How the ACC process works
The ACC manages New Zealand’s accident compensation scheme, which provides accident cover for all New Zealand citizens, residents and temporary visitors to New Zealand. In return people do not have the right to sue for personal injury, other than for exemplary damages.
If you are injured and ACC covers the costs of your treatment you have a case with the ACC. If during the course of your case you feel ACC has made a decision that you don’t agree with, you can apply for a review with ACC, which will then be forwarded to DRSL.
You can also use DRSL’s services if you feel you are heading towards a disagreement with ACC before a decision has even been made.
You can talk to ACC about facilitation, where a DRSL facilitator acts as an ‘interpreter’ to make sure there is good communication between the parties, and that everyone understands what is happening in the decision process, and why it is happening. The aim is for both parties to understand one another better, and to make sure all of the issues or are clear and understood.
This can be a helpful way to sort out a problem before it becomes a serious issue.
Once you have a written decision from ACC you can apply for a review. However you can also apply for review if you believe ACC is taking too long to issue the decision.
If you have decided to make a formal complaint you may want to start with DRSL’s mediation process, where both sides meet with a mediator to see if a compromise can be reached. If you don’t want to use a mediator, or mediation doesn’t resolve the issue, you can apply to ACC for a formal review. You don’t have to use the mediation process, but it can be useful.
You can see more about the review process here.