How the District Court has applied the principles of due diligence – and what this means for senior leaders
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.26686/nzjhsp.v2i3.9756Keywords:
due diligence, governance, section 44, Gibson, Ports of AucklandAbstract
Many senior leaders know all too well the duty of due diligence – be that in a financial or legal context.
When it comes to health and safety, however, the duty of due diligence has until now been largely untested. Since the introduction of the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 (HSWA) CEOs, senior leaders and Directors have been aware of the new duties placed on them as individuals, but with a lack of case law or precedent that awareness or focus may have drifted.
WorkSafe NZ (2019) defines due diligence as: HSWA creates a due diligence duty on an officer. This means an officer must take appropriate, proactive steps to ensure the person conducting a business or undertaking (PCBU) complies with HSWA.
In late November 2024 for the first time the duty of due diligence on an individual Officer was tested with a guilty verdict in the District Court in the case against former Port of Auckland (POAL) CEO Tony Gibson (Maritime NZ v Anthony Michael Gibson, 2024).
