New Zealand’s Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC) has appointed Lisa Williams (pictured) as deputy chief executive, system commissioning and performance, effective April 7. In the role, Williams will oversee how ACC commissions services from health and rehabilitation providers and how it measures performance across the accident compensation scheme. Her remit includes arrangements intended to support clients’ return to work and independence and to manage the cost and delivery of services funded by the scheme.
ACC chief executive Megan Main said the appointment comes as the organisation is seeking to change its rehabilitation performance and culture. “We’re delighted with Lisa’s appointment. I know Lisa is also excited about the opportunity to contribute to ACC’s work to ensure it is a high-performing organisation with a safe, inclusive, and positive culture,” Main said.
Williams joins ACC from Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora, where she has spent nearly three years leading strategic planning and performance across the national health agency. Her responsibilities have spanned system-level planning and monitoring work programs and outcomes. She previously worked in London as a senior lawyer at GlaxoSmithKline for seven years, advising on commercial and legal matters. After returning to New Zealand, she joined Pharmac and held several positions, most recently as director of operations. Over her career in New Zealand and the UK, Williams has worked in health-related roles in both public and private sector organisations. ACC has indicated that her commercial, legal, government, and Crown entity experience is relevant to how it designs provider contracts, performance settings, and commissioning models within the no-fault accident compensation scheme.
The appointment follows ACC’s release of a turnaround plan that sets out how the organisation intends to respond to recent external reviews and revised expectations from government. The plan addresses the findings of a Finity review into ACC’s claims management and rehabilitation performance and an updated letter of expectation from Minister for ACC Scott Simpson. ACC board chair Jan Dawson said the plan describes how ACC plans to meet new performance targets through three priority areas:
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“The board acknowledges ACC’s performance needs to improve. While some challenges are outside ACC’s control – including inflation, pressures in the wider health system, and court decisions expanding the Scheme’s scope – many can be addressed through operational action. The board is committed to delivering on the minister’s expectations to turn around performance and will drive ACC to deliver better outcomes for injured New Zealanders,” Dawson said.
Main said ACC spent $8.1 billion on rehabilitation, treatment, and compensation in the last year, compared with $4.9 billion a decade earlier, a 65% increase over that period. She said the turnaround work is intended to help maintain the scheme’s affordability and ability to support future claimants. “Ensuring the scheme remains affordable and is able to support future generations is of the utmost importance. While we have done a significant amount of work already, which has led to improvements in rehabilitation performance, there is more to do,” Main said.
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Main added: “This work isn’t about taking away the support people receive from ACC to recover from their covered injuries. It’s about ensuring injured people get the right level of support, at the right time. This includes supporting long-term clients with less serious injuries back to independence (including back to work where this is practical), working in partnership with health providers to improve client outcomes, and ensuring people are getting the right level of support that reflects their current needs. Staying reliant on the scheme longer than necessary has negative impacts for our clients, their whānau, community, and employer. It also puts pressure on the AC scheme. But we cannot do this alone. I’m asking all New Zealanders to play their part by keeping themselves and their communities safe and by playing an active role in their recovery after injury. We need support from the health sector, from providers, from New Zealanders, and from employers to ensure we protect the AC Scheme for the long term.”
The turnaround plan also incorporates recommendations from a board-commissioned review of ACC’s organisational culture and a Treasury-commissioned review of its investment function. ACC has released a new strategy, statement of intent, and service agreement to apply over the next four years. ACC has said it will report publicly and on a regular basis on progress toward its new targets, with oversight from the ACC board and the minister. Within this framework, Williams will be responsible for linking commissioning decisions, provider performance, and operational delivery to the organisation’s rehabilitation and financial objectives, an area of interest for insurance and injury management professionals.
