New CEO, familiar problem: the Accident Compensation Corporation's (ACC) August Turnaround Plan Report shows return-to-work rates improving across all four tracked intervals, while the scheme's overall claims pool target remains out of reach – and the gap has direct cost implications for New Zealand employers and their advisers.
ACC’s long-term claims pool (LTCP) counts clients who have been on weekly compensation for more than one year. As of August, the total stood at 24,426 – against a year-end target range of 23,000 to 23,500. That is a shortfall of between 926 and 1,426 claims.
The figure contains two distinct trends.
The LTCP excluding Sensitive Claims fell 108 during August, contributing to a 4.7% reduction over the past 12 months, bringing that cohort to 21,622. Return-to-work rates improved across all four intervals ACC tracks: 28 days, 10 weeks, nine months, and one year. ACC attributed the gains to early intervention, relationship-based case management, and closer engagement with health providers on medical certification.
Sensitive Claims – defined as mental injury connected to sexual abuse or assault – moved the other way. Their growth is largely outside ACC’s operational control. The total LTCP fell by only 20 claims overall, a 1.2% reduction over 12 months.
ACC board chair Jan Dawson acknowledged earlier this year that the work is incomplete. “While these results show ACC is moving in the right direction, they also underline that the turnaround is not complete, with more work needed to achieve key performance targets,” Dawson said when the 2026/27 Turnaround Plan was released.
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The August data does not exist in isolation. According to an ACC proactive release, the number of Sensitive Claims clients in the LTCP grew from 492 in June 2017 to 2,129 in October 2025 – a 331% increase. Over the same period, the 365-day return-to-work rate for that cohort fell from 25.6% to 8.8%.
ACC’s own 2026/27 Service Agreement responds to that reality. From this financial year, the corporation has changed its primary LTCP performance measure to exclude Sensitive Claims, stating the move “provides a clearer view of underlying operational performance, while uncertainty around sensitive claims remains high.”
A legislative mechanism – the Accident Compensation (Scheme Boundaries and Other Matters) Amendment Bill – has been under ministerial consideration as a potential response to court-driven liability expansion in this area, according to Treasury documents released under the Official Information Act in August 2026.
This is where the August data becomes relevant for brokers and employer clients.
ACC levies – paid by all employers, employees, and self-employed people – are reviewed every three years. The current cycle covers 2025/26 through 2027/28. Cabinet confirmed in December 2024 that the earners’ levy would rise from $1.39 per $100 of liable earnings in 2024/25 to $1.45, then $1.52, then $1.59 across those three years, according to the MBIE Cabinet paper setting those rates. The average motor vehicle levy rises from $113.94 per vehicle to $141.69 over the same period.
The next levy round, covering 2028/29 onwards, will be shaped by how the scheme performs in this period. Finity Consulting, engaged by MBIE to review ACC’s performance, recommended “careful monitoring of the levied accounts against expectations” and noted the levy cap restricts the ability to achieve full funding over a 10-year horizon, according to the MBIE Cost Recovery Impact Statement.
Social rehabilitation costs add further context. Covering aids, equipment, attendant care, home help, and home modifications, those costs reached $1.5 billion in 2025, according to ACC’s April 2026 Monthly Turnaround Plan Report. ACC has set a target to cut in-year social rehabilitation spending by 5%, or $82 million.
For large employer clients, the August data has a specific operational dimension. Under ACC’s Accredited Employer Programme (AEP), participating employers take on responsibility for managing their employees’ work injury claims, in return for the potential to reduce their Work levy by up to 90%. ACC says the programme covers more than 20% of New Zealand’s workforce. Changes to the AEP took effect on April 1, 2025.
For those clients, ACC’s own claims management performance is a direct input into the AEP value calculation. If the scheme continues missing return-to-work targets, the relative case for employer self-management strengthens. Sensitive Claims sit outside that calculation entirely – no employer can influence them – but they are a real driver of future levy settings that AEP employers also cannot avoid.
For clients outside AEP, the broker conversation centres on what ACC does not cover: illness, mental health conditions outside the scheme’s qualifying criteria, and long-term disability where weekly compensation does not apply. Sensitive Claims growth is a signal about population health trends with broader implications for income protection and group life placements.
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The August Turnaround Plan Report was published on September 30, nine days into incoming chief executive Sid Miller OBE’s tenure. Miller, who previously served as EQC chief executive and held senior roles within ACC, began the role on September 21.
Monthly Turnaround Plan reports are published on the last business day of each month.
