Travelling for treatment and rehabilitation

Request help with travel expenses when you travel for rehabilitation.

You can only get help if we cover your injury. 

On this page

    Specified kind of rehabilitation

    We can reimburse for travel services described on this page when you travel to the following types of rehabilitation:

    • treatment
    • rehabilitation assessment or reassessment
    • obtaining an aid or appliance, or having an aid or appliance fitted
    • a programme provided under the training for independence
    • in-patient rehabilitation that we have approved
    • residential rehabilitation that we have approved
    • an out-patient rehabilitation programme that we have approved
    • a specific programme, service, or course, such as a trial of an employment option or maintenance of pre-incapacity employment, that we require the injured person to attend as part of vocational rehabilitation.

    Travel costs we can help with

    We can help with the expenses of the following non-emergency travel services:

    • private motor vehicle, like a car
    • public transport
    • other travel, like a taxi service
    • air travel
    • accommodation.

    Emergency travel

    If you received an invoice for emergency travel service or accommodation, get in touch. We may be able to help if it was for an injury we cover.

    Get prior approval

    In case you need taxi services, other travel services like a hired car or driving companion, or air travel, we ask that you talk to us about them in advance to ensure they're appropriate for your circumstances. Please give us as much notice as possible. We will either organise these services for you with one of our vendors or agree on reimbursement.

    Travel by private motor vehicle

    A private motor vehicle can be a car, a van or a truck for which you didn't pay a hire fee to use.

    We will pay 29 cents, GST inclusive, per kilometre travelled by private motor vehicle if your travel meets any of the following criteria:

    • you travel more than 20km from the starting point of your journey to the nearest place for rehabilitation within 14 days after the injury date
    • the total distance accumulated from all your journeys to rehabilitation is more than 80km within any calendar month.

    Please see the 'Calendar month' section for more details.

    Travel by public transport

    Public transport can be a bus, train or ferry if it operates on the ground or water and runs on a schedule.

    We will reimburse the actual cost you spent travelling by surface public transport, such as bus, train or ferry if your travel meets any of the following criteria:

    • You travel more than 20km from the starting point of your journey to the nearest place for rehabilitation within 14 days after the injury date.
    • The total distance accumulated from all your journeys to rehabilitation is more than 80km within a one-month period, for example, 15 May to 14 June.
    • You spend more than $46 on journeys to rehabilitation within any one-month period.

    Please see the 'Calendar month' section for more details.

    Travel by other transport services

    Other transport category includes services such as taxi, water taxi, e-scooters, e-bicycles, hired car or driving companion service.

    We will reimburse the actual cost you spend travelling by other transport services if we agree in advance that:

    • it is the best way of getting to your treatment or rehabilitation and
    • there are no natural supports available, for example, a driving family member or walking
    • you can’t use public transport because of your injury.

    Otherwise, the law requires us to pay 29 cents, GST inclusive, per kilometre travelled if your travel meets any of the following criteria:

    • you travel more than 20km from the starting point of your journey to the nearest place for rehabilitation within 14 days after the injury date
    • the total distance accumulated from all your journeys to rehabilitation is more than 80km within any calendar month
    • you spend more than $46 on journeys to rehabilitation within any calendar month.

    Please see the 'Calendar month' section for more details.

    Calendar month

    The calendar month is the period from the same date of one month to the same date of the following month.

    For example, if you travelled on 21 February 2021, 22 March 2021 and 1 May 2021, we would consider the following periods as a 'calendar month':

    • 21 February 2021 to 20 March 2021
    • 22 March 2021 to 21 April 2021
    • 1 May 2021 to 31 May 2021.

    We can consider any travel that falls within one of these periods towards specific travel criteria, for example, ‘more than 80km in a calendar month' criteria.

    Air travel

    For air travel, we must agree in advance that it is the best way of getting to your treatment or rehabilitation because of the long-distance and or your injury. We will either book a flight for you with one of our vendors or reimburse you.

    Accommodation

    If you can't get home after your appointment, we will contribute $57.55, GST inclusive, per night of accommodation, for a maximum of two nights per week. We don't pay this if you're staying at the treatment or rehabilitation centre.

    If your friends or whānau are travelling with you and sharing accommodation, the rate remains fixed at $57.55, GST inclusive, per night, not per person.

    Travel by your friends and whānau

    We can pay towards your friends and whānau travel expenses if they accompany you on your journey to rehabilitation for any of these reasons:

    • the injured person is 18 years or younger
    • the medical condition of the injured person requires someone to accompany them
    • travel services provider requires someone to accompany an injured person on their journey

    We can pay towards your friends and whānau travel expenses if they visit you while you're receiving rehabilitation for any of these reasons:

    • the injured person is 18 years or younger
    • your friends and whānau have to make a single journey that is more than 80km in one direction, for example, they have to drive from Hamilton to Auckland, which is 121km
    • the injured person is receiving in-patient rehabilitation or residential rehabilitation

    Depending on what travel service your friends and whānau use, they must also meet the criteria outlined for travel by that service including that only one return trip per week can be funded. This includes obtaining prior approval for the services outlined in ‘Get prior approval’ section.

    If your friends and whānau travel in a private motor vehicle, like a car, with you, we will only pay one person in this instance - yourself or your friends and whānau.

    Applying for reimbursement of travel expenses

    Complete the ACC250 form and provide necessary supporting information, such as verification from providers and receipts. You'll find more information in the ACC250 form.

    ACC250 Request for travel reimbursement

    ACC250 Request for travel reimbursement

    We will assess your request and notify you of our decision. It can take us up to 21 days to make a decision.

    If we have your mobile phone and email verified, you will receive an SMS or email notification as soon as we have made a decision. Otherwise, we will send you a letter in the post.

    Contact us

    If you want to verify your contact details, have any problems or want to know more about how we can help, contact our claims team:

    Phone 0800 101 996 (Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm)
    Email claims@acc.co.nz

    Send us your request

    If you can't email your request, you can send it via postal services.

    If you live in Northland, Auckland, Waikato or Bay of Plenty send to:

    ACC Hamilton Hub
    PO Box 952
    Hamilton 3240

    If you live in Taranaki, Manawatū-Whanganui, Hawke's Bay, Wellington or the South Island send to:

    ACC Dunedin Hub
    PO Box 408
    Dunedin 9054

     

    Last published: 21 November 2023