Bad workplace accidents are real, but perhaps not as common as WorkSafe adverts will have led people to believe.

Government safety agency WorkSafe NZ has taken television advertisements off-air after the Advertising Standards Authority ruled they exaggerated the impact of workplace accidents.

The ASA said the adverts, which were designed to draw attention to the impact of workplace accidents on families, were misleading.

The embarrassing admonishment stemmed from WorkSafe's claim that more than 23,000 people were severely injured or killed in New Zealand workplaces last year.

WorkSafe New Zealand / YouTube WorkSafe NZ may have shot itself in foot with TV advert campaign that has been judged misleadling.

WorkSafe explained – but not in the broadcasts – that the injuries were ones that required people to have more than a week off work.

READ MORE:

* Worksafe NZ television advert claims 'grossly exaggerated' says consultant

* Complaint hinged on whether week off work equals a 'severe' injury



WorkSafe NZ chief executive Gordon MacDonald said the government agency made no apology for "challenging New Zealand to do better when it comes to keeping everyone healthy and safe at work". But its advertisements, which were part funded by ACC, would be "temporarily withdrawn" and edited before being put back on air.

The ASA said most of the 23,000 injuries referred to by WorkSafe in the adverts were strains or cuts, while there were 44 deaths.

Describing those injuries as "severe" created a misleading impression, the ASA said, especially given the "tone and emotive imagery" of the advertisements which included footage of workers returning from work and hugging their children.

The ASA had originally ruled in favour of WorkSafe in April, but reversed its decision on appeal.

Wellington economist Ian Harrison, who brought the original complaint, said WorkSafe had been clipped around the ears and he expected it would be "spewing".

He had taken issue with the adverts because of a matter of principle, he said.

"People can advocate for what they like, but being clear about facts is absolutely essential for government departments. They shouldn't play fast and loose."

MacDonald said the complaint about the adverts had been a distraction.

"The changes to the ad will not alter the power of its message ... and if minor changes to the ad can make our message clearer, all the better," he said.

WorkSafe persuaded several chief executives to participate in the "Home Time" campaign, which originally aired earlier this year but which have been rebroadcast during the past week.

The claim that generated the most controversy was read out by Griffin's Foods chief executive, Alison Barrass, who has since been appointed a director of Spark.

Another – read out by farmer Sir David Fagan – that New Zealand's workplace death and severe injury rate was double that of Australia was also misleading, the ASA said.

Harrison said that while the death rate was 60 per cent higher in New Zealand last year, that reflected the fact that its labour force was more heavily concentrated in hazardous occupations, and the injury rate was not higher.

The Commercial Approvals Bureau, set up by media companies to vet television advertisements, stood up for the WorkSafe adverts.

It told the ASA that "the goal of reducing the number of serious injuries and deaths in New Zealand is a justifiable reason to play on fear".

Harrison said he disagreed with that view.