05 August 2025
Spencer Jones
[FYI request #31103 email]
Kia ora Spencer
Your Official Information Act request, reference: GOV-041488
Thank you for your email of 14 July 2025, asking for the following information under the Official
Information Act 1982 (the Act):
1. 1. Repetitive ACC18 Issuance – Long-Term Claims
For each of the last five calendar years (2020–2024), please provide:
a. The number of active claims that were 2 years or more in duration
b. Of those, how many had been issued with:
• 3 or more ACC18 medical certificates
• 5 or more ACC18 medical certificates
• 10 or more ACC18 medical certificates
c. Of those with 5 or more ACC18s issued, how many had:
• A confirmed Whole Person Impairment (WPI) assessment
• A final Permanent Injury Compensation (PIC) decision issued
2. PIC Application and Decision Delays
Please provide:
a. The average time (in months) from injury stabilisation to WPI assessment for al
claims assessed for PIC in 2022–2024.
b. The number of cases where a PIC application was declined on the basis that the
injury had not stabilised, despite being in receipt of 5 or more ACC18s.
c. Any internal audit, review, or quality assurance documents from the past 5 years
examining delays or barriers to accessing PIC for long-term claimants.
3. Support and Escalation Mechanisms
Please provide a copy of any current:
• Internal guidance or SOPs (standard operating procedures) for case managers
relating to escalation of long-term claims to PIC or IMA assessment
• Criteria or policy thresholds that guide when a long-term claimant should be
referred for WPI/PIC evaluation.
GOV-041488 Page 1 of 3
Data for Question 1 is enclosed in the appendix
Please find the requested information attached in Appendix 1. When interpreting the data provided,
please refer to the notes and caveats included.
We reiterate that we have not refused your previous requests under section 18(f) of the Act.
We are unable to provide data for Question 2a and 2b Information about injury stability as a reason for decline is not readily retrievable. Stability of an injury is
not relevant in every application and is not recorded electronical y in our claims management system
(e.g. for a lump sum assessment, stability is only relevant if it has been less than two years from the
date of injury).
Therefore, we are refusing this part of your request as extracting the data would require us to manual y
read through all individual claim files, requiring substantial collation and research. This decision has
been made under section 18(f) of the Act.
In doing so, we considered extending our timeframe to respond and charging (as allowed under the
Act). However, it was determined that the resources required to extract the data would have a
significant impact on the everyday functions of the team(s) involved.
Our response to question 2c
As advised in our response of 25 June 2025 (GOV-040419) and our response of 14 July 2025 (GOV-
041016), ACC does not hold the information requested.
Therefore, we are refusing this part of your request under section 18(e) of the Act.
Repeated requests for the same information We note that you have made previous and repeated requests for similar or the same information
referred to in this request. For the purposes of this response, we have referred you to our previous
responses. However, if we continue to receive requests for the same information, we will refuse to
respond under section 18(h) of the Act.
Our response to question 3
ACC has a Permanent Injury Compensation team who determine if a client is eligible for assessment
using the information provided on the ACC554, the accident date for determining entitlement type and
information from any previous impairment assessments (if relevant).
We have attached the following documents about Impairment Assessments:
• Assess Eligibility for Lump Sum / Independence Allowance and Election Offer
• Arrange Whole Person Impairment Assessment
• Impairment Assessment Referral Pack Guidelines
• Send a Permanent Injury Compensation application pack
• Escalate Permanent Injury Compensation application for a rapidly deteriorating client
GOV-041488 Page 2 of 3
Initial Medical Assessments (IMA) Please find in attached appendix ACC policy on Initial Medical Assessments (IMA). These assessments
follow an Initial Occupational Assessment (IOA) and are used to determine a client’s Vocational
Rehabilitation (VR) needs when it is unlikely that the client will regain fitness for their pre-injury
employment.
The following documents regarding these assessments are attached in Appendix 3:
• Arrange Initial Occupational Assessment (IOA)
• Arrange Initial Medical Assessment (IMA)
As names and contact details of individuals were not requested, they have been deemed out of the
scope of your request and removed.
If you have any questions about this response, please get in touch
You can email me a
t [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 a
t www.ombudsman.parliament.nz. Ngā mihi
Christopher Johnston
Manager Official Information Act Services Government Engagement
GOV-041488 Page 3 of 3