Plain language law

New Zealand law explained for everyone

Accident Compensation Act 2001

Management of the Scheme - Recovery of payments

251: Recovery of payments

You could also call this:

“ACC can't make you repay money they gave you by mistake or after changing their mind”

If you receive money from the Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC) in good faith, they can’t make you pay it back just because they changed their mind about your medical condition. This applies even if they revise their decision under section 65.

ACC also can’t make you pay back money if they made a mistake in giving it to you, as long as you didn’t cause the mistake on purpose. This is true if you got the money in good faith and you’ve already spent it or made plans based on having that money, making it unfair for you to pay it back.

Finally, ACC can’t take back payments that are related to decisions they are assumed to have made under section 65(2).

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM103119.

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250: Penalties and interest due to Corporation in respect of unpaid levies, or

"Extra charges for late ACC payments"

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252: Relationship with social security benefits: reimbursement by Corporation, or

"ACC pays back extra money if you get both social security benefits and ACC payments"

Part 6 Management of the Scheme
Recovery of payments

251Recovery of payments

  1. If a person receives a payment from the Corporation in good faith, the Corporation may not recover all or part of the payment on the ground only that the decision under which the payment was made has been revised on medical grounds under section 65.

  2. The Corporation may not recover any part of a payment in respect of entitlements that was paid as a result of an error not intentionally contributed to by the recipient if the recipient—

  3. received the payment in good faith; and
    1. has so altered his or her position in reliance on the validity of the payment that it would be inequitable to require repayment.

      1. The Corporation may not recover payments to which section 65(2) (revision of deemed decisions) applies.