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Help at home after an injury
If we cover your injury, you may be able to get support to help around your home. This is so you can make a quick and safe recovery, and get back to your everyday activities.
On this page
Types of help you can get at home
The types of support you can apply for:
- home help – to help with cleaning and looking after your home
- attendant care – to help you with personal activities such as showering and dressing.
If you’re not living at home
We may be able to help if you’re staying with family or a friend until you can return home.
Let your case owner know if you move while you're getting support from us.
What we'll pay for
If we accept your application, we’ll pay for the support you need.
You may have paid some of these costs while waiting to hear if we'll cover your injury. Talk to your case owner about a possible refund.
How to apply for help at home
You can apply for support at home any time after we’ve accepted cover for your injury. To apply you can:
- ask your doctor to send us a letter of recommendation. We’ll contact you once we get this
- contact our claims team. Have your claim number ready
- fill out the ACC001 form and send it to us by email or post, or drop it at your local ACC branch
- contact your case owner if you have one.
Applying on someone else’s behalf
If you want to apply for help at home on behalf of someone, you’ll need to get their permission:
Giving someone authority to act on your behalf
Assessing what help you need at home
If you have a short recovery time, your case owner can approve your application straight away. If your recovery looks like it will take longer, we’ll organise someone to come and assess what help you need.
Arranging your assessment
Once you apply, we’ll send a referral to an independent assessor. They’ll contact you within two working days to set up an appointment.
Assessments take place in your home. If you have to stay somewhere else because of your injury, we’ll assess you there.
Getting your assessment
The assessor will come and do an assessment within ten working days. They’ll talk to you about the support you need and come back to us with their recommendations.
We’ll let you know our decision
We’ll be in touch within seven working days after the assessment. We’ll talk to you about:
- what help they recommended
- our final decision on the support we can provide
- how long you can get this support for
- the next steps.
Choosing who helps you at home
You can choose to get home help and attendant care from:
- a contracted caregiver from an agency
- someone you know, such as a friend or someone from your family or whānau
- a mix of care from an agency and someone you know.
It’s important to think about what tasks you’ll need help with. Some tasks can be quite personal (for example showering and toileting) so you’ll need to be comfortable with whoever you chose.
You can always change your mind if things aren’t working out, or if your needs change.
If you need help making your decision, or want to know more about your options, get in touch:
Having someone you know care for you
Receiving care from a friend or member of your family or whānau is called ‘private care’.
If you’ve chosen private care, you can use our resources to help plan and manage your day-to-day routine. It’s important you talk to your case owner about your care and make a plan in case your carer is away or off sick.
Setting up and managing your private care
Check your tax and legal responsibilities
When using private care, there are tax and legal responsibilities to think about. We suggest talking to an accountant or tax advisor, or contact Inland Revenue.
Phone 0800 224 476
Tax responsibilities for ACC caregivers
How long it will take to get help at home
Home help and attendant care
If you use an agency, we’ll send them a referral with the help that we’ve approved. They should contact with you within two days.
Your private caregiver can start from the date we’ve agreed to pay for their services.
Extending your help at home
To apply to extend your support, contact your case owner before this ends. You may need another assessment.
Contact us
If you have any problems or want to know more about how we can help, talk to your case owner, or contact our claims team. If you’re using an agency, ask them to contact your case owner.
Phone 0800 101 996 (Monday to Friday, 7am - 7pm)
Email claims@acc.co.nz
Send us your application
If you live in Northland, Auckland, Waikato or Bay of Plenty:
ACC Hamilton Service Centre
PO Box 952
Hamilton 3240
Fax 07 848 7091
If you live in Taranaki, Manawatu-Whanganui, Hawke's Bay, Wellington or the South Island:
ACC Dunedin Service Centre
PO Box 408
Dunedin 9054
Free fax 0800 844 850