian routes)
  • Engineering: change the physical setup (machine guards, ventilation, trolleys and hoists)
  • Administrative: change how people work (procedures, training, signage, rostering, supervision)
  • PPE: gloves, eye protection, hearing protection, high-visibility clothing, as a final layer only

Step 5 - Record, sign off and review

This assessment was completed by [assessor] and approved by [manager] on [date]. It will be reviewed by [review date], or earlier if there is an incident or near miss, the task or equipment changes, a worker raises a concern, or new controls become available.

Keep the completed assessment with your health and safety records and make it available to the workers it covers. WorkSafe New Zealand can ask to see it.

How to use it

Getting the most out of this template

  • Complete one assessment per task, area or piece of equipment. A single assessment covering the whole site is too vague to act on.
  • Involve the workers who do the task. They see hazards that a walkthrough misses.
  • Rate the risk with existing controls in place, then decide whether that residual risk is acceptable.
  • Give every further control a named owner and a due date, then check they were actually done.
  • Review after every incident or near miss, not just at the annual date.

This template is general information, not legal advice. Requirements differ by jurisdiction and industry; check the guidance published by WorkSafe New Zealand and seek advice for your specific circumstances.

Questions

Frequently asked

Do I legally need a written risk assessment?
Under the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015, a PCBU must manage risks to health and safety. A written assessment is the accepted way to show you identified the hazards and made a reasoned decision about controls, and WorkSafe New Zealand will expect to see one after a serious incident.
How detailed does it need to be?
Proportionate to the risk. A low-risk office task might need half a page. A task involving machinery, chemicals or working alone needs the full five steps with a completed risk table. If a hazard could cause serious injury, err on the side of more detail.
What is the difference between a hazard and a risk?
A hazard is the thing that could cause harm, such as an unguarded blade. The risk is the likelihood and severity of that harm actually occurring. The assessment exists to move each risk down to a level you can defend.
Related

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