Oliver Hartwich: NZ Initiative Executive Director on the call for ACC to focus on rehabilitation, returning people to the workforce
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What recent changes have occurred in ACC's claims process?
ACC new report this morning says they've halted the surge in long-term claims you think is that good well could be 173,000 claims have been declined weekly payments have been suspended 80 percent more often and 8,700 have come off support just 13 though 13 percent have returned to their pre-injury job so join a few dots and see what we got here Dr Oliver Hartwich at the New Zealand Initiative has done the report and he's with us morning to you Oliver good morning Mike is that a crackdown that we're seeing here
It is a turnaround, but it is only half a turnaround. I mean, ACC deteriorated massively since about 2015. So just to give you a figure, the outstanding claims liability, that's what ACC expects to pay to existing cases, went from $30 billion in 2015 to $63 billion in 2024. So that was a massive deterioration. The government understood that something had to be done, so they mandated a turnaround. We've got the first results, but it's only half a turnaround because currently ACC only really says, you are basically rehabilitated if we don't pay you for five weeks. But that's not a real measure. Because as you said, when ACC really checked the cases, they found that more than 80% had actually not returned to their previous job.
How does ACC define rehabilitation success?
So the real measure of success for ACC is not whether they get people off the books. It's actually whether they restore them to health and bring them back into the labour market.
Because part of my problem, as far as I can work out, is it not possible that we can look to train people in other areas? In other words, you might injure yourself in a way that you can't return to your job. So that's not a failure of rehab. It just means it is what it is and you go get a job somewhere else.
Absolutely. That's fair enough. But the problem is actually some of them don't return to any work at all. That's the problem.
What challenges do injured workers face in returning to work?
So we have to make sure that they actually don't linger on ACC, that ACC doesn't become another form of welfare. And for that, we have to speed up the operations of ACC. It just takes way too long. There's way too much bureaucracy until ACC even decides what to do with you. And we know that early intervention is really crucial if you want to get people back ready for work.
Are they capable of doing that?
Well, at least they understand that's what needs to be done. That's what ACC's own plan says. They want to focus on early intervention. And ACC's own actuaries say if they get this right, they will probably save somewhere between $500 and $800 million over the next couple of years.
What role does early intervention play in rehabilitation?
So ACC understands in theory what needs to happen. The problem is actually ACC has put itself right between the claimants and success. Because currently, for example, since May actually, ACC now mandates that employers can no longer actually start the rehabilitation process themselves, but they have to wait for approval first.
Yeah, look, I've a number of personal experiences where they also seem fantastically conservative. Like the person comes in and goes, look, I feel right. I'm set to go. They go, no, no, no, not till we say so. And you can have a few more physiotherapy sessions. Is there a bit of that?
How does bureaucracy impact ACC's effectiveness?
There is quite a bit of bureaucratic culture. There was a report last year, actually, that apparently takes 49 bureaucratic steps inside ACC. until they even have a welcome conversation with the new case.
All right, appreciate you doing the work. Oliver Hartwich, who's the New Zealand Initiative Executive Director, and that's where that, part of it's the mental health thing. It was a court decision, so that's where their potential future liabilities are. You know, what's mental health? How long is a piece of string? And that's when you get to your OB-GAL-X, which is a Nicola Willis special, which she takes all of that and parks it to one side, and it's not in the regular books, so the books look slightly better. The whole thing's a shambles.
What are the implications of ACC's current practices on long-term claims?
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Chapters
6 chapters
1
What recent changes have occurred in ACC's claims process?
0:00–1:09
2
How does ACC define rehabilitation success?
1:09–1:35
3
What challenges do injured workers face in returning to work?
1:35–2:11
4
What role does early intervention play in rehabilitation?
2:11–2:43
5
How does bureaucracy impact ACC's effectiveness?
2:43–3:21
6
What are the implications of ACC's current practices on long-term claims?
3:21–3:29
Speakers
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