The Fair Trading Act 1986 protects you against being misled or treated unfairly by traders or shops.
The Act prohibits what is called "misleading or deceptive conduct, false representations and unfair practices". It also sets out when information about certain products must be disclosed to consumers, and helps ensure products are safe.
The Act applies to everyone in trade. As well as traders and shops, the Act covers government agencies and state-owned enterprises. Most of the Act does not cover private sales.
The difference between the Fair Trading Act (FTA) and the Consumer Guarantees Act (CGA) is that, in general, the FTA covers claims about products and services prior to sale and the CGA covers the quality of those products and services after they have been bought.
Under the Act, your consumer rights are expressed as a series of "guarantees" that a seller automatically makes to you when you buy any good or service ordinarily purchased for personal use. We explain them below.
Goods
Retailers and other such suppliers guarantee their goods will:
- Be of acceptable quality (see definition below).
- Be fit for a particular purpose that you asked about.
- Match the description given in advertisements or sales brochures, or by the sales assistant.
- Match the sample or demonstration model.
- Be owned by the consumer, once purchased.
- Be a reasonable price, if no price or pricing formula has been previously agreed.
Manufacturers (the definition includes importers) in New Zealand guarantee that:
- Spare parts and repair facilities will be available for a reasonable time.
- They will honour any written warranty that comes with their products.
- Goods are of acceptable quality.
- Goods match their description.
Services
Service providers guarantee their services will be:
- Performed with reasonable care and skill.
- Fit for the particular purpose they were supplied for.
- Completed within a reasonable time.
- A reasonable price, if no price or pricing formula has been previously agreed.
Acceptable quality
This means goods:
- Do what they are made to do.
- Are acceptable in appearance and finish.
- Are free from minor defects.
- Are safe and durable.
The Act's terms "reasonable" and "acceptable" are deliberately open-ended. It depends on what a reasonable consumer would think was acceptable based on the nature of the goods, the price, and any statements that have been made about the goods. A concert violin is required to meet a higher standard than a child's cheap instrument. Ultimately a tribunal referee or a judge may have to decide what is reasonable or acceptable in the circumstances.
If a defect was pointed out to you before you bought the good, then it doesn't count towards making it unacceptable.
Trailers: Light simple trailers
This factsheet describes the legal dimension requirements in Land Transport Rule: Vehicle Dimensions and Mass 2002 of the dimension limits for light trailers. Please refer to Factsheet 13 for general dimension and mass limits and towing requirements.
This factsheet also includes changes made by Land Transport Rule: Vehicle Dimensions and Mass 2010 Amendment, in force from 1 May 2010. Dimensional changes have been highlighted to assist you to quickly determine how you might be affected, and indicate the previous limit.
For definitions of dimension and axle terms see Factsheet 13.
What is a light trailer?
Light trailers are vehicles:
- without motive power (ie, they don't have pedals or a motor to drive the wheels)
- with a maximum gross vehicle mass (usually specified by the manufacturer) of 3,500 kilograms or less. (The gross vehicle mass includes the maximum load that the trailer can carry.)
Light trailers includes class TA trailers (up to 0.75 tonnes) and class TB trailers (0.75 tonnes to 3.5 tonnes).
What is a light simple trailer?
A simple trailer has one, two or three axles arranged close together in an axle set. This is attached to the towing vehicle behind the axle closest to the rear of the vehicle.
A simple trailer is the most common type of light trailer. Most boat trailers, caravans, and garden trailers are simple trailers.
How are other types of light trailer classified?
Some boat trailers, caravans or garden trailers cannot be classified as simple trailers. Their design, or the points of attachment to the towing vehicle, is closer to the design described for heavy trailers inFactsheet 13c, Heavy combination vehicles. For details on other types of trailer, read this information on full, semi, simple and pole trailers, as well as A- and B-train combinations.
All the dimension requirements for heavy trailers in Factsheet 13c apply to light trailers, except that:
- light trailers have no minimum ground clearance (but if the suspension has been modified to less than 100mm ground clearance, it will have to be approved by a Low Volume Vehicle Certifier)
- vehicles towing light trailers don't have to meet the tow coupling positions specified for heavy trailers
- the maximum rear overhang for light trailers is 4.0 metres.
Light simple trailer dimension limits
Maximum width
The maximum width for a light simple trailer (including its load) is 2.5 metres (excluding side marker lights and direction indicators and the bulge towards the bottom of the tyre). An additional 25mm is allowed on each side of the vehicle for ropes, lashings, straps, chains, connectors and tensioning devices that are neither permanently nor rigidly fixed to the vehicle; or J-hooks (to secure stock crates or bins).
Maximum length
The maximum length for a light simple trailer (including drawbar and load) is 12.5 metres (previously 11.5 metres). For a towing vehicle and simple trailer combination (including load, but excluding collapsible mirrors), the maximum overall length is 22.0 metres (previously 20.0 metres).
Maximum height
The maximum height for a light simple trailer (including load) is 4.25 metres. You're allowed an extra 25mm above 4.25 metres for tarpaulins, covers and lashings, straps, chains, covers and related connectors and tensioning devices which aren't permanently or rigidly fixed to the vehicle.
All vehicles must be loaded in a safe manner, with a height appropriate to the type of load.
Maximum forward distance
For a simple trailer, forward distance means the distance from the rear axis of the trailer to the centre of the point of attachment on the towing vehicle. For definitions of rear axis see Factsheet 13.
The maximum forward distance is 8.5 metres.
Maximum rear overhang
For a simple trailer, rear overhang means the distance from the rear axis to the rear of the vehicle or its load, whichever is greater. For definitions of rear axis see Factsheet 13.
The maximum for all light trailers is 4.0 metres.
Minimum ground clearance
There are no minimum ground clearance requirements for light trailers (but if the suspension has been modified and the ground clearance is less than 100mm, it will have to be approved by a Low Volume Vehicle Certifier).
Maximum front overhang
For simple trailers, front overhang means the distance from the centre of the tow coupling to the foremost point of the vehicle (trailer, including its load). The maximum for light simple trailers is 2.04 metre radius arc ahead of the tow coupling.
Outside turning circle
The combination rigid vehicle and trailer or trailers (excluding collapsible mirrors) must be able to complete a 360-degree turn, to the left and to the right, within a circle of 25.0 metres diameter (wall to wall).
No part of a vehicle in a combination, other than its tow coupling, may come into contact with another vehicle in the combination.
What are the tow coupling requirements?
It is the driver's legal responsibility to ensure the trailer is safely and securely attached to the towing vehicle by an adequate tow coupling.
For a vehicle towing a light simple trailer, the tow coupling position can't be more than the maximum rear overhang allowed for that type of towing vehicle (for more information about towing see Factsheet 13c).
Please note that the maximum allowable length and forward distance of a rigid motor vehicle is less if it is towing a trailer.
Loading and towing a light simple trailer
Loading your trailer safely
If you tow a simple trailer, you need to be aware that the trailer can impose a large weight on the rear of your vehicle. This weight can, by lever action through the chassis of the vehicle, reduce the effective mass bearing on the front axle(s) of your vehicle. It is important, therefore, that you load your trailer carefully so the load is distributed centrally over the axle(s) of the trailer. This will allow your vehicle to maintain front-wheel grip on the road, so you can continue to steer it safely.
Note: There needs to be a downward force, of approximately 10 percent of the weight of the trailer and its load, on the tow coupling of a simple trailer, to ensure it remains stable while being towed.
The number of trailers you can tow
A light rigid vehicle may tow only one trailer.
Light tractors may tow two light trailers if the manufacturer's rating on the tractor allows this, and if the tractor doesn't exceed 50km/h.
A heavy rigid vehicle (but not a bus) may tow two trailers under certain conditions. See Factsheet 13cfor more information on towing two trailers with a rigid heavy vehicle.
Intervehicle spacing
Intervehicle spacing means the distance between the towing vehicle (excluding the tow coupling shroud) and the trailer (excluding the drawbar but including the load). The maximum for light simple trailers is 4.0 metres.
There's no minimum spacing. The trailer (or its load) can overhang the towing vehicle.
Requirements for passenger service vehicles towing a trailer
A heavy passenger service vehicle (eg, a bus) may tow only one light trailer (ie only one trailer with a gross vehicle mass up to 3.5 tonnes).
A light passenger service vehicle (eg, a van or taxi) may tow only one light trailer with a gross vehicle less than 2.0 tonnes.
An articulated bus may not tow a trailer.
What speeds are allowed for vehicles towing simple trailers?
- A light vehicle towing a trailer is limited to a maximum open-road speed of 90km/h.
- A heavy vehicle towing a trailer is limited to a maximum open-road speed of 90km/h.
- School buses towing a trailer are limited to maximum open road speed of 80km/h.
Drivers also need to obey any lower speed limits that apply on particular roads.
What are the limits for projecting loads?
Vehicles may carry loads that are higher, longer or wider than the vehicle itself, provided the load doesn't exceed the maximum permitted dimensions for that class and type of vehicle, and provided the vehicle can be moved safely when loaded. It's the operator's responsibility to ensure the load is properly secured to the vehicle so the vehicle remains stable at all times.
You need to read Factsheet 53, Overdimension vehicles and loads if the load exceeds any of the standard dimension limits.
Loads that overhang the outside of the body or deck of the vehicle by more than 1m to the front or rear, or more than 200mm to the left or right side, need to carry special warning devices attached to the overhanging end(s) of the load, see Factsheet 13.
During the hours of daylight, there must be either:
- a clean white, or fluorescent red, orange or yellow flag, at least 400mm long by 300mm wide, or
- a frangible hazard warning panel, at least 400mm long by 300mm wide, showing an orange diagonal stripe (200mm wide) against a yellow green background, facing forwards or rearwards.
During the hours of darkness, the flags or hazard panels must be replaced with lights attached to the load.
- Loads more than 1 metre wide and extending more than 1 metre from the rear of the vehicle must have one red lamp (facing toward the rear) on each side of load.
- Loads up to 1 metre wide and extending more than 1 metre from the rear of the vehicle must have one red lamp (facing toward the rear) at the centre of load.
- Loads more than 1 metre wide and extending from the front of the vehicle must have one white or amber lamp (facing toward the front) on each side of load.
- Loads up to 1 metre wide and extending more than 1 metre from the front of the vehicle must have one white or amber lamp (facing toward the front) at the centre of load.
- Loads extending more than 200mm beyond the side of the body of the vehicle must have one red lamp (facing toward the rear) on each side of the load at the rear and one white or amber lamp (facing toward the front) on each side of the load at the front.
These lights need to be clearly visible in clear weather at a distance of at least 200 metres during the hours of darkness.
Displaying these lights at night is an operating requirement that applies to all vehicles, regardless of when they were first registered.
In the diagram above, the boat is the load on the trailer. It has a raised outboard motor that projects more than 1 metre behind the rear of the trailer.
If the distance from the rear of the trailer to the most rearward point of the load is more than 1 metre (and the projecting part is less than 1 metre wide), one warning device must be attached to the centre of the projecting part of the load:
- In daylight, this may be a flag or hazard panel (facing backwards).
- During the legal hours of darkness, this may be a red light visible from at least 200 metres away.
Health and Safety
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT: HEALTH AND SAFETY
Who should read this?
- Employers who employ adults, young workers and young people under 15 years of age
- Employers who engage the services of contractors, subcontractors, volunteers, and persons receiving on-the-job training
Why is it important?
- To ensure a safe and healthy work environment, and avoid tragic and costly accidents.
- All employers have duties under the Health and Safety in Employment Act 1992 to take all practicable steps to ensure the safety of employees at work, and other people in the workplace.
- Good health and safety management practices encourage higher staff retention and increased productivity and efficiency
What you need to do
The key steps associated with health and safety management are outlined below:
- know your legal responsibilities
- make a commitment to health and safety in the workplace
- plan how you will implement a safe working environment
- identify, assess and manage hazards
- provide information, training and supervision for employees
- report, record and investigate incidents, injuries and illnesses
- involve employees in the process to improve health and safety
- plan and be ready for emergencies
- include contractors and subcontractors in your hazard management processes
- help employees return to normal work after injury
The page provides a checklist of the key tasks involved with each step. It provides a description of your key legal duties as an employer, together with other good practices for managing health and safety in smaller workplaces. Further information is available on: www.osh.dol.govt.nz or by contacting us on 0800 20 90 20.
More detailed health and safety information is available from the Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC) and references are included on this webpage.
HAZARD MANAGEMENT PROCESS
Click image to view larger copy and text of content
Footnote 1: A ‘significant hazard’ is one that is an actual or potential source of serious harm or other harms arising from the exposure to the hazard.
HEALTH AND SAFETY CHECKLIST
If you answer no to any of the questions you may need more information.
| Legal requirements | Yes | No | n/a |
|---|---|---|---|
| Do you know that creating a safe and healthy workplace is a legal requirement? | |||
| Do you know what your responsibilities are under the Health and Safety in Employment Act 1992? | |||
| Do you know that your employees have responsibilities for health and safety too? | |||
| Do you know that you can’t insure against a fine or infringement fee that is imposed if the Act is breached? | |||
| Do you know there are specific restrictions on hiring young people under 15 years for hazardous work? | |||
| Do you know there are specific restrictions on hiring young people under 16 years to work between 10pm and 6am? | |||
| Do you know that in most cases, if you have someone doing ongoing and regular voluntary work as an integral part of your business, you have a duty to ensure their health and safety? | |||
| Do you know that for any volunteer doing work activity for you, you must take account of hazards in planning their work? | |||
| Do you know that you must ensure the health and safety of people on work experience? | |||
| Do you know there are specific legal requirements if you engage contractors and subcontractors? | |||
| Do you know that all employers must belong to ACC’s workplace insurance scheme? |
| Employer commitment | Yes | No | n/a |
|---|---|---|---|
| Are you able to demonstrate an active, consultative commitment to all areas of health and safety management in the workplace? | |||
| Do you have a documented and up-to-date health and safety policy? | |||
| Do you consider injury prevention issues at senior management meetings? |
For more information visit ACC
| Planning | Yes | No | n/a |
|---|---|---|---|
Have you reviewed existing practices in:
| |||
| Have you determined the milestones you need to complete to successfully implement injury prevention plans? | |||
| Do you link injury prevention to other forms of business planning? |
For more information visit ACC
| Hazard identification, assessment and control | Yes | No | n/a |
|---|---|---|---|
| Do you know that you must ensure you have effective processes for systematically identifying and assessing hazards? | |||
| Have you identified specific injury hazards in your workplace? | |||
| Do you record and investigate all accidents and near misses to determine if they were caused by a ‘significant’ hazard? | |||
| Have you developed and implemented action plans for significant hazards to eliminate/reduce likelihood of harm? | |||
| Do you know your responsibilities regarding the provision of protective clothing and equipment? | |||
| Are you aware of requirements relating to specific hazards that may exist in your business? |
For more information visit the Department of Labour
| Information, training and supervision | Yes | No | n/a |
|---|---|---|---|
| Do you know you have a legal obligation to train your employees on hazards to which they are exposed; the use of safety equipment and clothing; emergency procedures; and Health and Safety systems and issues? | |||
| Do you know that you must provide employees with ready access to clear information about emergencies, identifiable hazards, and where to find all necessary safety clothing, devices and equipment? | |||
| Have you ensured your employees are informed of their own and your responsibilities for health and safety in the workplace? | |||
| Have you developed induction and ongoing education packages in the ACC WorkSafe Cycle, the ACC WorkSafe Injury Model and the actions required to manage injury factors? | |||
| Are you educating staff in injury prevention issues at least six monthly? | |||
| Are your staff trained and supervised by a knowledgeable and experienced person? |
For more information visit ACC
| Incident and injury reporting, recording and investigation | Yes | No | n/a |
|---|---|---|---|
| Do you know the difference between an incident and an injury? | |||
| Do you know that you must have a system that ensures incidents and injuries are reported, recorded and investigated and that the appropriate corrective action is taken? | |||
| Have you implemented a system to analyse incident and injury data (and report results to management and staff)? | |||
| Do you know what ‘serious harm’ is and that you need to notify the Department of Labour if it occurs and manage the hazards that caused it? |
For more information visit ACC and the Department of Labour
| Emergency readiness | Yes | No | n/a |
|---|---|---|---|
| Do you know that you must have an emergency plan to manage all types of emergency likely to happen in any part of your workplace? | |||
| Have emergency procedures been implemented and communicated to staff? | |||
| Do you have designated wardens for each work area to take control in an emergency? | |||
| Do you test your emergency procedures periodically? | |||
| Do you review and update emergency plans? |
For more information visit ACC
| Employee participation | Yes | No | n/a |
|---|---|---|---|
| Do you know that your employees must have the opportunity to be involved in developing safe workplace practices? | |||
| Are you aware that a business with fewer than 30 employees requires the development of an employee participation system when one or more employees request it? | |||
| Do you know that employees may elect health and safety representatives, and they are entitled to paid health and safety representative training? | |||
| Have you ensured that injury prevention is part of all weekly staff meetings? |
For more information visit the Department of Labour
| Contractor management | Yes | No | n/a |
|---|---|---|---|
| Do you have a system to ensure that contractors, subcontractors and their employees are not harmed on-site? | |||
| Have you developed a health and safety clause to be written into all contracts? | |||
| Have you ensured that induction to on-site health and safety procedures is coordinated by a designated person(s) for all contracted staff? |
For more information visit ACC
| Return to Work | Yes | No | n/a |
|---|---|---|---|
| Do you have a system in place to help injured employees make the transition back to work? |
For more information visit ACC
HOW TO RESOLVE ISSUES RELATING TO HEALTH AND SAFETY
The employee participation provisions in the Health and Safety in Employment Actare intended to promote communication between employers and their employees. Most workplace health and safety issues will be resolved by employers and employees working together in good faith. Employers can also get help from guides like approved codes of practice, and from advisors like industry associations and health and safety professionals. When an employer and a trained health and safety representative cannot agree on a way to resolve a potentially hazardous situation in a workplace, a hazard notice may be used.
Hazard notice
- a hazard notice is a formal notification that may be issued by a trained health and safety representative where there is a lack of agreement as to whether a situation is hazardous or if it is, how best to manage the hazard, or if the employer refused to discuss the hazard.
- there is no penalty for receiving a hazard notice, however, it may count as prior warning for an infringement offence.
- a Department of Labour health and safety inspector can help to resolve the matter if good faith discussions have previously failed to do so.
For more information on Enforcement.
OTHER WAYS OF ENFORCEMENT
Improvement notice
Sometimes if discussion with an employer or another person does not give an inspector assurance that defects will be rectified the inspector can issue a formal document to require compliance.
This document is called an improvement notice and it means what it says – the recipient is required to take some action to comply with the Act.
The notice will specify:
- that the inspector believes there is, or will be a breach of the Act.
- what part of the Act is involved
- why the inspector thinks there is a breach
- what is the nature of the breach, and
- how long the person has to rectify the breach.
For more information on Improvement notices.
Prohibition notice
Sometimes an inspector will find a workplace situation so dangerous that it just has to be stopped.
To do that the inspector can issue a prohibition notice. The inspector has to feel that unless the hazardous activity is stopped serious harm is likely to occur to somebody.
The notice requires the employer or recipient to immediately stop the activity, machine, process etc.
The notice will specify:
- the hazard that is the problem
- why the inspector believes the hazard will cause serious harm.
For more information on Prohibition notices.
Infringement notice
A health and safety inspector may issue an infringement notice if:
- the inspector has reasonable grounds to believe that a person has failed to comply with their duties under the Act, and
- that person has had prior warning of their offence.
An infringement notice informs you that you have breached the Act and that you are required to pay an infringement fee. There are two categories of infringement fee:
- $800-$4,000 (in $100 increments) for breaches of the requirement to have a system for systematic hazard identification, and
- $100-$3,000 (in $100 increments) for all other breaches of the Act.
For more information on Infringement notices.
Prosecution and fines
The Department of labour’s overall approach to enforcement, notices and prosecutions is set out in our enforcement policy, Keeping Work Safe (published April 2009). This sets out how and why the
Department responds to non-compliance with the Health and Safety in Employment Act 1992.
Department responds to non-compliance with the Health and Safety in Employment Act 1992.
Prosecutions are taken in the most serious situations, such as wilful non-compliance or where the harm or potential for harm is severe, taking account of the public interest and the realistic prospect of conviction.
For most offences, the maximum fine following conviction is $250,000, although in cases where the person’s action or failure to act occurs, and they know it is likely to cause serious harm; the maximum fine is $500,000 and/or a maximum term of imprisonment of 2 years.
For more information on Prosecution and fines.
