The Accident Compensation (AC) Act 2001 is the Act under which ACC is governed.
In Part 4, Sections 120, 121 and 122 of the AC Act it states the following:
Disentitlement for conviction of murder
In Part 4, Sections 120, 121 and 122 of the AC Act it states the following:
1. The Corporation must not provide any entitlement under Part 4 of Schedule 1 to a claimant if the claimant -
a. is entitled to the entitlement because of the death of another person;
b. has been convicted in New Zealand or another country of the murder of the other person.
2. The Corporation must suspend any entitlement that the Corporation is liable to provide under Part 4 of Schedule 1 to the claimant because of the death of another person, if the claimant has been charged with the murder of the other person.
3. The suspension lasts until the proceedings in respect of the charge are finally determined or the charge is withdrawn.
4. An entitlement provided to a claimant under Part 4 of Schedule 1 becomes a debt due to the Corporation, and may be recovered in any court of competent jurisdiction, if:
a. the Corporation has provided the entitlement because of the death of another person; and
b. the claimant has been convicted by a court in New Zealand or another country of the murder of the other person.
5. In this section, murder -
a. means murder within the meaning of the Crimes Act 1961; and
b. includes any killing of a person outside New Zealand that would, if done in New Zealand, have amounted to murder.
Disentitlement during imprisonment
1. The Corporation must not provide any entitlements under Part 2 or Part 4 of Schedule 1 to a claimant in respect of any period during which the claimant is a prisoner in any prison.
2. The Corporation is not required to undertake any assessments or make any payments under Part 3 of Schedule 2 to a claimant while the claimant is a prisoner in any prison.
3. In this section, prisoner and prison have the same meaning in section 3 (1) of Corrections Act 2004.
Court may deny entitlements to previously imprisoned offender
1. The Corporation may apply to a District Court in the following circumstances:
a. A claimant suffers personal injury in the course of committing an offence; and
b. The claimant is sentenced to imprisonment for committing the offence; and
c. The Corporation would, but for this section, be liable to provide entitlements to the claimant for the personal injury; and
d. The Corporation is aware of the claimant’s sentence.
2. The application must ask for a determination, in relation to the entitlements that the Corporation is liable to provide to the claimant, that either –
a. the Corporation must provide them all when the claimant is released from a prison (within the meaning of section 3 (1) of the Corrections Act 2004); or
b. the Corporation must not provide 1 or more specified entitlements, either wholly or partly, at any time because it would be repugnant to justice for the claimant to receive it or them.
3. In determining whether it would be repugnant to justice for the claimant to receive a specified entitlement, the court must have regard, without limitation, to the following matters:
a. The harm caused by the claimant’s offence; and
b. The gravity of the offence; and
c. The claimant’s personal culpability for the offence; and
d. The extent of other penalties the claimant has already suffered because of the offence; and
e. The claimant’s personal circumstances; and
f. The nature of the entitlement; and
g. The strength of the claimant’s need for the entitlement; and
h. The resources the claimant has to meet that need.
The Corporation is liable to provide the entitlements until the court makes a determination to the contrary under subsection (2)(b), if the claimant is no longer imprisoned and no determination has been made under subsection (2)(b).
Every application to a District Court under this section must be made by originating application.
Last updated: 15 December 2008
