23 April 2020
David Lawson
[FYI request #12384 email]
Tēnā koe David
Your Official Information Act request, reference: GOV-004079
Thank you for your email of 05 March 2020, asking for the following information under the Official
Information Act 1982 (the Act):
OIA Request 1:
1.
Please provide all official information and policy documentation associated with the
Corporation's Overseas Claims Unit.
OIA Request 2
2.
Please also confirm:-
(i) When the Corporation's Overseas Claims Unit came into existence.
(ii) Whether the Corporation's Overseas Claims Unit is still in existance and or has been
rebranded but is in essence the same as the Overseas Claims Unit that was functioning in June
2014.
(iii) On a yearly basis to the end of each ACC financial year since the Corporation's Overseas
Claims Unit has been in existence please confirm the number of ACC claimants that have been
transferred to the Overseas Claims Unit
On 30 March 2020 we notified you of our extension of your request. Following this you responded with
the clarification below:
Amended OIA Request 1:
Please provide all official information and policy documentation associated with the original
formation of the Corporation's Overseas Claims Unit which clearly outlines it's purpose/function,
and all official information and policy documentation associated with the Corporation's Overseas
Claims Unit that has been generated in to past 12 months that clearly outlines it's
purpose/function.
In addition to this I am happy to accept Official Information associated with my OIA Request 2
(iii) for the past 8 ACC business calendar years.
GOV-004079
About the Overseas Claims Unit (OCU)
The OCU was established sometime between 2000-2001. Unfortunately, due to the passage of time and
system changes, we no longer have access to the information that confirms its exact date of creation.
Due to the above, we also no longer have access to the information associated with the creation of the
OCU. We are therefore unable to provide you with the policies and other associated information from
when the OCU was formed, as despite reasonable efforts we are unable to locate it. This decision is
made under section 18(e) of the Act.
Current OCU Policies
We are able to provide you with the related current policies downloaded from ACC’s intranet sites CHIPS
and Promapp. Please find these attached.
ACC cares about privacy
Some information in has been withheld from these policies under section 9(2)(a) of the Act to protect
the privacy of individuals. We considered the public interest in releasing this information and
determined that the need to protect individual’s privacy outweighs the public interest in making the
information available.
Data on OCU clients
The OCU does not have a dedicated department or queue in ACC’s claims management system, so we
are unable to identify how many clients or claims have been transferred to this unit each year. The
figure provided below is based on the ‘overseas over three months’ indicator on the clients file and
should be considered indicative only. The ‘overseas over three months’ indicator is used for clients who
have moved overseas, while still receiving ongoing entitlements, such as weekly compensation. There
are some claim types that are excluded from this indicator. Some of the exclusion criteria includes:
• Clients managed by the National Serious Injury Service.
• The claim is a payment only claim under the Accident Compensation Act 1982, section 60.
• The client is receiving an independence allowance or lump sum payment only.
• The claim is a complex cover assessment claim, such as a treatment injury.
• The client is a non-earner and had previously been managed in a branch.
This information is reliant on the client advising ACC that they have returned from overseas.
There are 455 clients as at 15 April 2020, with the ‘overseas over three months’ indicator active on their
claim. ACC are unable to provide you with a breakdown of this number year by year, as we would need
to examine the file associated with every client and determine exactly when the ‘overseas over three
months’ indicator was activated on the client’s claim. This decision is made under section 18(f) of the
Act, as performing this search would require a substantial amount of manual collation and research.
It is important to note that the ‘overseas over three months’ indicator may remain on the client's file
long after their return to New Zealand if it is not removed by staff. As a result, the data provided cannot
be considered an accurate measure of clients receiving entitlements whilst based overseas.
Accident Compensation Corporation
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GOV-004079
Who to contact
If you have any questions, you can email me at
[email address]. If you are not happy with this response, you have the right to make a complaint to the Ombudsman.
Information about how to do this is available at
www.ombudsman.parliament.nz or by phoning 0800
802 602.
Nāku iti noa, nā
Sasha Wood
Manager Official Information Act Services
Government Engagement & Support
Accident Compensation Corporation
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