Accident Compensation Policy Summary

Read the full Accident Compensation Policy

Vision

The Green Party envisions a holistic social security, health and disability system, focused on promoting good health, reducing the risk and impact of illness and injury, and improving the quality of life.

Key Principles

The Green Party supports:

• Equitable rehabilitation for all people suffering impairment caused by injury, illness or other disability.
• The retention of public provision of rehabilitation and compensation for personal injury, funded through an equitable mix of levies on employers, employees, motor vehicle usage and general taxation.

Specific Policy Points

ACC Cover for Personal Injury

The Green Party will:

• Ensure that all people who have a genuine work-related gradual process injury, disease or infection, including occupational overuse injuries and chemical poisoning, can obtain ACC cover.
• Ensure that all people who receive unexpected and unintended injuries as a consequence of medical treatment can access ACC cover.
• Restore cover to people who suffer only mental injury caused by accident, treatment by registered health professionals, or work-related gradual process injury, disease or infection.

Adequate Rehabilitation and Fair Compensation

The Green Party believes that rehabilitation to the greatest extent practicable, rather than theoretical work capacity, ought to be the main focus of ACC. The Green Party will:

• Ensure that adequate and appropriate social and vocational rehabilitation is provided.
• Introduce a regime under which weekly compensation is treated no differently from other income for benefit abatement purposes.
• Take into account seasonal workers and people in temporary employment in the formula setting the level of weekly compensation.

Culture of ACC

The Green Party will:

• Adequately fund independent advocacy agencies for people who are injured.
• Create an ACC ombusdman to take over the functions of the ACC Complaints Investigation Service.