Employers requiring pre-employment drug tests

Some industries require potential employees to pass a pre-employment drug test as a condition of employment.

Employers usually only drug test where there are health and safety reasons and where there are industry requirements to test. If an employee works in a safety sensitive area the employer has an obligation to provide all employees a safe working environment. For these jobs, drug testing is justified where an employee's ability to perform their job has the potential to affect the safety of others or themselves.

Pre-employment drug tests are typically required in industries such as fishing, horticultural factory work and forestry.

Note that Work and Income will have checked with the employer why the job is being drug tested and whether the testing is to the required drug test standards.

Employers that require pre-employment drug testing may also require regular or random testing of employees to ensure those working in safety sensitive areas are not impaired while at work.

Drug testing is generally provided to individual employers and recruitment agencies by a contracted drug test provider. Some large organisations have their own specialised in-house staff, such as nurses, who are accredited in workplace drug testing.

Employment-related drug testing is:

• conducted at a workplace, established testing site or a laboratory and
• through observed collection