09 November 2020
David Lawson
[FYI request #13971 email]
Tēnā koe David
Your Official Information Act request, reference: GOV-007329
Thank you for your email of 13 October 2020, asking for the following information under the Official
Information Act 1982 (the Act):
OIA Request 1:
•
Please provide all official information and policy documentation associated with the 6
monthly review of ACC clients who have their claims managed by the Remote Claims Unit.
•
Please confirm the criteria for a client to be transferred back to a branch or regular case
management
OIA Request 2:
•
On a yearly basis to the end of each year since 2017, please confirm the number of ACC clients
who were transferred out of the Remote Claims Unit and back to a branch or regular case
management.
•
If possible, please provide this on a monthly or more broken down basis.
OIA Request 3:
•
Please confirm if ACC clients are informed of the 6 monthly reviews and if they are entitled to
have their views considered as part of each review.
Review of Remote Claims Unit clients
We are not providing the requested policy associated with the six monthly review of ACC clients who are
managed in the Remote Claims Unit (RCU), as despite reasonable efforts we have been unable to find
any such specific document. This part of your request is therefore refused under section 18(e) of the
Act, as the document does not exist. However, the section below describes the current practice.
The RCU Leader considers whether an RCU client continues to pose an unacceptable risk to the health
and safety of ACC staff and providers, at least every six months. The reminder to do this for each client is
an automated administrative task activated through ACC’s claim management system, Eos.
If the RCU Leader considers that the person does not continue to pose an unacceptable risk to the
health and safety of ACC staff and providers, they make a recommendation to transfer the person from
the RCU. If a person is to be transferred from RCU, the relevant new Team Leader is contacted and
outlined the reasons the client’s claim no longer will be managed within the RCU.
The outcome of the process is added to the client’s management plan, which is held on their individual
electronic claim file.
As the six-monthly review of RCU clients is an administrative task, clients are not informed of a review.
However, they are advised if they are being transferred out of RCU management.
GOV-007329
If a client has any concerns relating to this process, they may raise those concerns with ACC’s Customer
Resolution team.
Clients transferred from the RCU
The attached table shows the number of clients transferred out of the RCU, by calendar year. The data
was extracted on 21 October 2020 and may change if re-run at a later date. Where they may be
transferred to includes the following:
•
To actioned cases means that the claim was transferred into an actioned cases queue for the
RCU or any other department, as the claim was closed.
•
To registration centre means that the claim was transferred to the Hamilton or Dunedin
registration centre. From there the claim may have been transferred into a standard case
management queue, into actioned cases, or back into the RCU.
•
Direct to case management means that the claim didn't go to actioned cases or registration.
As explained in our letter to you dated 3 March 2020, reference GOV-003600, ACC’s automated
streaming of claims, introduced in 2018, resulted in a significant increase in clients transferred into and
out of the RCU during the year.
ACC takes privacy seriously
ACC does not generally disclose low value claim numbers. Accordingly, some entries in the table
provided only indicate that the claim count is fewer than four (denoted as <4). This limits the potential
for particular individuals, or matters specific to certain individuals, from being identified. This decision is
made under section 9(2)(a) of the Act, to protect the privacy of these individuals. In doing so, we have
considered the public interest in making the information available and have determined that it does not
outweigh the need to protect the privacy of these persons.
Who to contact
If you have any questions, you can email me at
[email address]. If you are not happy with this response, you have the right to make a complaint to the Ombudsman.
Information about how to do this is available at
www.ombudsman.parliament.nz or by phoning 0800
802 602.
Nāku iti noa, nā
Sasha Wood
Manager Official Information Act Services
Government Engagement & Support
Accident Compensation Corporation
Page 2 of 3
GOV-007329
Table 1: Number of clients transferred out of the Remote Claims Unit.
Transfer destination
Calendar year Month
To actioned cases Direct to case management To registration centre
January
20
<4
0
February
27
<4
0
March
33
<4
<4
April
15
0
<4
May
35
0
<4
June
23
0
<4
2017
July
38
0
<4
August
29
<4
4
September
22
<4
<4
October
19
<4
<4
November
29
<4
<4
December
21
<4
0
January
26
0
4
February
25
<4
5
March
18
0
<4
April
13
0
<4
May
36
0
<4
June
21
0
<4
2018
July
20
0
<4
August
33
<4
0
September
105
0
21
October
257
0
9
November
187
6
65
December
22
0
197
January
32
0
210
February
30
<4
197
March
29
<4
183
April
24
<4
161
May
25
<4
171
June
23
<4
138
2019
July
29
<4
122
August
20
<4
129
September
47
<4
108
October
23
<4
108
November
28
<4
116
December
29
<4
113
Accident Compensation Corporation
Page 3 of 3
