The National Picture
New Zealand recorded 209,400 work-related injury claims in 2024 — down 16,600 from 2023 and the lowest national injury rate per thousand full-time equivalent workers since 2002. That is a meaningful improvement in a sector that has long carried disproportionate injury risk. Trades workers as an occupational group still account for 34,400 claims — the highest of any occupational category — and injuries to the abdomen, pelvis, and lower back remain the most common, at 39,700 claims nationally.
Manufacturing, construction, agriculture, forestry, and fishing collectively account for 42 percent of workplace claims costs despite representing a smaller proportion of total employment. The concentration of risk in physically intensive sectors has not changed.
The Hawke’s Bay Problem
Against a national rate of 80 claims per 1,000 FTEs — itself the lowest recorded in more than two decades — the Gisborne and Hawke’s Bay region recorded 120 claims per 1,000 FTEs. That is 50 percent above the national average, and it represents the highest regional rate in the country. The region’s injury concentration reflects its industrial profile: significant agricultural activity, a high proportion of physical and outdoor work, and a workforce with a younger-than-average age profile in some sectors.
The Timing Challenge
The injury statistics are particularly significant given what is happening in construction in the region. Home consents for September 2025 showed 3,747 new homes nationally — a 27 percent increase year-on-year. In regions experiencing recovery, including parts of Hawke’s Bay rebuilding after Cyclone Gabrielle, that increase is concentrated into a construction sector that is taking on more work, often faster, with workforce pressures that have not fully resolved.
Rapid scaling of construction activity — new workers, unfamiliar sites, compressed project timelines — is consistently associated with increased injury risk. Managing that risk requires deliberate attention: adequate induction and supervision of new workers, site-specific hazard assessments before work begins, and management practices that do not allow timeline pressure to override safety protocols.
What the Numbers Require
For builders operating in Hawke’s Bay and Gisborne, the data is a prompt to review current practice. WorkSafe applies its inspection resources based in part on regional injury data — a high-injury region is more likely to see proactive compliance activity. The reputational and financial consequences of a serious harm incident in the current environment are significant. Investment in safety systems now — documented procedures, regular toolbox talks, proper equipment — is far less costly than the alternative.
