HFESNZ Newsletter - May 2026
Note from the Chair - Joanne Crawford
Kia ora HFESNZ members,
I hope everyone is doing great and is winter-ready.
What have been up to since our last newsletter?
Membership Survey
Firstly running our membership survey. Thank you to those who responded, that was really helpful. For a survey, our response rate was not bad but I do appreciate that not everyone had the time to spend on it. Further results are available in this newsletter.
We are using the survey to understand more about what our members do, which fields of HFE they work in and from the suggestions developing a series of webinars until December. Announcements will be made shortly.
Ammendment to the Health and Safety at Work Act
HFESNZ responded to the consultation on this amendment by submitting to the consultation. All the consultation submissions made by the professional groups under HASANZ are available here https://www.hasanz.org.nz/information/hsreform.
I was invited to present to the Select Committee on behalf of HFESNZ and the basis of our submission was that a focus on critical risks ignores the majority of the harm being caused to our workers through WRMSDs; the carve out of SMEs (97% of businesses in New Zealand), will lead to a two-tier system and there is evidence to show that workers in SMEs are more at risk, and we need a balanced regulator who can both enforce and educate.
I don’t know where the bill will end up in this parliament but 343 submissions were made. This was followed up by a letter led by NZISM to the Minister and Select Committee members that we endorsed from HFESNZ.
Our letter is available here - https://www.nzism.org/news/rethink-of-hswa-amendment-bill-urged-0526
September One-day Conference
Like everyone else, I have been watching the events in the Middle East and wondering how they are going to impact us in the longer term.
We are planning on hosting a Wellington event on the 16th of September so please add that to the diary now. This year is our 40th birthday so lets get together and celebrate and plan for the next 40 years. If there is a need to pivot to something else, COVID-19 taught us we can do that too.
This event will be the day before the HASANZ conference so a good opportunity to network and find out more about what is going on within our membership. In terms of planning, I am looking for some volunteers to help with this conference as we will put a call out for abstracts and put together a programme. Please send me an email to chair@hfesnz.org.nz
Keep an eye on our website and LinkedIn page as we go through 2026.
Joanne
Special Interest Groups
Healthcare Special Interest Group
Save the date! Upcoming ‘Day in the Life’ and ‘Position Statement’ webinar on July 1st
The Healthcare Special Interest Group (SIG) is planning a webinar for July 1st, so join us to learn more about a ‘day in the life’ of your peers. The webinar will also introduce the position statement for HFE in healthcare. The statement was released earlier this year and can be found on the HFESNZ website here - click here.
You don’t have to be a healthcare specialist to attend – all welcome!
Registration details will follow closer to the date.
Transport Special Interest Group
The main activity of the Transport SIG has been to develop and roll out the Human Factors in the Land Transport Short Course.
Following last year's very successful inaugural one-day course at Auckland Transport, we are in the early planning stages of a second course, looking to establish the venue and partnerships after some preliminary conversations.
It will either be in Auckland or Wellington, but we also acknowledge the considerable challenges in the public sector which are making initiatives such as this difficult to support. We'll keep you posted as things emerge.
Update from the Professional Affairs Board
The PAB have met several times already in 2026. All major updates to the membership have been largely completed and we are happy to share that we have now finalised the Fellow Application forms. Please get in touch if you are wanting to apply for the first time or move from a Certified Member to a Fellow.
CPD Update: For the first time all Professional Members were asked to complete CPD, which was due at the end of April. There are still a few that are outstanding so if you may have forgotten to complete yours, please get in touch, or complete the forms using the previous links provided as soon as possible.
PAB Key Meeting Dates:
- 26 May - Review CPD submissions
- 23 June - Review new applications
- 27 October - Review new applications
For new applications, remember to submit these 3 weeks before these dates to allow the PAB Assessors to review your application.
Please email profmember@hfesnz.org.nz if you have any questions or you would like us to set up a folder link so you can submit your evidence.
Leanne Hunter | PAB Convenor
IEA Update
The International Ergonomics Association (IEA) has advanced several key global initiatives over the recent period, highlighted by the integration of emerging technologies and international policy partnerships.
A major focus has been exploring the impacts of artificial intelligence on resilient systems performance, alongside an active push to expand membership within its specialized Technical Committees.
Additionally, the IEA is working closely with the World Health Organization (WHO) to finalize practice guidance on applying human factors and ergonomics to patient safety.
On the regulatory front, the Executive Committee is finalising a foundational background document aimed at potentially establishing the first International Labour Organization (ILO) convention dedicated to human factors and ergonomics in the mid-term.
Operational and governance milestones feature prominently in recent developments, particularly regarding professional recognition and the alignment of global accreditation standards.
Following the Council meeting in Beijing, where the Bolivian Ergonomics and Human Factors Society was officially welcomed as the newest federated member, efforts have focused heavily on updating international certification frameworks.
In line with this, I have been leading and updating the IEA’s re-certification and endorsement processes, specifically revising the quality assurance rubrics and evaluation workflows to ensure full alignment with the updated 2021 Core Competencies. This ongoing work ensures that regional professional bodies worldwide maintain rigorous, modernized benchmarks for practitioner accreditation.
Next Congress. Looking ahead, strategic planning is intensifying for the next major global gathering, the IEA2027 Congress, which is confirmed for August 23–25, 2027, at the ExCeL Centre in London.
In the Media
The story is publicly available at:
https://www.safeguard.co.nz/magazine/engaging-the-cog-wheels/
Dr Stephven Kolose is Principal Ergonomist with CHASNZ’s Work Should Not Hurt programme.
In memory of Alex Stedmon
*Perceptual Rider Information to Maximise Expertise and Enjoyment.
Picture. Alex with members of the Coromandel Loop Perceptual Counter-measures team from Mackie Research and South Waikato District Council. Overlooking Coromandel Town, 2016.
Professor Alex Stedmon, known to many of us here in New Zealand, had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and passed away earlier this month, at home with his wife Donna, in the UK.
Alex was well-known and hugely respected across the HFE community worldwide. A Fellow and former President of the Chartered Institute of Ergonomics Human factors, he worked with many leading HFE university research teams in the UK including Nottingham, Coventry, Cardiff, Sheffield Hallam and Southampton.
Whilst latterly best-known as a leading expert witness in transport safety, earlier work covered an array of HFE problem areas: the identification of hostile intent in public spaces, the shaping of emerging technologies and tools for older users, evaluating new systems in aviation and air traffic control, naval operations analysis, interface assessment for speech recognition technology, and of course motorcycling.
Alex did a consistently poor job of concealing his delight for getting involved in anything to do with bikes.
From his early days developing a research-quality motorcycle simulator with support from Triumph UK, right through to receiving the 2023 Prince Michael International Road Safety Award for his PRIME* work with Transport Scotland he retained a due sense of guilt for being paid to do things he would have happily done anyway.
Fortunately for us, Alex was a dual UK-NZ citizen with strong family connections that led to regular visits during which he attended several of our conferences and events, twice as a keynote speaker.
He will be sadly missed, both professionally and as a friend.
Dave Moore. Auckland
Member Survey 2026 - Results
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