Industry Resources, Guidelines & Codes

On this page you will find information on, and links to, guidelines, regulations and resources relating to running an exercise/fitness facility (the places) and exercise professionals (the people) in New Zealand. (For the purposes of this page “exercise facility” means any facility open to the public that offers exercise advice or demonstration – this includes gyms, fitness centres, PT studios, pilates/yoga/vibration studios, aerobic rooms/halls etc).

Industry Resources (for Exercise Facilities, or those thinking of opening one)

The Exercise Association of New Zealand (ExerciseNZ) produces a number of resources that help facilities and exercise professionals in both legal requirements, as well as their day to day activities. These include:

Common Industry Issues*

The resource contains a whole range of useful information on the following topics/areas:

Music Volume in group exercise classes
How to calculate membership retention
Laws relating to those under 18 and membership agreements
Childcare regulations
Using the disputes tribunal
Rules for using radio frequencies (aerobics mics, and TVs through FM radio)
Advice on minors (those under 18)
Insurance issues
Corporate Wellness Programmes
IRD issues for contractors/employees
Membership Contracts and Credit Contracts
Intellectual Property Issues: Trademarks etc (Taebo, Spin etc)

Best practice for membership agreements*

This resource outlines the best practice for written membership agreements in New Zealand. Sample wording, along with options are provided and explained in detail in this document.

This is a very comprehensive document (20+ pages), covering all aspects of membership agreements in New Zealand, from legal to customer issues.

Industry Survey*

Ezypay in conjunction with ExerciseNZ support surveys the fitness industry and summarises their results. Areas surveyed include:

Wage rates
Membership fees
Trends in services offered
Key Ratios such as advertising to revenue, members per square meter, members per PT etc
Key industry issues
Qualifications and training

Employment handbook*

This handbook covers the following topics:

Types of employment and legal issues
Employment agreements
Probation periods
Fixed term agreements
Minimum leave entitlements
Notice periods
Public holidays
Ending an employment relationship (a simple flowchart of the correct process)
Discrimination and harassment issues
Health & safety
Simple flowchart for poor performance/misconduct
Simple flowchart for redundancy
Simple flowchart for managing long-term illness
Checklist for dismissal procedures
Checklist for workplace accident reporting

* Items marked with a star are provided free to ExerciseNZ members. For more information on joining ExerciseNZ, please see the joining page.

Health & Safety Considerations handbook*

This handbook covers the following topics:

Sample Health & Safety forms
Information on how to write your own health & safety guidelines
Information on how to determine the nature and severity of risks
obligations of staff/owners in relation to Health & Safety
Reporting guideline information

Guidelines & Regulations

There are a number of industry guidelines that should be followed when operating an exercise facility or operating as an exercise professional in New Zealand. These include:

1. Register of Exercise Professionals (REPs): This is the body that administers the registration system for exercise professionals and exercise facilities in New Zealand, and is the standard that all exercise facilities and professionals should meet.

REPs is a member of the International Confederation of Registers for Exercise Professionals (ICREPs) and are recognised in over 30 countries as the international standard. ExerciseNZ strongly recommends that exercise professionals and exercise facilities register with REPs, and also that members of the public ONLY use facilities and individuals that are REPs registered. REPs operate an online search engine for both facilities and individuals. For more information on REPs, visit the REPs website, www.reps.or g.nz

2. Children in Exercise Facilities: ExerciseNZ, in conjunction with ACC, and the support of SPARC, have developed national guidelines for children in exercise facilities. These guidelines cover any person aged 17 or under when using an exercise facility open to the public. The guidelines can be found here . Contact ExerciseNZ if you would like a printed version.

3. Occupational Safety and Health (OSH): As with all businesses, OSH is an issue that should be taken seriously. There are a number of specific OSH regulations that have particular relevance for the exercise industry. These include:

Volume of music in group exercise classes (see below on common industry issues resource)
First aid requirements (REPs is the correct contact for this)
Industry codes with specific requirements for minimum staff levels, and pre-screening of clients before exercise (see below on industry codes

All of the above industry guidelines should be followed and adhered to. Non-compliance with any industry guidelines in taken into account whenever OSH investigates an injury event.

Industry Codes

There are two relevant industry codes in New Zealand. One for facilities, and one for exercise professionals.

Facilities that are members of ExerciseNZ agree to follow the ExerciseNZ Code of Ethics (link opens a pdf file).

Exercise professionals registered with the NZ Register of Exercise Professionals (REPs) agree to the REPs Code of Ethical Practice (link opens a pdf file).

For further details on both codes, and details of how to complain if you believe a person or business has breached a code, please see the complaints page.