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A Dunedin businessman fears if sporting and community organisations can be prosecuted under new safety legislation, their governing bodies may drop their support.

NZ Safety Brokers director Graham Roper, of Dunedin, said he was concerned volunteer organisations might not be not exempt from prosecution under the Health and Safety at Work Act, which came into force in May.

WorkSafe New Zealand was working to prosecute Motorcycling New Zealand, after a spectator was killed at a motocross event in Cambridge in May.

Motorcycling NZ could be held accountable because it used volunteers and employed administrative staff, he said.

The motocross course was not a workplace, so the Act should not apply, he said.

He feared the same scenario could happen at a rugby ground, if a rugby player seriously injured or killed a spectator, he said.

He was concerned if the rugby club was a volunteer organisation, it would not be prosecuted under the Act but the overarching governing body, such as the New Zealand Rugby Union, could, because it had paid staff.

"Which is just ridiculous ... It’s not the intent of the Act."

WorkSafe was "drawing a ridiculously long bow" by qualifying volunteer organisations as people conducting a business or undertaking.

He feared it would stop governing bodies working with volunteer groups, he said.

Workplace Relations and Safety Michael Woodhouse declined to answer questions from the Otago Daily Times yesterday and directed question to WorkSafe.

A WorkSafe spokesman said volunteers were ‘‘a valued and essential’’ part of community organisations.

"Organisations that exist for a community purpose and are supported by volunteers, with no paid employees, including sports clubs, are exempt from the Health and Safety at Work Act."

The Act specifically excludes volunteers assisting with sports or recreation for sports clubs, recreation clubs and educational institutes, such as schools.

The investigation into the incident at Cambridge was ongoing and WorkSafe could not provide further detail until the investigation had concluded, he said.

Motorcycling New Zealand was one of the entities covered as part of the investigation because it was involved in the running of the event in which the incident occurred.Motorcycling New Zealand was not a purely voluntary organisation and had duties under the Act, he said.

shawn.mcavinue@odt.co.nz