On Your Behalf: Health and Safety Checklist for Vineyards and Wineries

The new year signals with the hum of activity ramping up on the vineyard and in the winery as vintage 2026 gets underway. Businesses will be in midst of final preparations, whether that is onboarding new staff, engaging contractors, and undertaking final site checks. It’s safe to say everyone will have a lot on their mind. With so much competing for your attention, there is no better time to ensure that health and safety is at the forefront of your operations and to reduce the potential for issues once vintage kicks off.

Health and Safety Dutiesb

Businesses should all be familiar with the obligations under the Health and Safety at Work Act to take reasonably practicable steps to address risks. Duties under the Act can apply to everyone, whether you are:

• in charge of the vineyard or winery operations
• a company, director, trustee, business partner, or chief executive
• a worker in a vineyard or winery; or
• a contractor or visitor

Regardless of your role, this is a good opportunity to refresh your understanding and to ensure everyone interacting with your business understands these obligations. Each business is unique, however there are common risks within the industry we must manage.

Lessons from Recent WorkSafe Visits

Recently WorkSafe undertook 73 workplace assessments of wine businesses as part of a broader campaign to help the agriculture sector understand how to meet their health and safety responsibilites. Results of these indicated good levels of compliance and worker engagement across most health and safety areas, however two areas continue to require ongoing attention.

First, the condition and use of heavy machinery. Now is the time to ensure machinery is well serviced and that safety mechanisms, like tractor guards, are equipped correctly.

A second area of focus should be maintaining well documented processes for managing hazardous substances. This includes ensuring your chemical inventories are up to date, staff understand and have access to the appropriate PPE, and there is a documented process for how your business monitors chemical risks.

For now, keep these areas front of mind, and later this year New Zealand Winegrowers will be providing members with further guidance arising from these WorkSafe assessments. In the meantime, there are broader practical steps businesses can take now to ensure their health and safety processes are operating effectively.

Practical Steps

Good health and safety process doesn’t need to be complicated nor burdensome. The first step is to stocktake what you already have in place. Do you have the following?

• Site rules, maps and emergency plans
• Contractor orientation induction information
• Fit for purpose PPE on hand
• Accident/near miss reports

Secondly, are the risks you’ve previously identified still being appropriately managed?

• Have site conditions changed this harvest from last year?
• Are you asking staff to do something new? Have they been appropriately trained for this?
• How will you brief your staff, and have they had the chance to provide their own input?
• Has older machinery been serviced and do we need to explain new machinery to staff?

To help simplify this process, NZW has tailored our ‘Working Well Guide’ to provide practical advice and resources including vineyard and winery self-assessment checklists. Much of this material has been produced in collaboration with WorkSafe and ACC. You can find more information in the health and safety section of the NZW members site: nzwine.com/members/advocacy/health-safety.

Taking Care of Yourself

It is no secret that wine businesses have been under significant pressure over recent months, and for some, harvest can exacerbate these feelings. Have a plan for taking care of yourself and those around you, as wellbeing is not only paramount for your health but also getting the best out of your team.

NZW provides information on staying mentally fit, as well as physically fit on our members site here: nzwine.com/en/events/health-and-wellbeing. As always please don’t hesitate to contact your friendly Advocacy team at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. should you have any questions, or indeed any other regulatory matters you would like assistance with. We are here to help.

Wishing you all the best for a safe, healthy and ultimately successful vintage 2026.

James Kane is a Legal and Policy Advisor for NZW