We sought feedback on a proposal to revoke the existing asbestos ACOP (Approved code of practice: Management and removal of Asbestos) and replace it with an updated suite of guidance.

The proposed replacement suite of guidance has been developed in collaboration with the asbestos industry and others involved with the management of asbestos in New Zealand. It has been updated to align with international good practice, and addresses known errors within the current ACOP. The main guides have been developed as good practice guidelines rather than ACOPs to enable more timely updates, such as including industry innovations as they occur, and updating them with upcoming changes to regulations and standards expected in the next few years.

The consultation opened on Monday 20 October 2025 and closed on Friday 7 November 2025.

Outcome of public consultation to revoke 2016 ACOP in favour of new asbestos guidance

From 20 October to 7 November 2025 WorkSafe conducted a targeted consultation on the proposal to “revoke the existing [2016] Asbestos ACOP (Approved code of practice: Management and removal of Asbestos) and replace it with an updated suite of guidance”.

The consultation sought a yes/no response and included an option to add further comment on the proposal.

There were 65 submissions to the consultation. 33 submitters supported the proposal and 32 submitters opposed the proposal.

To ensure impartiality, submission analysis was completed without individual or organisational identifiers to determine the key themes, which are summarised below.

Themes from those who supported the proposal

The common reasonings for supporting the proposal were:

• guidance that could be kept up to date more easily
• the new suite was more accessible by being divided up by audience
• by providing greater detail than the existing 2016 ACOP, the new suite would lead to an uplift in knowledge and good practice in the industry
• it would address known issues with the existing 2016 ACOP.

Themes from those who opposed the proposal

The common reasonings for opposing the proposal were:

• a perception that by removing the ACOP and replacing it with other forms of guidance WorkSafe would be ‘downgrading’ the requirements for asbestos management, making it ‘unenforceable’.
• a belief that ACOPs under New Zealand law have quasi-legislative powers (as they do in some overseas jurisdictions) and that this is required to ensure industry compliance.

Further analysis

• Five submissions did not support the proposal as these submitters wished to review the entire suite of guidance beforehand.
• Three submissions did not support the proposal because they required assurance that their specific feedback from previous consultations had been adopted.

WorkSafe’s response and next steps

What we heard

We have heard that a significant portion of the industry felt that an ACOP (or ACOPs) are important for preserving and maintaining standards of practice within the industry

We also heard that a significant portion of industry wanted the updated guidance to be published as soon as possible (as GPGs) to allow industry to benefit from the additional clarity and updated practices they provide.

What was decided

In response to these requests, and after further discussion with industry groups and Unions, the Minister declined to revoke the 2016 ACOP and asked WorkSafe to publish the updated guidance to sit alongside the 2016 ACOP.

The 2016 ACOP will remain in place until after the upcoming HSWA reforms have been enacted.

Next steps

The GPGs for Surveys, Removal, and Assessments will be converted into codes of practices (COPs).

Before the three GPGs are converted into COPs, WorkSafe will seek further feedback from industry on the content of the GPGs, so we can make any further improvements, refinements or corrections (based on user experience). This will likely happen in late 2026 or early 2027.

To meet the requirements of Section 222(2) of HSWA, WorkSafe will again consult with industry on revoking the 2016 ACOP in favour of the newly created COPs before seeking the Minister’s approval to turn these into ACOPs (if appropriate).  

Waiting until after the reforms to do this will mean the new ACOPs will benefit from the safe harbour provisions that all new ACOPs will have at this time.

To find out more about our updated suite of asbestos guidance, see We have updated our asbestos guidance