| "Our pledge is to prevent injury, to provide the best treatment and care if injury occurs, and to quickly rehabilitate people back to work or independence at a price that offers high value to levy payers and all New Zealanders. " |
| The Accident Compensation Corporation pledge |
The Accident Compensation Corporation (Māori: Te Kaporeihana Āwhina Hunga Whara) is a New Zealand Crown Entity responsible for administering the Injury Prevention, Rehabilitation, and Compensation Act 2001. New Zealand is an Island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses (the North Island and the South Island A Crown entity is an organisation that forms part of New Zealand 's state sector established under the Crown Entities Act 2004 a unique umbrella governance and accountability [1] The Act provides support to citizens, residents, and temporary visitors who have suffered accidental injuries.
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Features
ACC is the sole and compulsory provider of accident insurance for all work and non-work injuries. The ACC Scheme is administered on a no-fault basis, so that anyone, regardless of the way in which they incurred an injury, is eligible for cover under the Scheme. Due to the Scheme's no-fault basis, people who have suffered personal injury do not have the right to sue an at-fault party, except for exemplary damages. Punitive damages (termed exemplary damages in the United Kingdom) are Damages not awarded in order to compensate the Plaintiff, but in order [2]
The ACC Scheme provides a range of entitlements to injured people, from contribution towards the cost of treatment, to weekly compensation for lost earnings (paid at a rate of 80% of a person's pre-injury earnings), and even home or vehicle modifications for the seriously injured. The entitlements offered by the Scheme are subject to various eligibility criteria. ACC, as a Crown Entity, is responsible to a Cabinet Minister via its Board of Directors. A cabinet is a body of high-ranking members of Government, typically representing the executive branch. The current Minister responsible for ACC is Hon Maryan Street.
History
ACC is rooted in the 1900 "Worker's Compensation Act", which established a limited compensation scheme for workers who had suffered injuries where there was no directly responsible party.
In 1967, a Royal Commission report ('The Woodhouse Report') recommended that this compensation should be extended to all injuries on a no-fault basis. The term Royal Commission may also be used in the United Kingdom to describe the group of Lords Commissioners who may act in the stead of the Following this report, on 1 April 1974 the Accident Compensation Commission was established, to operate the 1972 Accident Compensation Act, and the 1973 Amendments.
The Annual Report (1989/90) of the Accident Compensation Commission[3] proposed that the distinction between "accidents" (which is covered[4]) and "illness" (which is not) should be dropped. But this proposal was not taken up. In 1992 the Accident Compensation Commission changed its name to the "Accident Compensation Corporation".
From 1 July 1999 the Fourth National government allowed private insurance operators to provide work-related accident insurance, and ACC was briefly exposed to competition. The Fourth National Government of New Zealand was the government of New Zealand from 2 November 1990 to 27 November 1999 Due the election of the Fifth Labour government, this change was repealed, and as of 1 July 2000, ACC was re-instated as the sole provider of accident insurance cover. The Fifth Labour Government of New Zealand is the current government of New Zealand.
See also
Notes
- ^ Injury Prevention, Rehabilitation, and Compensation Act 2001
- ^ see, Donselaar v. Tort reform refers to the idea of changing the rules applicable to the Law of Tort. Donselaar [1982] 1 NZLR 97, confirmed by Auckland City Council v. Blundell [1986] 1 NZLR 732
- ^ Annual Report (1989/90) of the Accident Compensation Commission, p. 5
- ^ see Fenton v. Thorley [1903] WN 149 for an old definition