ACC will pay you weekly compensation payments if you are unable to work because of an injury covered by ACC.
What help can I get?
You can apply for weekly compensation for loss of earnings if you were working recently before your injury, either as:
- an employee
- a self-employed person
- a shareholder.
If you are an employee or PAYE shareholder
ACC pays 80% of your pre-incapacity weekly earnings. This will be paid as follows:
- ACC will not pay you for the first week of incapacity. If your injury occurred at work, your employer will pay you for this week.
- After the first week ACC will take over. For the first four weeks of support your payments are calculated using your actual earnings from the last four weeks before your incapacity.
- After the first four weeks of ACC support, payments are based on your actual earnings from the 52 weeks before your incapacity.
- If your actual earnings cannot be calculated ACC can make advance weekly payments. These can be paid until your actual earnings details are available.
If you are self employed or tax year shareholder
ACC pays 80% of your pre-incapacity taxable income.
- You will not be paid for the first week.
- After the first week, ACC will pay based on your taxable income from the most recently completed financial year.
Mixed earnings
ACC can take all earnings from the 52 weeks before your injury into account including:
- employed work
- self-employed work
- weekly compensation.
ACC may also be able to provide weekly compensation for:
- loss of potential earnings (if you were injured when under 18 or in full time study). See Weekly compensation – loss of potential earnings.
- dependants of a person who has died as a result of an injury. See Weekly compensation – accidental death.
What do I need to do to get help?
- Call ACC on 0800 101 996 to apply for weekly compensation.
- Ensure that cover is approved. For more information, see Am I Covered?
- We will let you know if there is any documentation that we need from you. Examples of the types of information that we may request you to provide are:
- any medical certificates you have been issued. These should:
- be completed by the health professional that you went to see initially about your injury. If this isn’t possible, please let us know – we may be able to help.
- clearly state how your work will be affected by your injury.
- any referrals or approvals.
How am I eligible?
To determine if you are eligible for weekly compensation due to loss of earnings, ACC will:
- determine if your claim has been accepted by ACC for cover
- check your medical certificate to confirm that you can’t work because of your injury
- determine your employment status before your injury.
Important:
The help you will get depends on your individual circumstances. To be eligible for weekly compensation, usually you need to have been working right before your injury. However, you may be eligible if you:
- were working up to 28 days before your injury and would have been employed again in the next three months (or 12 months for seasonal workers)
- have an unusual work situation (for example, you were on unpaid parental leave).
If your injury is work-related and you work for an accredited employer, we will not be responsible for your cover. We will let you know this, and you will deal directly with your employer instead of ACC.
If you have ACC CoverPlus Extra for self-employed people or shareholder employees, or ACC Timeout for people taking unpaid leave, some of the eligibility restrictions will not apply.
Please talk to us to confirm if you are eligible, or to identify other ways in which we can help. See Contact ACC Claims for our contact information.
How long might ACC take to determine if I am eligible?
The time for processing the initial request for weekly compensation depends on the time it takes to source required information from your employer or the Inland Revenue Department.
Please contact us if you have not heard from us within a reasonable period of time. See Contact ACC Claims for our contact information.
What happens next?
If your request for weekly compensation is declined, we will send you a letter explaining why. If you are unhappy with the decision, you can ask for it to be reviewed. See What if I have problems with a claim?
Otherwise you will receive payments on a weekly basis, and ACC will help you return to work. Your ACC client services contact will be your main point of contact. They will:
- manage your claim and inform you of what ACC can offer.
- help you to develop a rehabilitation plan, if required, to ensure that you recover and are able to return to work as quickly as possible.
- review your situation periodically; you will need to provide regular medical certificate at least every 13 weeks to confirm that you are still unable to work.
When you are well enough to return to work, ACC will stop weekly payments, or if you take up part-time work, we will reduce payments to reflect this and inform you of any changes.
Note:
You can begin or continue to contribute money to the government Kiwisaver scheme while receiving weekly compensation.
Related legislation
Accident Compensation (AC) Act 2001
- Sections 100 to 106: Weekly compensation and Capacity for employment (external website)
- Schedule 1, Clauses 32 to 53 (external website)
Last updated: 13October2009