Dear Accident Compensation Corporation,

I quote below from paragraph 7.18 located under the title "Proposed Process for the Management of Long-term Claimants" found on page on Page 8 of ACC's Executive Leadership Team Issues Paper dated 16 February 2009 for which the subject was the "Strategy for the Future Management of Long-term Claims";

"ACC research (footnote 1) provides evidence that as well as working with clients on their ability to deal with accident (and non-accident) related medical impairment, a move away from the medical model to one of functional management, i.e. breaking down non-medical barriers to work, can result in improved outcomes. Future rehabilitation programmes will complement existing programmes by placing a focus on supporting a return to work/work readiness."

The footnote "1" noted in 7.18 which Phil Riley and Denise Cosgrove relied upon in reference to their statement referred to as the " ACC Research provides evidence...." referenced the following 2 works;

1) Barriers facing long term unemployed, injured, or disabled workers returning to work. Fiona Knight, ACC Jan 2004.
2) Interventions for the management of long term ACC clients in receipt of weekly compensation . Fiona Conlon. ACC Dec 2008

OIA Requests 1 and 2;

I respectfully request that you make available to me in line with the provisions of the Official Information Act 1982, complete copies of the above 2 research articles authored by Fiona Knight in Jan 2004, and Fiona Conlon in Dec 2008.

OIA Request 3:

It would be appreciated if you could confirm whether Fiona Knight and Fiona Conlon, are one in the same person, or whether they are separate people.

OIA Request 4:

Please confirm whether Fiona Knight/Fiona Conlon, were employed within ACC as full time employees when they published the above research referred to and requested under the OIA, or whether ACC engaged an external consultant for this research published by Fiona Knight/Fiona Conlon.

Request 5:

If Fiona Knight/ Fiona Conlon were full time employees of ACC can you please advise what their job positions were at the time of publishing the research that I have requested, and previous job positions that they currently hold, and had previously held within ACC.

Request 6:

If Fiona Knight/ Fiona Conlon were full time employees of ACC can you please advise what qualifications and experience she, and or they, as the case may be held prior to publishing the two articles that I am requesting copies of under the OIA 1982.

Request 8:

If Fiona Knight/ Fiona Conlon was, or were, independent consultants contracted by ACC for the purposes of the two referred research papers, please advise which consultancy firm/s that they worked for at the time that each research article was published.

I thank you for your time and assistance and confirm 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,

David Lawson

Dear Terence Routledge, Advisor: Government Engagement and Support

Thank your for correspondence dated 28 June 2018 forwarded to my personal email address and received at 1.00 pm on the same date.

A copy of your letter to which I respond, is quoted in full following my sign off below for which I note that you have grouped three of my different Official Information requests including this request. In order to keep things in order for myself, should I be required to seek the assistance of the Office of the Ombudsman, I have responded separately to your request of 28 June 2018, to each of the three of my different requests for official information through www.FYI.org.nz, specifically through the original requests that I have made in each occasion.

In this instance I respond to your question concerning my interest in relation to my OIA request of 13 June 2018 found at https://fyi.org.nz/request/8024-request-....

I confirm that my interest for each of the 7 (OIA Requests 1, 2, 3,4,5,6, and 8) OIA requests that I made on 13 June 2018 under OIA Request https://fyi.org.nz/request/8024-request-... is as follows;

OIA Request 1:
Is my request for a copy of the research reportedly authored by Fiona Knight titled "Barriers facing long term unemployed, injured, or disabled workers returning to work. Fiona Knight, ACC Jan 2004." referenced by Phil Riley and Denise Cosgrove on ACC's behalf to support their ideal of reshaping as at 2009 Future rehabilitation programmes.

I am interested in being provided a copy of this research relied upon by ACC's Phil Riley and Denise Cosgrove, because programmes that I was offered between 2012 and 2014 fall in line with Phil Riley's and ACC's "Strategy for the Future Management of Long-term Claims"changes effected.

I would like to be provided with a copy of this research so as to establish whether Fiona Knight considered in this piece of research, the impact to claimants and associated risks to claimants when they are returned to work, with untreated injuries, or unhealed injuries and the potential of further compounding injuries to occur causing additional harm to the claimant. I am also really interested in this research since it has been used to support the reshaping of how ACC provided rehabilitative programmes which appears to have followed a trend by the NSIS in the U.K.

OIA Request 2: Interventions for the management of long term ACC clients in receipt of weekly compensation . Fiona Conlon. ACC Dec 2008

This article has direct relevance to my personal situation because whilst I was in receipt of weekly compensation I was subjected to flow chart interventions that are shown on page 9, and expanded upon on pages 9 and 10, found in the Strategy for the future of Long Term Claims Management. I have a natural justice right to be provided with information that has been generated and used by ACC to have had shaped the provisions of rehabilitative programmes and interventions offered and used by ACC. I am also interested in establishing whether a claimant's human rights were considered and or factored into the research outcomes of this research that ACC has used to support their changes to rehabilitative assistance between 2009 and present.

OIA Request 3

With the 2 research articles relied upon by Phil Riley, Denise Cosgrove and ACC being in very similar fields/topics, I think that it is reasonable for me to establish whether Ms Fiona Knight, married and went on to be renamed Ms Fiona Conlon, so as to establish whether the information relied upon was generated by a single person as opposed to two people.

OIA Request 4

I have asked whether Fiona Knight and or Fiona Conlon, if they are not the same person, was or were an employee of ACC's when the wrote the "research ", so as to be able to establish whether the research was generated independent of acc.

OIA Request 5

I have asked to be advised of Fiona Knight's and Fiona Conlon's job experience and roles within ACC to verify her credentials as a researcher.

OIA Request 6

I have asked to be advised of Fiona Knight's and Fiona Conlon's qualifications and experience within ACC to verify her credentials as a researcher.

OIARequest 8

I have asked this OIA request to establish whether Ms Knight or Ms Conlon were active independent researchers should they not have been employee of ACC.

I trust that my expressed interest satisfies your imposed interest test, and I look forward to receiving the full information as requested on the 13 June 2018, pursuant to the time provisions of the OIA from 13 June 2018.

I thank you for your time and assistance and I advise 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 sincerely,

David Lawson

Copy of your letter of 28 June 2018 follows;

28 June 2018

Mr David Lawson

Email: [email address]

Ref: 0052120, 0052121, 0052122

Dear Mr Lawson

Official Information Act Request

We refer to your three official information requests of 13 June 2018.

We note that each of your requests refer to an ACC document from 2009, titled Strategy for the Future Management of Long-term Claims (the Issues Paper). You have asked a total of 24 questions in relation to particular references in the Issues Paper.

Due to the broad scope of your requests, and the fact that they seek a large amount of historic information, it would likely take a significant amount of time and resource to complete your requests.

We note that you have made numerous official information requests since 2015, on a range of subjects. However, with respect to your 13 June requests, it is unclear why the specific information you have requested is of value or interest to you.

Noting this, and before we progress your request further, we would like to know what your interest in this information is. We will consider your request further once we have received comments from you.

Could you please provide your comments to us by Wednesday 4 July 2018, by writing to [email address].

Yours sincerely

Terence Routledge
Advisor
Government Engagement and Support