004_ACC_April_2016

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BACK Accreditation, reducing the cost of levies payable to the Corporation (some payment will be required to fund the cost of residual, unfunded claims), will be granted if the Corporation considers the employer: • has appropriate experience in managing occupational health and safety issues ‘positively’; • has demonstrated a commitment to injury prevention and an understanding and awareness of the importance of rehabilitation and the employer’s involvement in rehabilitation; • has appropriate injury prevention policies and procedures in place and adequate resources to manage work-related personal injury claims, to promote and manage rehabilitation, and to fulfil reporting requirements (see below); and • is financially solvent and therefore able, and able to continue, to meet expected financial and other obligations relating to work-related personal injury claims. The Corporation may revoke an accreditation agreement at any time if, having discussed the matter with the employer, it decides that the employer no longer fulfils the above requirements or complies with the framework to be established by the Minister for accreditation purposes. Under an accreditation agreement an employer is liable for some or all of the entitlements accruing in respect of a work-related personal injury suffered by his or her employees. In return, reduced levies are charged on the basis set out in the framework. An accreditation agreement may provide for the employer to recover contributions from insurers (in respect to the period when private accident insurance applied), other accredited employers, and/or the Corporation, as, for example, in the case of gradual process and subsequent injuries. An accreditation agreement may also provide for an accredited employer to make contributions to insurers, other accredited employers, and the Corporation. During the claim management period, an accredited employer must manage every work-related personal injury claim suffered by an employee, provide any entitlements, and pay the costs specified in relation to such claims. However, the Corporation may, in some cases, agree to assume some or all of the employer’s liability on such terms and conditions as it thinks fit. The Act provides for what will happen if an accredited employer ceases to exist or fails, or is unable to perform obligations under an accreditation agreement. (In the event of insolvency, receivership, or liquidation, any debt constituting payment of weekly compensation will rank in priority next after wages or salary.) In dealing with any injured employee an accredited employer must comply with the Code of ACC Claimants’ Rights. A Corporation monitoring programme may audit the activities of accredited employers to ensure statutory requirements are being met and that accurate and complete reports have been provided to the Corporation. Where an audit is carried out, the employer, and employee representatives (including any registered union) must be given the opportunity to be heard. Reporting and information Accredited employers must report to the Corporation in accordance with their accreditation agreement. Information supplied will be available for use by the Corporation’s information manager in facilitating the Government’s overall injury management strategy. An accredited employer must also, without charge, provide each employee with a written statement setting out the procedures and requirements under the accreditation agreement relating to the lodging of claims, claims’ handling, provision of rehabilitation, assessment of incapacity, and dispute resolution. 28
BACK COVER FOR NON-WORK RELATED PERSONAL INJURY As well as accidents in the workplace resulting in injury and incapacity, the Corporation covers injuries suffered by non-earners and by earners who are injured other than at work. It also covers motor vehicle accidents and accidents caused by one or other of the forms of treatment injury identified by the Act—medical error and medical mishap. Such accidents are funded from a number of accounts apart from the Work Account, allowing the Corporation to cover them without crosssubsidisation between the various injury categories. Earners’ account The account finances statutory entitlements for employees who suffer non-work injuries. It is funded through levies payable by employees set at a rate prescribed in regulations made under the Act. The levy is paid in instalments as if it were income tax, that is, it is deducted at source as PAYE and the rules governing PAYE apply to it. However, an earners’ levy deduction is not to be treated as part of a tax deduction payment. If an employee’s earnings include a benefit such as board and lodging, or any other benefit in kind which is included in the employee’s wages, or any payment by way of pension, superannuation, retiring allowance, other allowance, or annuity, that amount must be taken into account when determining the deduction to be made for levy purposes. If an employer makes a deduction but fails to deal with it in the way the Act requires, the deduction, for Tax Administration Act purposes, will rank equally with the amount of any tax deduction the employer has not paid. Non-earners’ account As its name indicates, the account funds accidents to non-earners. Funds come from general taxation and provide for treatment costs, rehabilitation and the like. Non-earners are people who are neither in paid employment nor self-employed, including retired people and children. Motor vehicle account The account funds injuries involving the use of motor vehicles, including some arising in a work context, which are also categorised as work-related injuries for the purposes of employer-paid first week compensation (see under ‘Work-Related Personal Injury’). Funds for motor vehicle injuries come from a levy paid by every registered motor vehicle owner, by everyone who holds a trade licence, and from a petrol tax on every litre of motor spirits in respect of which duty is payable under the Customs and Excise Act 1996. Treatment injury account Funds for this account come from any levies payable by registered health professionals or any organisation that provides treatment under the Act. If there is no such levy, or the levy relates only to funding part of the Account, funds will come from either the Earners’ or Non-Earners’ Account, as appropriate. CODE OF ACC CLAIMANT’S RIGHTS The Act provides for a Code of ACC Claimants’ Rights to be developed so that claimants can know what they can reasonably expect when dealing with the Accident Compensation Corporation. Among other things, the Code will: • provide remedies where the Corporation has breached the Code; • explain a claimant’s right to a review of any decision the Corporation makes about a claimant’s complaint. A claimant who wants a review will be able to use the dispute resolution procedures set out in the Act. The Code’s rights and obligations are additional to any other claimant rights or Corporation obligations. They do not affect claimants’ entitlements or responsibilities under the Act itself, under any other enactment, or under the general law. The Code applies both to the Corporation itself and to accredited employers under ACC’s Partnership Programme in their dealings with accident compensation claimants. 29
Page 1 and 2: 1 ACCIDENT COMPENSATION Empowering
Page 3 and 4: VOCATIONAL INDEPENDENCE............
Page 5 and 6: BACK INTRODUCTION New Zealand has h
Page 7 and 8: BACK An employee who deliberately m
Page 9 and 10: BACK The employer at whose workplac
Page 11 and 12: BACK If an employee was in permanen
Page 13 and 14: BACK Holiday entitlements PUBLIC (S
Page 15 and 16: BACK Vocational rehabilitation The
Page 17 and 18: BACK Changing circumstances Vocatio
Page 19 and 20: BACK Claims must be lodged within 1
Page 21 and 22: BACK A review hearing must be condu
Page 23 and 24: BACK Once an appeal notice is recei
Page 25 and 26: BACK Because the experience rating
Page 27: BACK Employers are required to: •
Page 31 and 32: BACK Employer ‘Employer’ means:
Page 33 and 34: BACK APPENDIX Occupational diseases

004_ACC_April_2016

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