7 June 2023
Sarah Brodrick
[FYI request #22872 email]
Kia ora Sarah
Your Official Information Act request, reference: GOV-025190
Thank you for your request of 21 May 2023, via the FYI website, asking for the following information under
the Official Information Act 1982 (the Act):
The Ombudsman has provided written communication that prior to an ACC Claimant raising a
complaint about ACC with this government agency that a complaint must be made to the ACC Chief
Executive Officer. However upon communicating to the ACC Resolutions Team of a request to
escalate a complaint about the service I've received by the ACC Resolutions Team to the ACC Chief
Executive Officer, I have been advised by an ACC Resolutions Specialist that all complaints that are
addressed to the ACC Chief Executive Officer are managed by the ACC Resolutions Team. The
complaint I want to raise is directly about the ACC Resolutions Team and Manager. If the
Ombudsman has clearly provided a pathway for ACC Claimants to escalate complaints to the ACC
Chief Executive then my expectation is that I am able to do so. As per the information provided by the Ombudsman, I would like ALL Official information about how
an ACC Claimant can escalate a complaint to the ACC Chief Executive Officer and what the
complaint process involves, any internal policy, procedures and ACC work practices involved I would like ALL Official information about how an ACC Claimant can make a complaint against the
ACC Resolutions Team and Manager, and the internal process, policy and mapping of the
appropriate staff and or departments involved I would like ALL Official information about the ACC Chief Executive's involvement in ACC Claimants'
Complaints addressed to the ACC Chief Executive (I am specifically wanting to know if the ACC Chief
Executive has an active role in ACC Clamaints Complaints which are addressed to the ACC Chief
Executive) I'm not interested in any specific details of ACC Claimants, Complaint details etc) I would like ALL Official information about the ACC Complaint Process for ACC Claimants including
any internal procedures, policies, ACC work practices and resources I would like ALL Official information about the role of an ACC Resolution Specialists role and any
resources available (I do not require specific details of staff members) I would like ALL Official information about the role of an ACC Resolutions Manager and any
resources available (I do not require specific details of staff members) I would like ALL Official information about the ACC Resolutions Team and what internal policy,
procedure and any resources around this department has in a) reasonably accommodating to a disabled person's requests when managing a complaint on
behalf of the ACC Claimant who identifies as having disabilities,
GOV-025190 Page 1 of 3
b) when the ACC Resolution Specialist is navigating directly with the ACC Claimant (specifically communication needs) I would like ALL Official information about the ACC Resolutions Team and if staff have had any
training in disability education, disability awareness and disability navigation when dealing with
ACC Claimants who identify as having disabilities.
As specified in section 12(2) of the Act, requests must be made with due particularity
Providing all information ACC holds on complaints, and its Resolutions team, would require substantial
collation and research and therefore be refused under section 18(f) of the Act. However, to provide you
with reasonable assistance, we have provided key information to address the points raised in your request.
The Customer Resolution Team is ACC’s complaints management function
The Ombudsman’s website states: “Before coming to the Ombudsman you should try to resolve the issue
with the public sector agency itself. Many agencies have a complaints process."
At ACC, the Customer Resolution Team ensures that any complaints are managed. If the customer requests
escalation of their complaint, the Customer Resolution Team will engage the Customer Response team to
determine whether a complaint should be escalated to Executive team or the Chief Executive level.
However, if escalated, the complaint itself is still managed by Customer Resolution Team.
It is also important to note that when a complaint relates to a member of Resolution Services, Customer
Response will review the response to the complaint to make sure it is robust and non-biased before it is
sent to the complainant. ACC’s complaints process is publicly available, here:
www.acc.co.nz/im-
injured/resolve-an-issue/talk-to-us-or-make-a-complaint/.
Documents related to managing complaints
For more information on the management of complaints, including information about specific roles, we
have attached the following documents as Appendix 1:
• Receive and Assess Complaint
• Responsibility for managing complaints Policy
• Rules for managing complaints Policy
• Position description: Resolution Specialist
• Position description: Resolution Manager
As staff names were not requested, they have been deemed out of the scope of your request and removed.
ACC does not have any policies specific to managing claims from clients with disabilities
However, this information is addressed in the Code of ACC Claimants’ Rights, here:
www.acc.co.nz/assets/im-injured/730eea8693/claimant-rights.pdf and ACC’s Behaviours to Uphold the
Code document. Managing claims where clients have disabilities is included in general induction
conversations with Review Specialists and Resolution Specialists. Resolution Services staff are also referred
to an internal learning page about disabilities. Both the Behaviours to Uphold the Code and the learning
about disabilities documents are provided in the attached appendix.
GOV-025190 Page 2 of 3
If you have any questions about this response, please get in touch
You can email me at
[email address]. If you are not happy with this response, you can also
contact the Ombudsman
via [email address] or by phoning 0800 802 602. Information
about how to make a complaint is available at
www.ombudsman.parliament.nz. Ngā mihi
Sara Freitag
Acting Manager Official Information Act Services
Government Engagement
GOV-025190 Page 3 of 3
Document Outline
