Page 1 of 3
Title / Maintain compliance with legal requirements and regulatory codes and standards
Level / 5 / Credits / 5
Purpose / This unit standard is for people who have, or who are given, responsibility for ensuring organisational compliance with legislation and regulatory codes and standards for their area of responsibility.
People credited with this unit standard are able to: assess and comply with legal obligations on business operations; assess and comply with regulatory codes and standards; and monitor and review systems and procedures to ensure compliance with legal requirements and regulatory codes and standards.
Classification / Business Operations and Development > Systems and Resources Management
Available grade / Achieved
Explanatory notes
1Definitions
Operationsrefers to the production, distribution, and supply of products or services constituting the core business of the organisation, including the provision of support services.
Organisation refers to a specific business entity which may be – profit or non-profit; in private, public, or voluntary sectors; a business unit, iwi, or other special-purpose body.
Organisational requirements refer to instructions to staff on policy and procedures which may be documented and/or which may be generally understood in the workplace, and which may include but are not limited to – safety requirements, site specific requirements, company quality management requirements.
Legal obligations refers to applicable requirements of the Health and Safety in Employment Act 1992, Resource Management Act 1991, Employment Relations Act 2000, and any other legislation relating to the organisation or its operations.
2Regulatory codes and standards include New Zealand and international standards and codes of practice binding on the organisation, and the ethical codes of professional and industry bodies to which the organisation subscribes.
3People will be assessed against this unit standard on the basis of evidence of demonstrated and repeatable performance in the workplace.
Outcomes and evidence requirements
Outcome 1
Assess and comply with legal obligations on business operations.
Evidence requirements
1.1Existing and projected business operations are evaluated against applicable statutes, regulations, and bylaws to ensure their legal status and to identify any specific permissions, prohibitions, or conditions which may apply.
1.2Potential constraints and obstacles to business operations and plans arising from current law and projected legislation are taken into account in decision-making.
1.3The effect of legal obligations on specific business operations is communicated in a clear format to all operating personnel with responsibility for compliance.
1.4The proper application of statutes, regulations, and bylaws to specific business problems and situations ensures that the organisation acts lawfully in the exercise of its rights and responsibilities.
1.5Professional legal advice is obtained to protect the organisation in difficult or precedent cases or where, on a given set of facts, there is ambiguity or doubt as to the true construction of the law.
Outcome 2
Assess and comply with regulatory codes and standards.
Evidence requirements
2.1Regulatory codes and standards that apply to the organisation, individuals, teams, and the work area are identified.
2.2Compliance systems and procedures are assessed in relation to applicable regulatory codes and standards.
2.3Explanatory material on applicable and current regulatory codes and standards is made available to persons responsible for their observance and clearly shows how compliance will be maintained and monitored.
2.4Compliance systems and procedures provide for contingency action in emergencies or other circumstances where compliance cannot be maintained.
2.5Any training initiatives required to implement compliance are identified.
Outcome 3
Monitor and review systems and procedures to ensure compliance with legal obligations and regulatory codes and standards.
Evidence requirements
3.1Procedures to monitor compliance are implemented in accordance with organisational requirements.
3.2Information is gathered and analysed, and areas of non-compliance are identified, recorded and reported to the responsible persons.
3.3Remedial actions required to achieve compliance are implemented expeditiously with all responsible persons advised of actions and implications.
3.4Improvements to maintaining compliance are identified, evaluated, documented, and implemented in accordance with organisational requirements.
This unit standard is expiring. Assessment against the standard must take place by the last date for assessment set out below.
Status information and last date for assessment for superseded versions
Process / Version / Date / Last Date for AssessmentRegistration / 1 / 31 August 1996 / 31 December 2018
Revision / 2 / 7 September 1999 / 31 December 2018
Review / 3 / 17 April 2009 / 31 December 2018
Review / 4 / 17 November 2011 / 31 December 2018
Rollover / 5 / 15 August 2013 / 31 December 2018
Consent and Moderation Requirements (CMR) reference / 0113
This CMR can be accessed at
Please note
Providers must be granted consent to assess against standards (accredited) by NZQA, before they can report credits from assessment against unit standards or deliver courses of study leading to that assessment.
Industry Training Organisations must be granted consent to assess against standards by NZQA before they can register credits from assessment against unit standards.
Providers and Industry Training Organisations, which have been granted consent and which are assessing against unit standards must engage with the moderation system that applies to those standards.
Requirements for consent to assess and an outline of the moderation system that applies to this standard are outlined in the Consent and Moderation Requirements (CMR). The CMR also includes useful information about special requirements for organisations wishing to develop education and training programmes, such as minimum qualifications for tutors and assessors, and special resource requirements.
NZQA National Qualifications ServicesSSB Code 130301 / New Zealand Qualifications Authority 2018