For many New Zealand SMEs, a safety induction is treated as a box-ticking exercise: a quick run-through on day one, a signature at the bottom of a form, and done. But under the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 (HSWA), inductions are much more than that. A well-designed induction is one of the most effective ways to prevent incidents, set clear expectations and protect your business legally.
This guide breaks down a practical safety induction checklist for SMEs – covering what the law requires, what actually works on site and how modern digital tools can make inductions easier to manage and more effective.
Why safety inductions matter under HSWA
HSWA places a clear duty on PCBUs (Persons Conducting a Business or Undertaking) to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health and safety of workers. In practical terms, this means:
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Workers must be informed about hazards and controls relevant to their work
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Workers must be trained and supervised to carry out work safely
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Site risks must be managed, including shared or changing risks
A strong safety induction is where all three come together. If an incident occurs and WorkSafe asks how a worker was informed, trained and verified as competent, your induction records will be one of the first things reviewed.
The core safety induction checklist every SME needs
Whether you’re onboarding a new employee, contractor or visitor, every induction should cover the followingessentials.
1. Key hazards and controls
Start with the hazards that actually exist on your site – not generic risks copied from another business. Workers should understand:
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What the main hazards are
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Where they’re likely to encounter them
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What controls are in place and what’s expected of them
For example, a construction site induction should clearly address working at height and mobile plant interactions, while a property maintenance business may focus more on lone work and manual handling.
2. PPE requirements
Clearly outline:
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What PPE is mandatory
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When and where it must be worn
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Who provides it
This avoids confusion and reinforces that PPE is a control, not a suggestion.
3. Emergency procedures
Every worker should leave the induction knowing:
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What to do in an emergency
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Evacuation routes and assembly points
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Who the wardens or first aiders are
This information should be site-specific and kept up to date, especially for temporary or changing worksites.
4. Site access rules
Cover practical expectations such as:
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Sign-in and sign-out requirements
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Restricted areas
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Traffic management rules
These rules are often overlooked but are critical for managing site risks and accountability.
5. Reporting expectations
Make it crystal clear how workers should report:
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Incidents
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Hazards
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Near misses
This links directly to HSWA’s emphasis on worker participation.
6. Roles and responsibilities
Workers should understand:
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Their own health and safety responsibilities
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Who they report to
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Who is responsible for supervision
This is especially important for contractors and subcontractors working across multiple sites.
7. Critical risks (with examples)
High-risk work deserves extra attention. Calling out critical risks (supported by simple examples or visuals) helps workers understand what “good” and “bad” look like in real life.
Industry-specific add-ons
A good induction is never one-size-fits-all. Depending on your industry, your safety induction checklist may need extra modules, for example:
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Construction: working at height, asbestos awareness, confined spaces
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Property & facilities: lone worker protocols, client site rules
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Trades: electrical safety, isolation procedures, tool and equipment risks
Digital induction systems, like those built into SiteConnect, make it easy to tailor content by role, site or risk profile without maintaining multiple paper versions.
Common safety induction mistakes to avoid
Even well-intentioned SMEs often fall into the same traps:
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Too long and too generic: Overloading workers with irrelevant information reduces retention
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Out of date content: Old evacuation maps or hazard lists create real risk
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No verification of understanding: A signed form doesn’t prove someone understood the risks
Under HSWA, it’s not enough to “tell” workers, you need to be confident they understood.
Where digital inductions make all the difference
This is where modern safety software changes the game.
A digital induction platform allows you to:
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Deliver mobile-friendly inductions workers can complete on site
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Embed videos, images, and diagrams to improve understanding
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Maintain version control, so everyone is inducted on the latest content
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Automatically store induction records for audits and WorkSafe requests
SiteConnect’s digital inductions can be designed specifically to your worksite, making it easy to stay compliant while improving the worker experience. Inductions can also be linked to other SiteConnect features, such as site access, contractor management and reporting, so safety doesn’t stop once the induction ends.
A practical checklist, not just a legal requirement
A good safety induction isn’t about paperwork, it’s about setting workers up to go home safe every day. For SMEs, a clear, practical safety induction checklist helps balance legal compliance with real-world usability.
If you’re still relying on static PDFs or paper forms, now is the time to rethink how your inductions are delivered, verified and maintained. Done well, inductions become one of your strongest safety controls not just another admin task.
Want to see what a modern, compliant safety induction looks like in practice? Explore SiteConnect’s digital induction tools.
