29 July 2024 
 
 
Bruce 
[FYI request #27443 email] 
 
 
 
Kia ora  
 
 
Your Official Information Act request, reference: GOV-034021 
Thank you for your email of 1 July 2024, asking for the following information under the Official Information 
Act 1982 (the Act): 
 
To clarify, SCAs, and the SCA Team Leaders, have the delegated authority to investigate, assess and 
make cover decisions on complicated claims, as defined under section 57 of the AC Act. I understand 
from other responses that the name of the role of the persons who have the delegated authority to 
investigate, assess and make cover decisions on complicated claims has changed over time. For 
instance, at one time they were called Treatment Injury Claim Assessors, or Sensitive Claim 
Assessors. 
 
I request the following information from 2000 to present: 
(1) the job title of the persons who had the delegated authority to investigate, assess and make 
cover decisions on complicated claims, as defied under section 57 of the Act; and 
(2) for each of job titles in (1), the dates that that job title was was being used by ACC; and 
(3) copies of the job descriptions for each of the job titles in (1) and the dates that job description 
was valid; and 
(4) copies of the the collective agreements for each of the job titles in (1) and the dates that the 
collective agreement was in effect; and 
(5) copies of the delegation framework documents for the job titles in (1), and the dates the 
delegation framework was in effect. 
 
I refer to ACC’s letter to you of 25 July 2024 asking you for information about yourself and the reasons for 
this official information request. To date, you have not provided the information sought. 
 
Today is the last of the 20 working days in which ACC may respond to your official information request 
without a time extension. For the reasons set out below, ACC is declining your request.  
 
ACC’s reasons now to decline your request are that: 
•  ACC has recently received a large number of apparently closely related official information requests 
that also appear to be made by or on behalf of the same person. There have been at least 40 
requests over the past two months.  
 
•  These information requests require considerable expense and effort for ACC to respond to. ACC 
estimates that it is currently allocating more than the equivalent of one full time employee to 
respond to each of these requests separately, despite the fact that they seem closely related. It  
would likely require even more expense and effort to produce all of the information sought in each 
of these requests.   
 
 
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•  Unfortunately, your request seems to be one of these 40 related requests. Because you have not 
provided ACC information to confirm that your request was made acting only for yourself and your 
own reasons, ACC has decided that your request is probably one of these many related requests.  
 
•  The way that you, or people acting for you, appear to have asked for a wide range of information in 
many separate requests rather than include all questions in one request, interferes with ACC’s 
ability to determine whether and how it might be able to apply various provisions of the Official 
Information Act to deal with your request. Those provisions relate to whether the requests taken as 
a whole require substantial collation or research so as to: 
o  allow ACC to decline some or all of the requests under s18(f) of the Act; 
o  consider combining your request with any other requests made by you under s18A(2) of the 
Act; 
o  fully to consider fixing a charge for providing the documents concerned under s15 and s18A(1) 
of the Act.  
 
•  Because your request appears to be part of a wider course of conduct making numerous official 
information requests in a way that prevents ACC from applying the parts of the Official Information 
Act that protect agencies from being put to unreasonable effort and expense in responding to  
official information requests, ACC considers that your request is frivolous or vexatious in terms of 
s18(h) of the Act. 
 
•  Your entire request is therefore refused. 
 
If ACC is wrong and your request is not one among many related requests then please let me know 
urgently, or if you prefer, take the issue to 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 
 
 
 
Christopher Johnston 
Manager Official Information Act Services 
Government Engagement 
 
 
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