1 August 2024
Joe
[FYI request #27499 email]
Kia ora
Your Official Information Act request, reference: GOV-033531
Thank you for your email of 4 July 2024, asking for the following information under the Official Information
Act 1982 (the Act):
This is an OIA request specifically for ACC’s Resolutions Services Team.
This is a request for information for each year from the 2005/06 financial year to present.
Request 1: The number of Reviews lodged by claimants within the statutory time frame.
Request 2: Of the number of Reviews lodged within the statutory time frame, the number that were
lodged:
(a) using ACC’s template form; and
(b) verbally, to accommodate patient’s disabilities; and
(c) by written letter; and
(d) by email.
Request 3: For each of the methods of lodgment in Request 2, the number of reviews:
(a) ACC acknowledged and referred to a reviewer within the statutory timeframe; and
(b) ACC acknowledged and referred to a reviewer outside the statutory timeframe; and
(c) ACC rejected, either by written notice or by not sending any acknowledgement to the claimant;
and
(d) minimum, median, average and maximum time it took ACC to acknowledge the request for
review; and
(e) minimum, median, average and maximum time it took ACC to refer the matter to a reviewer.
Request 4: The number of Reviews lodged by claimants within outside the statutory time frame.
Request 5: Of the number of Reviews lodged outside the statutory time frame, the number that
were lodged:
(e) using ACC’s template form; and
(f) verbally to accommodate patient’s disabilities; and
(g) by written letter; and
(h) by email.
Request 6: For each of the methods of lodgment in Request 5, the number of reviews:
(a) ACC acknowledged and referred to a reviewer within the statutory time frame; and
(b) ACC acknowledged and referred to a reviewer outside the statutory time frame; and
(c) ACC rejected, either by written notice or by not sending any acknowledgement to the claimant
and not referring the matter to a reviewer; and
(d) minimum, median, average and maximum time it took ACC to acknowledge the request for
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review; and
(e) minimum, median, average and maximum time it took ACC to refer the matter to a reviewer.
Request 7: Number of Reviews that were discontinued because ACC provided a non-monetary
remedy to the claimant (e.g., ACC revoked their own decision and re-established entitlements or
granted cover for a claim).
Request 8: Number of Reviews that were discontinued because the claimant and ACC reached a
financial settlement, with or without the addition of any other remedy.
Request 9: The number of Reviews that were discontinued by the claimant, without any remedy
provided by ACC.
Request 10: The number of Reviews heard and decided.
Request 11: The number of Reviews found in ACC’s favour.
Request 12: Of those found in ACC’s favour, the number of Reviews where the claimant was:
(a) self-represented and not a lawyer; and
(b) self-represented and a lawyer; and
(c) represented by a lay-advocate (e.g., family or friend); and
(d) represented by an ACC funded advocate (e.g., ACC funded Navigation Service provider); and
(e) represented by a professional advocate not funded by ACC; and
(f) represented by a lawyer.
Request 13: The number of Reviews found in the claimant’s favour.
Request 14: Of those found in the claimant’s favour, the number of Reviews where the claimant
was:
(a) self-represented and not a lawyer; and
(b) self-represented and a lawyer;
(c) represented by a lay-advocate (e.g., family or friend); and
(d) represented by an ACC funded advocate (e.g., ACC funded Navigation Service provider); and
(e) represented by a professional advocate not funded by ACC; and
(f) represented by a lawyer.
I refer to ACC’s letter to you of 12 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. We have decided
to decline your request for the reasons set out below.
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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• ACC has determined that these related requests appear to have been made by or for the same
person. The person concerned had already been making many requests for a large amount of
detailed information and ACC had written to them advising them how to make a high volume of
official information requests in order to allow ACC to consider and respond to them as required by
the Act, without undue confusion, expense or delay.
• The 40 or more requests over the past two months appear to have been made by the same person,
except that the requests have been made anonymously, in modified forms of the requestor’s
name, in other names or, potentially, by other people acting with or for the high volume requestor.
The requests have not been made in the way that ACC requested.
• Unfortunately, your request seems to be associated with these 40 related requests. There are
significant features of your requests that are consistent with the other requests, including your
refusal to respond to ACC’s questions about who you are and why you are making the requests.
• ACC has concluded that you, or people acting with or for you, have made all of these many
requests; and that you are also probably the person that ACC wrote to advising you to make your
requests in a way that reduced the administrative burden on ACC of responding to them. The five
requests made by you from the one fyi.org.nz account, including this request, do not follow ACC’s
advice.
• 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.
• 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 request also appears to be made so as to avoid the reasonable requirements that ACC asked
made so as to minimise the burden on ACC of responding to your requests. There is no reason that
ACC is aware of for you making numerous, detailed and onerous requests that incur unreasonable
effort and expense for ACC that could be avoided.
• Your entire request is therefore refused.
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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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