ACC’s role in Invalids Benefit Growth
Press Release
10 January 2007
ACC’s role in Invalids Benefit Growth
Access Support Services calls upon the Government to look into the role ACC has played in increasing number of people receiving the invalid benefit.
The category of “Musculo-skeletal incapacities” has been reported as contributing to the growth in invalids benefits since2002. This is in keeping with our experience in the ACC cases we deal with.
It is no co-incidence that the increase in this category followed the introduction of new ACC legislation in 2001. The Injury Prevention, Compensation, and Rehabilitation Act 2001 Act essentially gave ACC a device to exit long-term claimants through the “vocational independence assessment” process rather than provide the comprehensive rehabilitation the Act intended.
ENDS