Commitment to Te Tiriti o Waitangi
Table Tennis NZ recognises Te Tiriti o Waitangi as Aotearoa New Zealand’s founding document and is committed to upholding the mana of Te Tiriti o Waitangi and the principles of Partnership, Protection and Participation.
Policy 12: Health and Safety
Table Tennis NZ is committed to providing a safe and healthy environment for everyone on its premises. People should be protected against harm as far as possible, and health and safety hazards should be identified and addressed uuiclly and thoroughly. Table Tennis NZ believes maintaining a safe and healthy environment is everyone’s responsibility, though it aclnowledges everyone will have different roles and responsibilities.
Table Tennis NZ’s Health and Safety Policy aims to:
- support an environment at Table Tennis NZ that is safe and healthy
- provide a process for proactively identifying, reducing, and eliminating hazards and risks to health and safety at Table Tennis NZ
Application
This policy applies to everyone within Table Tennis NZ, or organisations affiliated to Table Tennis NZ and their members. This includes as a participant, employee, contractor or volunteer, player, official (referee or umpire), Board or committee member or office holders, administrator, coach, supervisor, manager, member, caregiver, parent, whānau or supporter.
Appointment of Health and Safety Officer
At least one member of Table Tennis NZ is to be appointed as a Health and Safety Officer, the Table Tennis NZ Operations Manager. The Health and Safety Officer is responsible for:
- updating and maintaining the Hazard Identification Register
- maintaining the Visitor Register
- completing Incident Reporting Forms
- undertaking a dedicated three-monthly hazard identification process, including:
- physical inspections of the premises, equipment, and practices
- analysis of tasks and how they are carried out by employees/volunteers
- analysis of processes carried out on the premises
- analysis of previous ‘near miss’ incidents
- reporting to the Committee/Board on identified hazards, incidents and near misses
- overseeing the implementation and management of this Health and Safety Policy
Responsibilities
Everyone will:
- take reasonable care of their own health and safety
- take reasonable care to ensure their actions or inactions do not affect the health and safety of others
- share the responsibility equally, by identifying and reporting hazards, near misses and incidents using the Hazard Identification Register and Incident Reporting Form to the Health and Safety Officer
- join in relevant health and safety training as required
- follow this Health and Safety Policy
The Board and CEO will:
- provide and maintain a safe and healthy environment at Table Tennis NZ, including making sure Table Tennis NZ’s premises, equipment and activities meet appropriate health and safety standards
- appoint at least one Health and Safety Officer
- make health and safety a permanent agenda item at all meetings
- ensure employees, volunteers and contractors use safe ways of working
- provide all information, training and supervision required to minimise health and safety risks
- address identified hazards and actions required from reported incidents/near misses
- provide specific opportunities for employees/ volunteers to raise health and safety issues and suggest areas for improving Table Tennis NZ’s health and safety processes
Employees/volunteers will:
- prioritise health and safety in everything they do
- supervise the children/young people in their care
- make sure they understand what good health and safety practices look like in the context of table tennis
Contractors will:
- comply with all regulations, and codes of practice applying to their trade or profession
- advise the Health and Safety Officer of all hazardous equipment, machinery or substances that are brought onto Table Tennis NZ’s premises
- record any incident or near miss on the Incident Reporting Form and provide it to the Health and Safety Officer
- use all safety clothing/equipment required to minimise the risk of injury to themselves and others
Visitors will:
- fill in the Visitor Register when entering Table Tennis NZ’s premises
- supervise their children, as and when required.
Emergency Procedures
The emergency event procedures for Table Tennis NZ are:
- For Table Tennis NZ tournaments – apply the Emergency Event Procedures for the venue being used for a Table Tennis NZ tournament
- The emergency procedures for the Table Tennis NZ office located in the Auckland Table Tennis Stadium are located and on display in the building
Affiliated organisations and their members should ensure they have Emergency Procedures for the venues that the organisation occupies or uses most often.
Reporting a breach:
Individuals who wish to report an alleged breach of this policy should follow the complaints procedure outlined in Policy 19, Complaints, Disciplinary, Disputes and Appeals Policy.
Version: February 2025