Health And Safety For Home Visits In New Zealand

Health and safety for home visits in New Zealand means treating every client home as a workplace and managing the risks to your team so far as is reasonably practicable.

That sounds simple, but home visits are rarely as controlled as an office, clinic or workshop. Your worker may be alone, the layout changes every time, pets may be present, family members may be in the home, and you may not know about hazards until someone arrives at the door.

The good news is that you don't need a perfect system. You need a practical one that helps your team spot risks early, make safe decisions on the job, and know when to pause, leave or call for help.

What Does Health And Safety For Home Visits Require?

Health and safety for home visits requires you to identify the risks your team may face in client homes and put sensible controls in place before, during and after the visit.

Under the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015, a business that's a PCBU has a primary duty of care to protect workers and others from work-related health and safety risks, so far as is reasonably practicable. In plain English, you need to do what a careful business in your position would reasonably do, taking into account the likelihood of harm, how serious it could be, what you know about the risk, and what steps are available to manage it.

For home visits, common risks include:

• Workers being alone with a client, family member or other person in the home
• Aggressive, intoxicated or unpredictable behaviour
• Dogs or other animals
• Slips, trips and falls, including stairs, clutter, wet areas and poor lighting
• Manual handling, such as moving equipment or helping a person transfer
• Exposure to illness, bodily fluids, mould, smoke, chemicals or sharps
• Driving between visits and parking in unfamiliar areas
• Electrical hazards, tools, ladders or equipment used on site
• Psychosocial risks, including stress, fatigue, isolation and exposure to distressing situations

WorkSafe New Zealand expects businesses to take a risk management approach. That doesn't mean you need to eliminate every possible risk, which often isn't realistic in a private home. It does mean you should think ahead, record your process, train your team and review what happens in practice.

For example, if you run a cleaning business and your staff visit homes alone, it may be reasonable to require a pre-visit client questionnaire, clear booking terms, a check-in system, rules around pets being secured, and clear authority for staff to leave if they feel unsafe.

Who Is Responsible When Your Team Works In A Client's Home?

You're responsible for the safety of your workers while they're doing work for your business, even when the work happens inside someone else's home.

A client's home can still be a workplace for the purposes of the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015. You may not own or control the home, but you do control things like who attends, what work is accepted, what information you collect beforehand, what equipment is used, how workers check in, and what they're allowed to do if the job becomes unsafe.

You may also share duties with other PCBUs. For example, if your allied health business sends a practitioner to a home as part of a funded care package arranged by another provider, both organisations may need to consult, cooperate and coordinate with each other about safety.

Practically, this can mean agreeing on:

• Who collects home risk information before the first visit
• Who updates the risk profile if the client's condition or household changes
• What happens if a worker reports aggression, unsafe access or environmental hazards
• How urgent risks are communicated between organisations
• Whether two workers are needed for certain visits

Your workers also have duties to take reasonable care for their own health and safety and to follow reasonable instructions. However, you shouldn't rely on workers to improvise their way through unsafe situations. Your systems should back them up.

How Do You Manage Lone Worker Risks During Home Visits?

You manage lone worker risks by knowing where your worker is, checking that the visit is going to plan, and giving them a clear exit and escalation process.

Lone work is common in home-based care, cleaning, maintenance, mobile beauty, veterinary visits, allied health and disability support. It isn't automatically unlawful, but it does need careful planning because help may not be nearby if something goes wrong.

Use A Pre-Visit Risk Check

Before the first visit, ask practical questions that help you understand the environment. Keep the questions respectful and relevant, especially where you're collecting personal information under your privacy policy.

Your pre-visit check might ask about:

• Access to the property, including stairs, gates, parking and lighting
• Dogs or other animals on the property
• Smoking, mould, infection risks or hygiene concerns
• Other people who may be present during the visit
• Behavioural risks, such as previous aggression or threats
• Equipment needed for the job
• Any mobility, lifting or transfer requirements

If you collect health information or other personal information, the Privacy Act 2020 applies. You should only collect what you reasonably need, tell clients why you're collecting it, keep it secure, and limit who can access it in your business.

Set Up Check-Ins

A simple check-in process can make a big difference. For example, your worker might check in through an app or text when they arrive, when the visit ends, and if the visit runs longer than expected.

You can set rules such as:

• If a worker doesn't check out within 15 minutes of the expected finish time, the supervisor calls them
• If there's no response, the supervisor follows an escalation plan
• If a worker uses an agreed code word, the supervisor calls them back with a reason to leave
• High-risk visits require two workers or a supervisor call before and after

Choose a system your team will actually use. A policy that looks good on paper but doesn't fit the working day won't protect anyone.

Give Workers Permission To Leave

Your workers should know they can leave a home visit if they reasonably believe they're at serious risk. You can make this much easier by writing it into your policy and training.

For example, Mike runs a small maintenance business in Hamilton. One of his technicians arrives to repair a cupboard and finds the client is intoxicated, shouting and blocking the hallway. Mike's policy says the technician can leave immediately, call the office from the car and record what happened. That clear rule protects the technician and avoids a debate about whether they should have stayed to finish the job.

What Should Your Home Visit Safety Policy Cover?

Your home visit safety policy should cover how you assess risk, prepare for visits, communicate during the visit, respond to incidents and update your systems.

It doesn't need to be a huge manual. For many SMEs, a clear and practical policy is more useful than a long document no one reads.

A good home visit safety policy should usually cover:

• Scope: which services and workers the policy applies to
• Pre-visit screening: what you ask clients before booking or attending
• Risk ratings: how you decide whether a visit is low, medium or high risk
• Minimum controls: check-ins, PPE, equipment, parking, lighting and travel rules
• Two-person visits: when a second worker is required
• Pets: when animals must be secured before your worker enters
• Manual handling: lifting, moving equipment and when work must stop
• Infection control: hygiene, illness, PPE and rescheduling rules
• Aggression and harassment: what behaviour is unacceptable and what workers can do
• Emergency steps: who to call and when to contact emergency services
• Incident reporting: what must be recorded and who reviews it
• Training: what workers must understand before doing home visits alone

You should also make sure your employment agreements, contractor agreements, service agreements and client terms support the policy. For instance, your client terms can say that your business may refuse, suspend or reschedule a visit if the site is unsafe, pets aren't secured, required equipment isn't available, or your worker is threatened or harassed.

Templates can be a useful starting point, but home visit risks vary a lot between industries. A disability support provider, a mobile hairdresser and an electrical maintenance business won't need the same controls, so your documents work best when they're tailored to the way your team actually works.

Can You Refuse Or Stop A Home Visit If It Feels Unsafe?

Yes, you can refuse or stop a home visit where there's a genuine safety concern, provided your approach is reasonable, consistent and supported by your contracts and policies.

From an employer perspective, you shouldn't pressure a worker to keep working in a situation that presents an unmanaged serious risk. If a visit becomes unsafe, the practical next step is usually to stop the work, leave if needed, document what happened and decide whether the service can continue with extra controls.

Your client-facing terms can help set expectations early. They might say clients must:

• Provide safe access to the property
• Secure dogs and other animals before the visit starts
• Make sure a responsible adult is present if required for the service
• Not threaten, abuse, harass or intimidate your team
• Tell you about hazards that could affect the visit
• Accept that you may reschedule, refuse or end a visit for safety reasons

You also need to be careful not to make decisions that could be discriminatory under New Zealand law. For example, you should focus on the specific safety risk and the controls available, not assumptions about a person's disability, age, ethnicity or health status. Sometimes the right answer is to adjust how the service is delivered, such as sending two workers, using different equipment or scheduling during daylight hours.

If the issue is a one-off hazard, like a wet entryway or unsecured dog, rescheduling may be enough. If the issue is repeated aggression or serious threats, you may need to decide whether your business can safely continue providing the service at all.

How Do Contractors And Subcontractors Fit In?

Contractors and subcontractors still need to be covered by your health and safety systems when they perform home visits for your business.

Under the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015, your duty extends to workers, and that can include contractors and subcontractors. You shouldn't assume a contractor will handle everything alone, especially if they're attending clients under your brand, your booking process or your service standards.

If you use contractors for home visits, your contractor agreement or provider agreement should clearly cover:

• Health and safety obligations and safe work procedures
• Pre-visit risk information and reporting requirements
• Insurance expectations
• Required licences, certifications or qualifications
• Equipment and PPE responsibilities
• Confidentiality and privacy obligations
• When the contractor can refuse or stop unsafe work
• Incident reporting and cooperation with investigations

You should also think carefully about employment status. Calling someone a contractor doesn't automatically make them one. Since 21 February 2026, the Employment Relations Act 2000 has included a contractor gateway test. If the gateway criteria are met, the worker is a specified contractor and is excluded from the definition of employee. If the criteria aren't met, the common law test still applies. If you rely on individual contractors who work regular shifts, wear your uniform, follow detailed instructions and are integrated into your business, it's worth getting tailored advice on the structure.

This matters because misclassification can create employment law, tax and operational problems. It can also blur who is responsible for training, supervision, leave entitlements and day-to-day safety controls.

What Records Should You Keep For Home Visit Safety?

You should keep records that show how you identify risks, train your team, respond to incidents and improve your systems over time.

Good records don't need to be complicated. They just need to be accurate, accessible and updated when things change.

Useful records include:

• Pre-visit risk assessment forms or booking notes
• Client safety information, with privacy controls
• Worker training records
• Check-in and check-out logs for lone workers
• Incident and near-miss reports
• Hazard reports and follow-up actions
• Vehicle and equipment maintenance records
• Copies of policies, procedures and updates
• Notes from safety meetings or toolbox talks

Some incidents may be notifiable to WorkSafe, such as a death, notifiable illness or injury, or a notifiable incident involving serious risk from an immediate or imminent exposure to a hazard. If a serious incident happens, you should get advice quickly on whether notification is required and what records to preserve.

For privacy, don't collect more client information than you need for safety and service delivery. If you store home access notes, health details, behavioural alerts, telehealth notes or family information, make sure your team only sees what they need for their role. A casual group chat can create privacy risks if sensitive client information is shared too widely or kept for too long.

Key Takeaways

• Client homes can be workplaces, so your health and safety duties don't stop at the front door.
• Home visits need practical controls for lone work, changing environments, aggression, pets, manual handling, infection risks and travel.
• Your workers should have clear permission to pause or leave a visit if they reasonably feel unsafe.
• Your policies, employment agreements, contractor agreements and client terms should work together so everyone knows the rules.
• If you use contractors for home visits, make sure your safety systems still cover them and review employment status risks under the current contractor gateway test.
• Good records help you spot patterns, improve your systems and respond properly if something goes wrong.

If you'd like help with your home visit safety policy, employment or contractor agreements, client terms and privacy processes, you can reach us at 0800 002 184 or team@sprintlaw.co.nz for a free, no-obligations chat.