Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE)

The MBIE provides information and resources on New Zealand’s health and safety laws, including guidelines for businesses on how to comply.

The MBIE works alongside WorkSafe New Zealand to improve health and safety at work across New Zealand. They provide information on the Health and Safety Strategy, energy safety, and the Royal Commission on Pike River. They also offer resources on health and safety consultations, targeted reviews of adventure activities, and independent reviews of WorkSafe. Visit their website for more details.

https://www.mbie.govt.nz/business-and-employment/employment-and-skills/health-and-safety/

Be Prepared: Earthquakes

New Zealand sits on the boundary of two tectonic plates, making earthquakes a part of life. Here in Taupo, earthquakes and geothermal activity are part of the natural environment, making emergency preparedness an important part of living and working in our region. Lessons I Learnt from Christchurch During the Christchurch earthquakes, I was the National […]

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Director Duties Under HSWA in New Zealand

A serious incident rarely starts in the boardroom. It starts with a rushed job, an unfamiliar contractor, a missing guard, a fatigued worker or a risk that everyone has learned to work around. But when something goes wrong, director duties under HSWA come into sharp focus. Directors and other officers are expected to know enough […]

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ACC Support for Employers That Works at Work

When a worker is injured, the quality of the response in the first few days can shape their recovery, their confidence in returning, and how the rest of the team sees safety. Good ACC support for employers is not about taking over a person’s treatment or creating a folder no-one opens. It is about staying connected, arranging […]

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Hear It from Our Clients

See the impact we've had on businesses and how we could do the same for you.

We can’t speak highly enough of Lake Safety Services and Derek in particular. Rather than applying a cookie-cutter template, Derek took the time to genuinely understand our business and our processes before putting anything together. The result was a health and safety solution that fits like a glove – tailored, practical, and clearly built around how we actually operate, not just a generic checklist. If you’re after a consultancy that treats your business as unique rather than “one of many,” Derek and the team at Lake Safety Services are the ones to call!

Jacques Schoeman
Director

MAD Media Ltd – New Plymouth

Highly recommend this health and safety company! They provided top-notch service for our roofing business, ensuring everything was up to standard. Their team was professional, thorough, and easy to work with. We feel confident knowing our safety measures are in excellent hands. Great job.

Laurence
Director

 

Storm Tech Roofing – Hawkes Bay

We are a small yet complex organisation and have been working with Derek for the past year with the goal of creating a robust health and safety system that is maintained through internal ownership and embedded into business as usual. While Derek is knowledgeable, professional, and enthusiastic, his real superpower is working alongside the team to create a system which is tailored and practical, all while growing internal capacity. We would absolutely recommend Derek.

Lake Taupo Hospice

Through Derek, Lakes Safety Services provided an extremely thorough and personalised service to Broadlands School. Derek’s scope was the review the school’s EOTC practices and to make recommednations in changes to policy and day to day management practices including practical EOTC staff documentation. This brief was very well achieved! Derek has also provided great follow up service and a willingness to assist with any future EOTC draft policies before being adopted by the Board.

Graeme Taylor
Principal

Broadlands School

Derek was approachable, experienced, and readily available (at very short notice) for what was required for our H&S work site induction. Highly recommend should your company be in need of a person to tackle H&S matters.

Grace Solomon
Resident Manager

Two Trees Ngā Rākau e Rua – Taupō

We had a great experience with Lakes Safety. Derek provided practical, on-site support for our small business, taking the time to look at what we already had in place and offering straightforward guidance on how we could improve our systems.

He was very easy to chat with and came up with practical, workable solutions that actually fit our business. He really does make health and safety much easier and more manageable for a small business.

Carolyn Inglis
Director

Taupo Employment Services

As a business, we’ve had a fantastic experience working with Lakes Safety Services: professional, reliable, and highly knowledgeable, making every interaction seamless from start to finish.

The commitment to people, safety, clear communication, and attention to detail gives us complete confidence in the services provided.

We highly recommend Lakes Safety Services to any business or individual. They’ve shown us that health and safety doesn’t have to be complicated. Practical approach and expert guidance have made a real difference to our business and our staff.

Mirela Petrar
Operations Manager

Taupo DeBretts

Derek provided excellent health & safety consultancy. His advice was practical, thorough, well-delivered, and easy to implement. He helped us identify risks we’d overlooked and suggested cost-effective solutions. Recommend for any business needing H&S guidance.

Murray Beadle
General Manager

BFA Business Advisors and Accountants – Taupo

Very knowledgeable and willing to put the effort in upfront to understand our situation. Tailored things to fit our business requirements without creating a pile of confusing admin for us.

Spenser Christiansen
Director

That Dingo Guy – Manawatu

I got Derek in to update our H&S management system. He was honest and did a great job. Highly recommend.

Mark Bowsher
Station Manager

Whareroa Station – Waikato

Thank you, Derek, for your professional and objective advice. Your insights were incredibly helpful. We also really appreciated your enthusiasm in sharing your social networks and experiences, it was truly inspiring!

Eve Liu
Office Manager

Hauraki Civil Engineering – Rotorua

Practical Health and Safety Support That Works

Experience You Can Rely On

With over 30 years of real-world experience, Lakes Safety Services helps businesses manage risk, build practical safety systems, manage contractors, complete SafePlus assessments and improve health and safety governance — without unnecessary paperwork or complexity.