3 November 2023
AS Van Wey
[FYI request #23362 email]
Kia ora Amy,
Your Official Information Act request, reference: GOV-028256 Thank you for your email on 8 October 2023 asking for information under the Official Information Act 1982
(the Act). I have provided a response to each of your questions in turn:
(Question 1) Since Team Leaders of SCAs must review and assess the quality of work by SCAs, it would
follow that all Team Leaders for SCA's (levels 1 and 2), must also maintain their registration as health
professional. If I have misunderstood, please clarify. Team Leaders working in Cover Assessment are not required to be a Registered Health Professional. The
Team Leader is a leadership role, which involves coaching and mentoring staff, as well as ensuring their
team provides efficient support to ensure our clients receive a timely and quality cover decision.
(Question 2) Please list the job titles, for each department (including the name of the department), of all
employees that must maintain a current registration as a health professional, as described under section
7 of the Accident Compensation (Definitions) Regulations 2019, in order to be employed at ACC. We have interpreted this question as referring to annual practising certification. We note that some
registering bodies do not require an annual practising certificate.
ACC job titles that require an annual practising certificate with a health professional regulatory body are:
• Clinical Advisor, Clinical Services
• Psychology Advisor, Clinical Services
• Medical Advisor, Clinical Services
• Principal Clinical Advisor, Clinical Services
• Clinical Advice Manager, Clinical Services
• Chief Clinical Officer, Health Partnerships
• Manager Strategic Clinical Advice and Governance, Health Partnerships
• Strategic Clinical Advisor, Health Partnerships (including Strategic Clinical Advisor Māori Health)
Specialist Cover Assessors in Claims Assessment require registration (including a current annual practising
certificate) on employment. However, if the work their role entails does not meet the ongoing
requirements of their registration body, they are unable to renew or maintain their certificates and are not
required to do so.
(Question 3) Please provide all documents of conditions of employment for persons ACC require to be
registered health professionals. The following documents are attached:
− Individual Employment Agreement
(this covers all staff unless they join a union) − Clinical Advisor Job Description
− Psychology Advisor Collective Agreement
− Psychology Advisor Job Description
− Medical Advisor Collective Agreement
− Medical Advisor Job Description
− Principal Clinical Advisor Job Description
− Clinical Advice Manager Job Description
− Chief Clinical Officer and Head of Health Partnerships Job Description
− Manager Strategic Clinical Advice and Governance Job Description
− Strategic Clinical Advisor Job Description
GOV-028256 Page 1 of 2
− Strategic Clinical Advisor, Māori Health, Job Description
− Specialist Cover Assessors Job Description
As staff names were not requested, they have been deemed out of scope of your request and removed.
(Question 4) Please provide documents as to how ACC deals with employees who fail to maintain their
registration as health professionals As noted in question 2, there are certain roles which require a current annual practising certificate as a
condition of employment. However, there is no specific document which sets out how ACC should manage
cases where any such employee has not met this employment requirement. As such, we are refusing this
request, as a specific document does not exist. This decision has been made under section 18(e) of the Act.
Should an employee fail to maintain their registration, each case would be considered on its merits and
appropriate action taken. The first step we would take is having a discussion with the staff member
concerned to ascertain the reasons why their registration was not up-to-date. From there we would
determine what, if any, process is needed.
(Question 5) Please provide me with the documents which outline how ACC verifies registration, the
frequency of verification of registration, and assessment of good standing as a registered health
professionals. The recruiting manager verifies registration, including the staff members’ annual practising certificate, as
part of the pre-employment checks.
Please find the document
‘Annual practising certificate review process – Clinical staff at ACC’ attached.
(Question 6) Please also provide documentation of ACC employment agreements, pertaining to acting in
accordance with ACC's policies and the law. Please see the Individual Employment Agreement, Psychology Advisor Collective Agreement, and
Medical Advisor Collective Agreement attached for Question 3.
If you have any questions about this response, please get in touch
You can email me at
[email address]. If you are not happy with this response, you can also
contact the Ombudsman
via [email address] or by phoning 0800 802 602. Information
about how to make a complaint is available at
www.ombudsman.parliament.nz. Ngā mihi
Sara Freitag
Acting Manager Official Information Act Services
Government Engagement
GOV-028256 Page 2 of 2
Document Outline
