Critics say the ACC appeals system is threatening to burst at the seams, with review applications soaring to 9900 during the past year and 1446 cases stacked up at the district court.© Allied Press Limited 2010
Dunedin ACC campaigner Denise Powell and city lawyer Peter Sara, who has been handling ACC cases for more than 30 years, are urging a rethink of the way ACC is operating. An excessive emphasis on cost cutting and excluding many such claimants from coverage was causing the upsurge in reviews and appeals, Mr Sara told the Otago Daily Times.
The Green Party recently called for an independent review of changes made to ACC by the Government during the past two years, after a review of controversial changes to ACC's sexual abuse assessment procedures highlighted major flaws.
But ACC claims management acting general manager Mike Tully said he found it "hard to imagine how ACC could be too focused on cost containment when we have a $10.3 billion deficit to contend with."
"The fact is that the future of the ACC scheme was in jeopardy and some difficult decisions were necessary," Mr Tully said. An increase in reviews and appeals was "to be expected given our much tighter focus on applying our legislation properly".
"We also recognise that the benefits of being on ACC are considerable, especially if time off work is required, so we expect that people will do whatever they can to get on to ACC.
"What's important is that over the last couple of years the proportion of reviews and appeals upheld in ACC's favour has remained relatively steady in most areas, at about 75%." ACC decision-making processes were "fair and robust", he said.
Long-term ACC claimant numbers dropped from 15,271 to about 12,500 during the 2009-10 financial year, and ACC plans to cut at least 1150 more clients from its long-term claimant list by the middle of next year. Applications for reviews of ACC claim decisions had earlier risen from 6256 to 8160 over the 2008-09 financial year, a parliamentary report noted.
Officials at Disputes Resolution Services Ltd (DRSL), an ACC subsidiary which operates independently of ACC, said 9900 applications for review had been lodged with it in the 12 months to June 30 this year. A total of 9430 reviews were also completed or withdrawn over that period.
Ministry of Justice tribunals national manager Wayne Newall noted that if claimants were "unhappy" about an ACC claim, the first step was for ACC to review the decision, including through DRSL. If people were still not satisfied, they could apply to the Accident Compensation Appeals District Court Registry to further review the decision. The registry hears claims against decisions by DRSL, and district court judges deal with the appeals. The judges decided 236 cases last year, and 625 new cases were lodged. Of the 1446 "live" appeal cases before the court, 115 originated in Dunedin, Mr Newall said.
Denise Powell, who is the president of Acclaim Otago, an ACC claimant support group, said the appeal system was "getting so overloaded that it could burst at the seams".
"There must be a point at which they say, whether the courts say, or ACC says, something's wrong and if this continues we just can't keep up with the number of reviews and appeals that are coming through."
http://www.odt.co.nz/news/dunedin/128144/acc-appeals-overloaded
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