Dear Accident Compensation Corporation,

1. Where a claimant reports and/or provides the ACC with evidence of fraud by an ACC treatment provider either by telephoning the ACC's Fraud Unit website published toll free number or by completing the ACC's Fraud Unit website online "Reporting Fraud" form, does an ACC Fraud Unit investigator - who the report is apparently then transferred to for investigation - usually call or e-mail that claimant to discuss the reported fraud, or, is there usually no communication between an ACC Fraud Unit investigator?

2. If there is usually no communication between an ACC Fraud Unit investigator and a claimant who reports and/or provides the ACC with evidence of fraud by an ACC treatment provider, why is this the case, and how is the claimant supposed to provide the ACC with the finer details of the reported fraud when the ACC Fraud Unit call takers and the "Reporting Fraud" form asks for the briefest of details which does not allow for an in-depth, sufficient and adequate investigation?

3. Is a claimant who reports and/or provides the ACC with evidence of fraud by an ACC treatment provider involved in any way in the investigation process? If so, in what way and to what extent are they involved?

4. Is a claimant who reports and/or provides the ACC with evidence of fraud by an ACC treatment provider advised in any way of the outcome of the investigation process? If so, in what way and to what extent are they advised?

5. Is a claimant who reports and/or provides the ACC with evidence of fraud by an ACC treatment entitled in any way to be advised of the outcome of the investigation process - viz-a-viz at least advised that it had been found that a fraud had been committed but not told any other private or identifying details out of respect for the right to privacy held by the ACC treatment provider - given that the Privacy Act provides for access to private and private health information, and, that the claimant may have been a patient of the treatment provider and therefore the reported fraud and related evidence may include private and private health information about the claimant?

6. If a claimant reported and provided evidence to ACC management and staff about fraud by an ACC treatment provider, including a complaint about this being made as part of verbal and/or written review submissions, what would the usual and anticipated response of the ACC and Fairway Resolution Limited reviewer be? And, would that response include advising the claimant that the ACC has a Fraud Unit, with it being suggested or recommended that the claimant contact same,with the abovementioned website details then being offered to the claimant? If not, why not, and how are claimants supposed to know that the ACC has a Fraud Unit when they're not told this?

7. If a claimant is able to prove fraud by evidence and a decision has been made by the ACC that declines cover and/or entitlement but ignores the negative effect that the fraud has had on the claimant, the outcome of the claim and the ACC's decline decision, what recourse is available to that claimant in terms of requiring the ACC and the reviewer to take the fraud report and evidence into consideration? And, is there is any requirement in the AC Act that the ACC and the reviewer must take fraud - where it is reported and evidence is provided - into consideration when making decisions on claims for cover and entitlement?

8. If a claimant is not advised, and has no entitlement to be advised, of the outcome of a fraud investigation, how is the claimant to prove to the ACC and the reviewer that he/she has been negatively affected by the fraud and what effect the fraud has had on the claimant, the outcome of the claim and the ACC's decline decision?

9. What does the ACC do to promote and encourage the reporting of fraud by claimants and the general public?

Kindly note that under s16(2) of the Official Information Act, my preferred way of receiving a response is by email to the address from which ACC received the original request, not by post".

Yours faithfully,

Lee M.