Duncan Faulkner and Brian Graham, of Cromwell, founded Auditz.io, a company which introduced a cloud-based safety management software programme and app designed to help adventure tourism operators to comply with new legislation.
Now Mr Faulkner is looking to help other businesses comply with the new health and safety laws, based on the Australian Model Work Health and Safety Act, which will replace the Health and Safety in Employment Act 1992.
The Bill is expected to pass by the end of this year and become law on April 1.
''The changes are huge,'' he said.
''They represent the biggest change New Zealand has ever seen in terms of health and safety - the Bill will affect every industry in New Zealand, really.''
The legislation aimed to address, among other things, New Zealand's ''awful'' workplace fatality and incident rate, which costs the country about $3.5 billion per annum.
In June the Otago Daily Times reported about 75 people die in the workplace annually.
Between 600 and 800 more die as a result of work illnesses. Mr Faulkner said the Bill was trying to ''hone in on responsibility'', but would affect every industry in New Zealand.
''A director of a company can no longer sit at their desk and receive reports to say health and safety is OK.
''Now employers have due diligence, directors are solely responsible for ... getting out in the workplace, understanding health and safety and making sure people are doing the right thing.''
Many believed it was enough to have a 10-year-old safety management document on a shelf in an office and did not understand new legislation meant they needed a ''complete system'' to proactively manage and reduce risk across all aspects of their businesses.
''The Bill shouldn't be the focus - the fact we are performing as a country so badly, this Bill is one of the many tools in place to try and improve health and safety.
''It's not a good thing to go to work and not come home again. As a local community, how can we pull together to reduce the awful workplace fatality rate?''
Mr Faulkner was working with businesses to help them prepare for the changes before they were introduced, learning from the Health and Safety in Employment (Adventure Activities) Regulations 2011.
The deadline for operators to comply with the regulations was to have been November 1, but at the 11th hour it was extended, enabling 192 operators to complete the final stages of the audit.
Those operators now have until December 1 for audits and December 12 for registrations.
Mr Faulkner said part of the issue was operators did not understand their responsibilities and what they needed to do to pass a safety audit to become registered.
He, along with a representative from Checketts McKay Law and health and safety practitioner Janeen Wood, will hold a free event at Cromwell's Golden Gate Lodge on November 24 to help businesses and organisations in the Queenstown Lakes and Central Otago districts come to terms with the changes.
''The purpose of this event is to share information, talk openly with the industries away from the Government and, as a community, share information about what we need to do, how can we help each other to comply.
''The Act will come in on April 1, so people need to start getting their heads around it now.''
Anyone wanting to attend the Risky Business event, from 10.30am until noon on November 24, can register at www.auditz.io/events.
