Support available to survivors of Lake Alice Unit
If you’ve been injured from your experience at the Lake Alice Psychiatric Hospital Child and Adolescent Unit (the Lake Alice Unit), we may be able to offer support.
Our no-fault scheme covers everyone in New Zealand if you’re injured in an accident. The scheme covers children, beneficiaries and students, if you’re working, unemployed or retired. It also includes visitors to New Zealand if they’re injured while they’re here.
On 18 December 2024, the government said it would provide redress to survivors who were tortured at the Lake Alice Unit. This process will be concluding on 30 September 2025.
If you experienced abuse at Lake Alice, you can lodge a claim with ACC if your injury happened after 1974. You do not need to be a redress claimant or have previously registered the historic abuse that happened to you at Lake Alice.
Injuries we cover
If you suffered unmodified electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) or paraldehyde injections while at Lake Alice, you may be eligible for physical and mental injury cover.
We also cover physical or sexual abuse you may have suffered at Lake Alice.
How to get support
You can lodge a claim with ACC by speaking to a GP or nurse – they will lodge it on your behalf. If you’re receiving help for sexual abuse or assault from an ACC therapy provider, they can also lodge a claim for you. For help finding an ACC therapy provider for sexual abuse or assault, visit the Safe to talk website.
If you’ve lodged a claim for a mental injury, we require you to be assessed by an ACC-registered provider to understand how the abuse you suffered impacts you. The assessor then passes information onto ACC to process your claim. This process can take up to nine months, depending on how complex your claim is.
We understand talking about what happened to you could be upsetting and stressful. ACC can offer you some support before your claim is accepted to prepare you for sharing your story with an assessor, and to help you understand what to expect when you’re assessed.
Using a support person
If this process is overwhelming for you, you can have a support person attend appointments with you, help you with any forms and speak to ACC on your behalf. If you would like to have ACC speak with your support person instead of you directly, you can give ACC written or verbal consent for this. This can be done when you lodge your claim or by contacting ACC directly.
Other support available
If you need immediate help, telephone helplines, services and support can be found online.
If you would like support navigating ACC, you can get in touch with Way Finders or Te Ara Tūhono.
