Descriptions of the legislative and administrative changes that have occurred in New Zealand from 1981 to 1992 as representing a hazards management or risk management approach to occupational safety and health (OSH), while accurate, do not adequately depict all the changes that have occurred, nor the continuities that remain. A better description and understanding can be arrived at by discriminating more carefully between the different approaches that were put forward in the period. The situation can be better described as having evolved from Government Management through to Tripartite Management and then to a new system of Employer Hazard Management . These changes are significant for two reasons. First, the changes demonstrate a growth in independence from overseas examples in New Zealand's OSH policy towards one that reflects the dominant OSH philosophy found amongst senior government officials and big business. Second, the changes clearly reflect the existence of class conflict and politics in New Zealand.