New data shows ACC told officials it declined only 43,914 decisions on cover and entitlements. Barrister and researcher Warren Forster is concerned that there is a real risk the Minister for ACC has not been accurately or effectively briefed by ACC.

Mr Forster has compared statistics on the number of claims ACC says it declines, as given by ACC to various agencies, and found clear contradictions.

“It appears that ACC is giving different numbers to different agencies, giving a different impression to each agency. It is not clear why it is doing this, or whether ACC even realises it is doing so.”

He notes that ACC’s position has shifted since 23 May 2017 when the “Solving the Problem” report was released. An ACC spokesperson has stated Mr Forster’s estimate based on official information act requests and public reports is “simply incorrect”, which is a different position than that held by CEO Scott Pickering on the morning of 23 May 2017.

“ACC’s position now seems to be that even less than 70,000 people per year have any kind of claim declined. But they still haven’t produced any evidence of that.”

New information just released shows that ACC told MBIE and the Government that it only declines 43,914 claims for cover and claims for entitlements. It still has not said how many “decisions” it issues on those claims.

“ACC’s own recent public statements indicate the figure was 70,000, so a figure of only 43,914 to MBIE simply cannot be correct,” says Mr Forster.

Statistics are important, he says, because they are used by ACC in a defensive manner to try and reassure the public and other government agencies. If those statistics are incorrect, questions need to be asked about why they are incorrect.

“We have offered our assistance to both ACC and the Minister.”

“We need ACC to be better and ACC knows it needs to be better. It’s not good enough to have lingering confusion around numbers of claims and numbers of decisions. New Zealanders expect better from ACC.”

“Our political leaders will find it difficult to make the right decision at the right time if they don’t have the data from ACC. It’s time for ACC to acknowledge the scale of the problem and help the Minister solve it," says Mr Forster.

ENDS

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