Bronwyn Puller: ACC abused claimants' rights with consent form

A report from 3 News by Melanie Reid for Third Degree

Bronwyn Puller blew the whistle on ACC in 2012. She was sent nearly 7000 personal files in one of New Zealand’s worst privacy breaches.
Two years later ACC has been found to be involved in another massive privacy scandal. This time it potentially affects three-quarters of a million Kiwis.
"There’s no limitation on it [ACC form 167]," says Ms Puller. "So it’s as wild as your imagination. They could go to your bank and obtain all your banking financial records. They could go to your telecommunications provider and obtain access to your emails. They could go to your gym, look at your gym attendance. They could go to your neighbours, talk to your neighbours. But it’s not just what they can collect; this actually also gives ACC unlimited powers of disclosure."
ACC was forcing clients to sign a consent form that was well beyond ACC’s legal mandate. This gave ACC powers – way beyond what they have under the legislation. This gives them the ability, and the Government, to intrude in every aspect of your life. It gives them the ability to release any information about you to any third party.
Here are just a few examples from our ACC files:

• A male freezing worker's sexual abuse history was shared with his employer.
• A claimant who had suffered mental health issues had her highly sensitive files released to her employer.
• A victim of a brutal assault also had confidential files released to his employer – files about his nightmares, medication and counselling sessions.

"This is the consequence of this form," says Ms Puller. "I don’t think anyone in their right mind would want their employer, or a potential employer, or a headhunting agency, having complete access to their medical records. They are the most highly sensitive private information."
The problem for claimants is if they didn’t sign the 167 consent form allowing ACC wide-ranging collection of their private information, they faced being cut off.
So last week a judge ruled ACC’s use of the consent form unlawful. But there are allegations that for years and years ACC has known this.
Ms Puller had raised the issue of the 167 form with the former minister, the board, the State Services Commission, the Privacy Commissioner, Department of Labour and Ombudsman.
"[Current ACC Minister] Judith Collins was given the list of 45 issues, which I took to the meeting in December, that we asked ACC to address," she says. "The ACC 167 was listed on that as one of the concerns we had about the unlawful approach to the way ACC was operating its business. That list was given to the minister on March 14, 2012.
"I know that she received my list of 45 issues. I also know that she received a copy of the independent report that was commissioned by ACC and the Privacy Commissioner, which raised concerns about ACC’s consent form, because it was the major bugbear that most claimants had with ACC."
So going by the judge's ruling, potentially there are hundreds of thousands of files sitting in an ACC database containing private information that has been obtained in an illegally manner.
"At the end of the day, ACC have created their own administrative nightmare, through the way that they’ve acted. They’ve acted unlawfully. They’ve acted irresponsibly. They’ve acted in a way that basically totally abuses the claimants' rights and the right to informed consent, and to control of their personal information. It’s that simple."
Click here to see the response from ACC.
For anyone with concerns about their claim in relation to their signing the ACC 167 consent form, please call 0800 745 254.

© 2013 MediaWorks TV

http://www.3news.co.nz/Bronwyn-Puller-ACC-abused-claimants-rights-with-consent-form/tabid/1771/articleID/341271/Default.aspx#ixzz2zkDroQnw

Sixth ACC casualty as board member leaves

A news report from 3 News by Patrick Gower

The ACC-Bronwyn Pullar privacy scandal has now claimed its sixth casualty. 3 News can reveal another board member, Murray Hilder, has quit. That brings the total to three board members, plus the chair, chief executive and a minister.
But the Government has been keeping Mr Hilder's departure quiet.
“I'm happy to make it public but it's not something I've considered,” ACC Minister Judith Collins says.
She says Mr Murray did not tell her why he was leaving. But a source close to Mr Hilder has told 3 News his skills were "the best in the business", and he simply didn't like the politics from Ms Collins.
"Murray has had a complete gutsful,” the anonymous source says. “It is blatantly obvious why he has buggered off -he does not want to be around this political behaviour."
Labour says the latest resignation was kept quiet because it is a further embarrassment.
“ACC is in chaos at the most senior levels. It is not a very good expression of confidence in the Minister,” Labour MP Andrew Little says.
Ms Collins again faced questions about whether she was involved in discussions about ACC putting the police onto Ms Pullar and Michelle Boag for alleged extortion, and whether it was all about bad blood between Ms Collins and Ms Boag.
But Ms Collins denied it that it was.
The central question has always been about what Ms Collins knew in advance about the ACC's extortion complaint to police.
“In terms of telling me or asking my advice - no - they have simply done it and advised me afterwards... I don't know how many times I have to say it," she says.
But Labour is still not convinced.
“Something just doesn't add up, and the minister isn't giving us straight answers,” Mr Little says.
So an ACC departure that the Government was so embarrassed about, no one wanted to announce it. Half the board the Government appointed has now been either sacked or has jumped ship. Just four of eight board members remain.

© 2012 MediaWorks TV

http://www.3news.co.nz/Sixth-ACC-casualty-as-board-member-leaves/tabid/1607/articleID/258308/Default.aspx

Greens call for ACC chair to be removed

A news report from 3 News

The Green Party is calling for ACC chairman John Judge to be removed following a television interview with ACC claimant Bronwyn Pullar.
The corporation inadvertently emailed Ms Pullar details of thousands of claimants, alleged she refused to return it and claimed she threatened to go to the media at a meeting she had with two ACC managers in December unless her own compensation demands were met.
ACC laid a complaint with the police and on Tuesday Assistant Commissioner Malcolm Burgess said no charges would be laid because no offence had been disclosed.
Ms Pullar has claimed she never made a threat, and a 60 Minutes item aired on Sunday said a recording Ms Pullar made of the meeting didn't contain any such threats.
Mr Judge said after police said no charges would be laid that he was satisfied the version of the meeting reported by the ACC managers was "a complete and accurate" account.
Green Party ACC spokesman Kevin Hague says the programme showed decisive action was required from ACC Minister Judith Collins.
He said allegations made "about shonky assessment and claims handling practices, and lack of integrity at the highest levels means that, at the very least, the ACC Minister should remove John Judge as ACC chairman".
Ms Pullar said she went to the media about the privacy breach to bring the spotlight on ACC.
"They're taking advantage of vulnerable disabled New Zealanders and they are actively, systematically taking people off (ACC)."
Former National Party president Michelle Boag, who attended the December meeting with Ms Pullar, said ACC had a culture problem and that "they treat all their clients as potential fraudsters".
ACC declined to respond to Ms Pullar's comments for the programme other to say that when it came to ACC assessments, it used appropriately qualified professionals, and that clients had a right to appeal.

© 2012 MediaWorks TV

http://www.3news.co.nz/Greens-call-for-ACC-chair-to-be-removed/tabid/1607/articleID/257318/Default.aspx

Sensitive ACC client files go missing

A report from 3 News by Charlotte Shipman

Sensitive information about ACC clients, who were rape and sexual assault victims, has been stolen after the ACC contractor who was entrusted with them packed them in a suitcase that was stolen from a bus.
We are calling her "Milly". She's a sexual abuse victim whose confidential ACC file has been stolen when it should have been safe. The file has details of her abuse and all her personal information. It has her home address – a fact she finds very frightening.
“I've got a family,” she says. “I've got babies.”
Her independent psychiatrist contracted by ACC had the files on an InterCity bus between Whanganui and Palmerston North last month. It was in a leopard-print trolley case along with six other sensitive ACC clients' files.
“We're talking about rape victims – victims of sexual abuse, victims of sexual violence,” says Palmerston North Women’s Centre advocate Rachel Buck.
The bag was put in the luggage compartment underneath the bus, but when the bus got to Palmerston North the bag wasn't there. It had been stolen, possibly at a stop in Feilding.
“Sensitive files, people's lives, shouldn't be placed into a leopard-skin trolley bag for starters,” says Ms Buck. "Sensitive information should be sitting in a locked briefcase on her lap on that bus.”
The psychiatrist told the police the same night the bag was stolen. But it was another three days before she told ACC. Two days after that she told the Medical Protection Society and the Privacy Commissioner. It was nearly a week after the file went missing that the psychiatrist told Milly.
“It's disgusting,” says Milly. “It's something that should never have happened.”
But privacy breaches are happening. In March, 6700 clients' details were sent to ACC claimant Bronwyn Pullar. An ACC employee mixed up the details of 118 clients and sent them to other clients a week ago.
In a statement a short time ago, ACC said the matter is currently under investigation as part of a wider review of all ACC privacy issues, including the transportation of files.

© 2012 MediaWorks TV

http://www.3news.co.nz/Sensitive-ACC-client-files-go-missing/tabid/423/articleID/254792/Default.aspx

Collins accused of ‘bluffing’ defamation law suit

A news report from 3 News

National Party MP and ACC Minister Judith Collins has been accused of bluffing her way through a defamation law suit.
Ms Collins is suing two Labour MPs and Radio New Zealand (RNZ) over allegations she leaked a confidential email to the media.
The email contained information about ACC claimant Bronwyn Pullar, the woman at the centre of a row that led to the resignation last month of cabinet minister Nick Smith.
Ms Collins claims her reputation has been damaged and wants Labour MPs Trevor Mallard and Andrew Little to produce evidence supporting their claims.
“It’s very easy to make allegations in the house and even to repeat them outside the house.
“At the end of the day, the question should be, ‘Where is the evidence?’.”
The Labour MPs are refusing to do so and suggest Ms Collins may be bluffing, as no legal papers have been served or filed in court.
Mr Mallard is standing his ground, saying he has “pretty extensive” material to support his case.
Mr Mallard would not be drawn on how confident he felt about his case, but told media on Tuesday: "Clearly I've got good legal advice and I've taken that advice".
Asked whether Ms Collins was being petty, he said: "I think she's in some trouble politically and she has ambitions to the leadership of the National Party and she's trying to protect her back".
Ms Collins has repeatedly said she will drop the action if the three respondents showed their evidence or apologised.
However, Mr Mallard says that is not going to happen.
"I'm satisfied with the material that I've got, which is pretty extensive," he said.
"It is my view that we should let the case run if she wants to let it run because I think that will be more interesting."
He would not repeat the alleged defamatory comment.
"That would involve me releasing Judith Collins' letter (advising him of legal action) which is something for her to do and not for me, I'm advised."
Ms Collins said on Tuesday that she'd received a written response to her letter from Radio New Zealand, but not from either MP.
However, she was "certainly not" dropping the case against the state broadcaster.
Both Ms Collins and the Labour MPs confirmed on Monday they will pay their own costs, although the taxpayer will be required to pick up state-funded Radio New Zealand's bill.

© 2012 MediaWorks TV

http://www.3news.co.nz/Collins-accused-of-bluffing-defamation-law-suit/tabid/1607/articleID/249146/Default.aspx

Collins launches defamation cases over ACC scandal

A news report from 3 News

ACC Minister Judith Collins says she's taking defamation proceedings against two Labour MPs and a news organisation. She says they have defamed her outside of Parliament, but won’t name them. Ms Collins says she takes her reputation seriously, which is why she is launching proceedings today.
Labour wants a QC or a judge to hold an inquiry into the leaked email. There's a political firestorm around the email because only four people are known to have had access to it - Ms Collins, a member of her staff, ACC chairman John Judge and chief executive Ralph Stewart. Ms Collins says her office didn't leak it to the media and Mr Judge says it didn't come from ACC. The email detailed a meeting ACC claimant Bronwyn Pullar had with corporation officials, and was sent to Ms Collins by former National Party president Michelle Boag who was helping Ms Pullar with her claim.
Privacy Commissioner Marie Shroff is going to investigate the leak but Labour MP Trevor Mallard says that's not good enough. He says the investigation should be raised to the level of a full ministerial inquiry.
"The privacy commissioner can't put people under oath or require information in the way a QC or a judge doing a ministerial inquiry could," he said on Thursday.
"We need someone with those powers to conduct and organise a proper inquiry."
Ms Collins has told parliament the leak didn't come from her office but she's admitted a hard copy of the email was printed.
"We now have electronic copies and hard copies running around and we need someone who can look at faxes, emails and text messages," Mr Mallard said.
He disclosed to Radio New Zealand on Thursday that he's been receiving information for a year from a source who knows about "internal things within the National Party" and hinted he knew more about the email than had been revealed so far.

© 2012 MediaWorks TV

http://www.3news.co.nz/Collins-launches-defamation-cases-over-ACC-scandal/tabid/1607/articleID/248463/Default.aspx

Labour ups pressure on ACC chairman

A news report from 3 News/Radio Live

Labour is continuing to heap pressure over the National-led Government's handling of ACC, which has been rocked by a recent series of alleged privacy breaches.
ACC is being accused of not putting proper privacy safeguards in place, as fresh breaches continue to emerge.
Former minister Nick Smith last week resigned his cabinet portfolios after revelations he wrote a supporting reference for a friend, Bronwyn Pullar, who was battling for compensation, despite already receiving an income protection insurance payout of over $1 million.
Labour's ACC spokesman Andrew Little says John Judge's future as ACC chairman should be reconsidered if public discontent continues. "I think there's enough around now to show that ACC's decision-making on a growing number of claims has not been good, and if that is a consequence of the cost-cutting and scrimping mentality that accompanied John Judge's arrival, then it is necessary to change that."
Mr Little says the Government has to act to restore public faith in ACC. "They are there to make sure that people who have injuries as the result of an accident are looked after," says Mr Little. "If he can't do that, they will need to get somebody else in who will, and who will train up the leadership and the management of ACC to do the job that people expect of it."
More than 6000 clients had their details sent to Ms Pullar. Since then, Dr Smith has quit all his portfolios and fresh breaches have emerged.
Don Rennie, convenor of the Law Society's ACC Committee, has been involved with the agency since it was started in the 1970s. He says he saw the problem coming, but despite personally approaching the Privacy Commissioner to try to deal with it, breaches remain an on-going problem.
"It's been an issue for at least 10 years, but the ACC is no bigger than the police or the health service, and a lot of the other organisations which collect personal information but seem to have ways and means of dealing with it so it doesn't get into the wrong hands. "
Mr Rennie says worried ACC clients should speak to the Privacy Commission or start looking at legal options.
Privacy commissioner Marie Shroff says it pays for people to be vigilant about their rights. "We should never go off watch," says Ms Shroff. "We should always be trying to make sure that ACC is held to account. If something bad happens you definitely have the right to complain to that agency, and if you don't get satisfaction, you can complain to me, the privacy commissioner."

© 2012 MediaWorks TV

http://www.3news.co.nz/Labour-ups-pressure-on-ACC-chairman/tabid/1607/articleID/248028/Default.aspx

ACC handled blackmail row badly - Key

A news report from 3 News

An alleged blackmail furore over sensitive ACC data should have been escalated earlier to inform clients and police of the privacy breach, the prime minister says.
ACC client Bronwyn Pullar, a brand expert linked to the National Party, was erroneously emailed a spreadsheet in August that included the names of about 6752 clients and the date and outcome of their review with the ACC. She later passed the information to a media organisation.
In a report to ACC Minister Judith Collins last week, ACC did not name Ms Pullar, but said the client threatened to send the information to the media unless her benefit payments were guaranteed for two years.
ACC laid a complaint over the matter with police on Monday, while the Privacy Commissioner is also investigating.
Ms Pullar rejected ACC's report as false, saying she made no threats or demands of the company.
Prime Minister John Key says ACC could have handled the matter better from the beginning. "My understanding of the situation is when they were informed there was a privacy breach that the staff member at ACC wrote to the [client] indicating that they wanted the material returned or that material should be destroyed.
"There's an argument about whether that person should have kicked that up to another layer of management or potentially informed the police of that situation," Mr Key says.
The police would have been able to intervene and recover the information before it came into the public domain. Another option "could have been to proactively engage with those [clients] that were on the file".
"As I understand it they didn't, and I'm sure ACC has learnt from that experience," Mr Key says.
He would not be drawn on which side he believes is telling the truth, but said he expects ACC to be honest and open with the government. "I've got no reason to believe any of the information they have supplied us is incorrect."

© 2012 MediaWorks TV

http://www.3news.co.nz/ACC-handled-blackmail-row-badly---Key/tabid/1607/articleID/247254/Default.aspx

ACC 'blackmail' client's name revealed

A news report from 3 News/NZ Newswire

A dispute over confidential Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC) files has deepened with a leak revealing the alleged involvement of brand and marketing expert Bronwyn Pullar. Ms Pullar has been named in the Herald on Sunday as the woman who was accidentally emailed a spreadsheet that included the names of about 6752 clients and the date and outcome of their review with the ACC, in August last year. The spreadsheet identified 131 claims being handled by the Sensitive Claims Unit, which deals with claims of sexual abuse, but did not contain specific details. ACC met with Ms Pullar after it was notified of the breach in December, and asked her to return the information and destroy any copies.
In a report to ACC Minister Judith Collins on Friday, ACC said the unnamed client threatened to send the information to the media unless her benefit payments were guaranteed for two years. "She made threats that if her demands were not met she would not return the information and she would inform the media of the alleged privacy issue."
But National Party insider Michelle Boag, who supported Ms Pullar at her initial meeting with ACC over the privacy breach, said it was an ACC staff member who suggested an arrangement could be made, the Herald on Sunday reports. "In the meeting he said if we agree on this as a way forward, a condition would have to be that you return the information," she said.
Ms Boag said ACC later wrote to Ms Pullar, offering a single year's benefit for a head injury Ms Pullar suffered nine years ago in a bike accident.
Ms Boag confirmed to NZ Newswire today that she wrote an email to Ms Collins last week, detailing her recollection. Ms Collins forwarded the email to ACC, and it had since been leaked to the media.
"None of us wanted this stuff to be public. That's why I wrote only to the minister. I'm not prepared to talk about it," Ms Boag said.
Her email said it was "verbally agreed" Ms Pullar would return the information "on agreement on the way forward", with an ACC staff member offering Pullar "one year to re-establish her business".
ACC is a state-owned insurer which provides no-fault personal injury cover.

© 2012 MediaWorks TV

http://www.3news.co.nz/ACC-blackmail-clients-name-revealed/tabid/1607/articleID/247062/Default.aspx

Rape prevention group welcomes ACC u-turn

A news report from 3 News

The Government's decision to provide counselling for the survivors of sexual abuse has ended what support groups are calling a "terrible year".
ACC has done a u-turn on providing sexual abuse victims with up to 16 hours of counselling.
Last year it introduced tougher guidelines that meant only those diagnosed with mental injury were eligible - sparking protest marches across the country.
Kim McGregor, of Rape Prevention, says the Government's shift means victims can get the support they need.
“It’s been a terrible year for survivors of sexual violence, it’s been a whole year where basically they haven’t been able to access any counselling and some survivors have been actively self harming or suicidal,” she says.
Ms McGregor says there is now concern there could be a shortage of sexual abuse counsellors, who may have moved onto other areas in the past year.

http://www.3news.co.nz/Rape-Prevention-group-welcome-ACC-u-turn/tabid/419/articleID/170233/Default.aspx