New Zealand’s Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC) has released a turnaround plan outlining changes to how it manages claims, supports rehabilitation, and manages scheme costs, following external reviews and updated ministerial expectations. Published on Jan. 22, the plan responds to an independent review by Finity into ACC’s claims management and rehabilitation performance, and to a new letter of expectations from Minister for ACC Scott Simpson. ACC has identified three stated priority areas:
ACC board chair Jan Dawson said some of the pressures on the scheme are outside ACC’s direct control, but other issues can be addressed through operational changes. “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.
ACC chief executive Megan Main highlighted the growth in expenditure as a key factor behind the turnaround work. She said ACC spent $8.1 billion on rehabilitation, treatment, and compensation in the last year, compared with $4.9 billion a decade earlier. “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. She said the programme of work is intended to change how support is targeted and delivered, rather than reduce access to cover for eligible injuries. “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,” she said.
According to Main, the plan includes a focus on helping long-term clients with less serious injuries to return to independence, including work where practical, and on working more closely with health providers to improve outcomes. She also pointed to wider impacts when clients remain on the scheme longer than necessary. “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,” Main said. She said support from the wider system will be required to meet the scheme’s long-term objectives. “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,” she said.
The turnaround plan also incorporates responses to two other reviews: one commissioned by the ACC board into organisational culture, and another commissioned by the Treasury into ACC’s investment function. ACC has said it will report publicly on progress toward its new performance targets, with monitoring by the minister and the board. In parallel with the plan, ACC has released a new strategy, statement of intent, and service agreement covering the next four years. For insurers, intermediaries, and other market participants, these documents outline the direction of future operational and financial settings within the Crown entity.
The turnaround plan follows earlier regulatory changes that took effect on Nov. 27, 2025, covering four ACC regulations. ACC has said these changes are intended to update scheme settings to reflect current medical and scientific evidence, inflation, and actual costs to clients, and to adjust access arrangements for treatment, rehabilitation, and dispute resolution. Key changes include 12 additions to Schedule 2, ACC’s list of occupational diseases, which provide a more direct route to cover for specified workplace illnesses. ACC has also simplified the way it reimburses review legal costs and increased the maximum amount payable. In addition, the age scale used to assess hearing loss for ACC cover has been updated to align with international standards, and travel and accommodation rates have been increased for clients who need to travel to receive treatment and rehabilitation services.
ACC head of policy, evidence, and insights Brian Hesketh said some of the regulations had not been revisited for some time. “Some of our regulations have not been reviewed for a long time, and others have not kept up to date with inflation or epidemiological evidence. Changes such as the increase in our travel and accommodation rates will make it easier for kiritaki to access ACC cover and receive the right support at the right time, as they recover from injury. These changes will make it easier for kiritaki (clients) to access ACC cover and receive the right support at the right time, as they recover from injury,” Hesketh said.
