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HSNO Committee

Our purpose | To tatou kaupapa  

 

We are the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA), Aotearoa New Zealand’s independent environmental regulator. Our role is important: to help protect our country’s unique way of life by looking out for the health of its environment, its economy and its people.   

 

Our kaupapa is about making the right decisions based on evidence, mātauranga, and science. At the EPA, we encourage big ideas and bold goals.   

 

What we achieve today helps shape the future of New Zealand for generations to come.   

  

 

Come join us  

 

We welcome you to join us on our journey to a healthy environment that benefits us all.  

 

Jump in the waka - make history with us.  

  

 

About the role | Mō te tūnga   

 

Our Hazardous Substances and New Organisms (HSNO) Committee considers applications for hazardous substances, and to introduce new organisms into New Zealand. The Committee make decisions on applications under the Hazardous Substances and New Organisms Act 1996. The Committee makes these decisions under decision making powers delegated by the Board of the Environmental Protection Authority. Members are appointed by the EPA Board. 

 

The makeup of the HSNO Committee is designed so that collectively it has experience and expertise in dealing with a range of applications relating to hazardous substances and new organisms.  These decisions are generally undertaken by subcommittees of two or three members with the relevant skills and qualifications in the subject matter of the application under consideration. The Committee currently has ten members who broadly form a “pool” from which these smaller decision-making committees are drawn. The decision-making process may include a requirement to teleconference or meet as a subcommittee to consider applications.  In some cases, a hearing may be held to consider public submissions with the length of hearings dependent on the number of submitters wishing to be heard. 

 

We are looking for six to eight Committee members to join us for an initial three-year term that can be renewed. Members are expected to meet as a whole Committee, generally four times per year either in person or online. The commitment is approximately 10 hours per month. This is a paid position with fees paid for Committee meetings and decision subcommittees, as well as any required travel for these activities being covered by the EPA.  

 

 

About you | Mōhou ake   

 

The power of the committee is in the diversity of thought that each committee member brings.  The committee is composed of members who, between them, hold a broad range of in-depth skills – if you have some/all of the skills below, we would love to hear from you:  

 

  • Proven governance knowledge and experience    

  • Strategic thinking  

  • Experience working in the public sector  

  • A passion and interest in the environment and the role that the EPA plays in protecting Aotearoa  

  • Relevant end-user/stakeholder industries or organisations, commercial and business (eg forestry, farming, fishing), macro-economics, and sustainability  

  • Knowledge and expertise in the areas of public policy, planning and public administration 

 

In addition, we are also very interesting to hear from people with skills in any of the following areas:  

 

  • Primary Industries 

  • Chemical sciences 

  • Chemicals risk assessment 
  • Toxicology 
  • Ecotoxicology  
  • Environmental fate 

  • Manufacturing Industries 

  • Biological Sciences 

  • Virology 
  • Microbiology 
  • Ecology 
  • Genetic modification/genetic and/or molecular technologies  

  • Public health skills 

  • Cost-benefit analysis/economic evaluation 

  • Mātauranga Māori/tikanga/kaupapa Māori research methods/evaluating evidence from a Te Ao Māori perspective 

  • Social science 

 

 

How to apply | Me pēhea te tuku tono  

 

Complete the online application form and submit your CV and a covering letter.  

 

Please note: your covering letter is an important part of our assessment process. Please highlight how your experience relates to this role, and why you applied. Tell us about you, your values and/or whakapapa.  

 

For more information, view our information sheet here, or contact recruit@epa.govt.nz or check out the careers section of our website www.epa.govt.nz/careers. 

 

 

Applications close | Rā Katinga  

5pm, Monday, 20 July 2026

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