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Accident Compensation Act 2001

Dispute resolution - Reviews

139: Corporation's duties to secure independence of reviewer

You could also call this:

“ACC has rules to make sure the people who check decisions are fair and not influenced”

The Corporation has rules to make sure reviewers are independent. You should know that the Corporation can’t hire someone as a reviewer if they already work for the Corporation or one of its subsidiaries. They also can’t hire someone who makes decisions on claims for the Corporation in any other job.

When the Corporation makes a contract with a reviewer, they’re not allowed to put anything in it that might make the reviewer favour the Corporation when they’re doing a review. This is to keep things fair.

If a reviewer tells the Corporation they’ve been involved with a claim before, except as a reviewer, the Corporation isn’t allowed to give that claim to them to review. This helps to keep the review process unbiased.

These rules are in place to make sure that when someone reviews a claim, they’re doing it fairly and independently, without being influenced by the Corporation.

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This page was last updated on

View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM101830.

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138: Reviewer's duty to act independently and disclose previous involvement, or

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140: Conduct of review: general principles, or

"Rules for reviewing accident compensation decisions"

Part 5 Dispute resolution
Reviews

139Corporation's duties to secure independence of reviewer

  1. The Corporation must not engage as a reviewer a person who is currently—

  2. employed by the Corporation; or
    1. engaged by the Corporation to make decisions on claims in a capacity other than that of reviewer; or
      1. employed or engaged by a subsidiary of the Corporation.

        1. Repealed

        2. The Corporation must not include in a contract with a reviewer any term or condition that could have the effect, directly or indirectly, of influencing the reviewer, when conducting a review, in favour of the Corporation.

        3. The Corporation must not allocate a claim to a reviewer who discloses to the Corporation any previous involvement in the claim other than as a reviewer.

        Notes
        • Section 139(1): replaced, on , by section 4(1) of the Statutes Amendment Act 2016 (2016 No 104).
        • Section 139(2): repealed, on , by section 4(2) of the Statutes Amendment Act 2016 (2016 No 104).
        • Section 139(3): amended, on , by section 4(3) of the Statutes Amendment Act 2016 (2016 No 104).