03 December 2020
David Lawson
fyi‐request‐13983‐[email address]
Tēnā koe David
Your Official Information Act request, reference: GOV‐007357
Thank you for your email of 14 October 2020, requesting the following six sets of information under the
Official Information Act 1982 (the Act).
Official Information request 1:
(a)
Please confirm whether ACC provide prior written notice to an ACC client before ACC transfer
the ACC client to ACC's RCU.
(b)
If the answer to Official Information Request 1 (a) above is yes, please supply copies of ACC's
current policy and process associated with transferring an ACC client to the RCU, and any
earlier iterations dating back to 2014.
(c)
If the answer to Official Information Request 1 (a) above is yes, please supply copies of the
current standard ACC letter that notifies an ACC client that they have been transferred to ACC's
RCU, and any earlier iterations dating back to 2014.
(d)
If the answer to Official Information Request 1 (a) above is no please confirm why this is not the
case.
Our response
(a) ACC does not provide prior notice to a client that the management of their claim will be transferred
to the Remote Claims Unit (RCU).
(d) This is not a request for official information. Therefore, we decline to provide the requested
information. For further information about this decision refer to the Office of the Ombudsman's
guide
Making official information requests. This is available at:
www.ombudsman.parliament.nz/resources‐and‐publications/guides/official‐information‐legislation‐
guides.
Official Information request 2:
(a)
If no prior notice is given to an ACC client, please confirm whether ACC provide written notice to
an ACC client after ACC transfer the ACC client to ACC's RCU.
(b)
If the answer to Official Information Request 2 (a) above is yes, please supply copies of ACC's
current policy and process associated with transferring an ACC client to the RCU, and any
earlier iterations dating back to 2014
(c)
If the answer to Official Information Request 2 (a) above is yes, please supply copies of the
current standard ACC letter that notifies an ACC client that they have been transferred to ACC's
RCU, and any earlier iterations dating back to 2014.
(d)
If the answer to Official Information Request 2 (a) above is no please confirm why this is not the
case.
Our response
(a) ACC sends a letter of notification to a client advising they have been transferred to the RCU.
(b) Due to the sensitive nature of the work that the RCU does, ACC is withholding the policy and
process information requested in this part of your request. This information is withheld under
Section 6(d) of the Act, as making it available would be likely to endanger the safety of RCU staff.
GOV‐007357
(c) Please find attached the two templates that have been used by the RCU to notify clients of transfer.
Official Information Request 3:
(a)
Please confirm whether an ACC client is informed of the reasons that they have been
transferred to the ACC RCU,
(b)
if the answer to OIA Request 3 (a) above is yes, within what time frame are ACC's reasons for
transferring an ACC client to the ACC RCU required to have been communicated to the ACC
client who has been transferred to the ACC RCU
(c)
If the answer to Official Information Request 3 (a) above is no please confirm why this is not the
case.
Our response
(a) Clients are informed of the reasons they are being transferred to the RCU.
(b) Staff do not have a specific timeframe within which
to inform a client that the management of their
claim is being transferred to the RCU.
Official Information Request 4:
(a)
Please confirm whether ACC provide an ACC client with a right of review, and or appeal before
ACC transfer an ACC client to the ACC RCU.
(b)
If the answer to Official Information Request 4 (a) is no, please provide confirmation as to
whether prior to or at anytime subsequent to ACC commencing the operation of the ACC RCU,
as to whether ACC had sought and received any legal advice and or legal opinion as to whether
the practices associated with ACC's use of a RCU do not breach the ACC client's rights under the
NZ Bill of Rights Act 1990, the NZ Human Rights Act 1993, or any other International Human
Rights convention which NZ is a party to.
(c)
If the answers to Official Information Requests 4 (a) and or 4(b) are no please confirm why this
is not the case.
Our response
We have interpreted this part of your request to relate to reviews about decisions on a claim that are
established by Part 5 of the Accident Compensation Act 2001 (the AC Act).
(a) There is no right of review for ACC’s decision to transfer a claim for management in the RCU.
(b) This part of your request is refused under s9(2)(h) of the Act, in order to maintain legal professional
privilege.
(c) An administrative decision, such as the management of a claim being transferred to another part of
ACC, is not covered by Part 5 of the AC Act.
Official Information Request 5:
Please provide for the last 10 ACC business calendar years the following Official Information if possible,
separating the data into separate fields for both the Wellington Central Branch(WCB) and the ACC
Remote Claims Unit (RCU);
(a)
How many ACC clients have been transferred to either ACC's Wellington Central Branch, or the
ACC RCU each calendar year.
(b)
of those ACC clients transferred to either ACC's Wellington Central Branch, or the ACC RCU for
each calendar year have never lodged a complaint to ACC.
(c)
of those ACC clients transferred to either ACC's Wellington Central Branch, or the ACC RCU for
each calendar year have never lodged a review challenging an ACC decision.
Accident Compensation Corporation
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GOV‐007357
(d)
of those ACC clients transferred to either ACC's Wellington Central Branch, or the ACC RCU for
each calendar year have never lodged a appeal of a Reviewers decision to the District Court of
of an ACC decision.
Our response
Table 1. Data for Te Ara Tika We are currently obtaining updated data for Te Ara Tika. The decision has been made to release
information to you, as appropriate under the provisions of section 15(1) of the Act. This is now being
prepared and will be released to you without undue delay.
Table 2. Data for Remote Claims Unit
Number of
Clients without Clients without Clients without
Calendar Year
new Clients
Reviews
Complaints
Appeals
2010
54
21
44
..
2011
72
31
61
..
2012
72
36
59
68
2013
79
37
65
..
2014
114
54
91
..
2015
144
89
121
..
2016
185
111
149
181
2017
192
113
152
..
2018
215
135
176
..
2019
214
125
169
..
Notes about the data
ACC does not routinely disclose low value numbers related to claims, ie less than 4. Accordingly,
some of the values in table 2 are supressed and notated as (..) to limit the potential for particular
individuals, or matters specific to certain individuals, being identified. This is necessary where the
difference between columns 2 and 5 is less than 4.
Withholding in this way is necessary to protect the privacy of these individuals under section 9(2)(a)
of the Act. In doing so, we have considered the public interest in making the information available
and have determined that it does not outweigh the need to protect the privacy of these persons.
‘Clients without Reviews', ‘Clients without Complaints’ and ‘Clients without Appeals’ are the number
of clients who our data system shows have never lodged a review, complaint or appeal, whether
before, during, or after they were transferred to the RCU or Te Ara Tika.
Clients are counted once each time they have been transferred to one of the units. They may appear
in the data more than once.
A new process for centrally recording complaints was implemented on 18 April 2016.
The data was extracted on 18 November 2020 and may differ if re‐run at a later date.
Official Information Request 6:
(a)
In comparison to the standard case management and communication levels offered by ACC to
an ACC client, please confirm what communication and case management service restrictions
an ACC claimant is subjected to when ACC move the ACC client to the Wellington Central
Branch.
(b)
In comparison to the standard case management and communication levels offered by ACC to
an ACC client, please confirm what communication and case management service restrictions
an ACC claimant is subjected to when ACC move the ACC client to the Remote Claims Unit.
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GOV‐007357
(c)
In comparison to the case management and communication levels offered by ACC to an ACC
client at ACC Wellington Central. Branch, please confirm what further communication and case
management service restrictions an ACC client is subjected to when ACC move the ACC client to
the Remote Claims Unit from the WCB.
Our response
(a) Clients managed by Te Ara Tika receive the same communication and case management services as
clients not managed by Te Ara Tika. You may be aware that some clients whose claims are managed
in Te Ara Tika have a communication plan in place that establishes rules around the way ACC
communicates with them, but clients not in Te Ara Tika may also be on a communication plan.
(b) ACC’s standard case management policies and processes are used for claims managed in the RCU,
except for those about communication with the client.
ACC communicates with RCU clients only by email, phone and post. Unlike other clients, RCU clients
are unable to call their Recovery Partner directly. However, they can leave a voicemail message by
calling an 0800 number, and their Recovery Partner phones them back. The other difference in
communication is that RCU staff names are pseudonyms. Clients are informed of this when
transferred into RCU.
(c) Refer to answer (b) above.
Who to contact
If you have any questions, you can email me at [email address] 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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