02 November 2023
AS Van Wey
[FYI request #24373 email]
Kia ora
Your Official Information Act request, reference: GOV-028323
Thank you for your email of 11 October 2023 to the Minister for ACC, Hon Peeni Henare, asking for
information about advocacy and navigation services. Your request was forwarded to my team to respond
under the Official Information Act 1982 (the Act).
Our interpretation of your request
We have interpreted ‘advocacy’ as referring to support provided from beginning to end of the claim dispute
process, including at review. This interpretation is consistent with the Independent Review of Acclaim
Otago’s report into accident compensation dispute resolution processes (the Independent Review).
ACC does not provide or fund ‘advocacy’ support, there are no ‘advocacy service’ providers.
ACC’s Navigation Services
In 2019, based on the recommendations of the Independent Review, ACC established Navigation Services.
The current providers and information about their service(s) is available on our website, here:
www.acc.co.nz/im-injured/resolve-an-issue/navigation-services/.
As per our previous response of 16 October 2023 (our ref: GOV-028271) Navigation Service providers can
provide advice, but they cannot do so in a legal capacity, such as writing review submissions or advocating
for them at review.
In a further email response of 10 October 2023, (our ref: GOV-028272), we advised that the same exclusion
for ‘advocacy services’ is included in all of the contracts with the navigation service providers listed on our
website (i.e. at the link provided above).
The Deputy Chief Executive, Service Delivery, at ACC is responsible for reviewing Navigation Service
contracts.
Complaints about responses
As with al responses under the Act, if you are unhappy with this response, you can contact us to discuss at
[email address]. Alternatively, you may wish to make a complaint to the Ombudsman;
their role is to investigate whether an agency has met the requirements under the Act when responding to
requests. You can contact the Ombudsman vi
a [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-028323 Page 1 of 1
