Safely working at heights
30 September 2025
Under New Zealand’s Health and Safety at Work Act, the Body Corporate is a PCBU and has a primary duty to ensure the health and safety of workers, residents, visitors, and others affected by its work.
Roof anchor systems have already been installed on the maisonette buildings, and specialist advice from Verticalis has guided a broader review of working at heights safety.
As a result, the Body Corporate will install anchors on star block and row house roofs, introduce annual certification, implement a roof access permit system, and fund advanced height safety training for the Building and Grounds Manager.
A new Long-term Maintenance Plan budget line, Health and Safety – Working at Heights, has been created with NZ$150,000 (excl GST) allocated to fund these initiatives.
Under New Zealand’s Health and Safety at Work Act, the Body Corporate is a PCBU (Person Conducting a Business or Undertaking). This gives it a primary duty of care to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health and safety of workers and others affected by its work – including contractors, residents, visitors, and the public. That duty includes providing safe systems of work, safe plant and structures, proper training and supervision, and monitoring workplace conditions.
Recently, abseil and fall arrest roof anchors were installed on the two maisonette roofs at 148 Howe St.
All three of our maisonette roofs, located at 79 Beresford St West and 148 Howe St, now have roof anchor systems. This was a priority due to the design of their roofs.
The Body Corporate commissioned and received specialist advice from Verticalis, a professional safe working at heights company, about managing the risks associated with height works on the roofs of star blocks and row houses, and working at heights safety more generally.
As a result, the Body Corporate has decided to:
Purchase abseil and fall arrest anchors for installation on star block and row house roofs.
Obtain annual certification of abseil and fall arrest anchors.
Engage a supplier to create a system for the Body Corporate to issue roof permits for suppliers needing to access our roofs and work safely at heights.
Fund advanced working at heights training for the Building and Grounds Manager.
To properly support these initiatives, the Committee resolved to add a new budget line to the current Long-term Maintenance Plan, Health and Safety – Working at Heights, with a budget allocation of NZ$150,000 (excl GST).
Together, these measures – physical safety systems, training, clear processes, and ongoing certification – will help to ensure that Freemans Park’s suppliers can work safely at heights here, and allow Freemans Park’s ongoing maintenance programme to proceed responsibly and without unnecessary risk.