ACC stands for Accident Compensation Corporation. It’s a New Zealand government service which helps people who get injured in accidents. They provide treatment, support, and compensation.

Their goal is to make sure everyone gets the care they need to recover.

You pay an ACC levy when you’re working from you wage or salary, if you have a car or motorbike and the Government also tops it up to cover the injuries of people who don’t earn an income.

How do ACC help people with disabilities from injuries?

• Equipment and assistive technology: If you need them, ACC can provide things like wheelchairs, crutches, and hearing aids to help with daily tasks. Some people might need elevated bed for a few months, while others need a knee scooter for a few weeks.

• Financial Support: If you can’t work, ACC may offer up to 80% of your income to help cover bills. This will only be for the period you’re not able to work, which could decrease over time if you transition back into regular employment. Some employers top up the other 20% as part of their employment package so it’s worth checking in with your organisation if this is the case for you.

• Counselling and Therapy: ACC covers therapy sessions to help with mental health and recovery. If you’re approved, you could get up to ten funded counselling sessions.

• Home Help: They can assist with household jobs like cleaning or cooking. You might also be able to get personal care like help showering or getting changed if you need this extra support. If you’re not staying at home due to your injury, you could still get support in the home through ACC.

• Getting around: If you’re travelling for treatment or appointments, these costs could be fully or partially covered by ACC. Some of these need to be approved by ACC before you take them, so it’s worth checking out what you’re eligible for on their MyACC application or giving the ACC team a call.

• Support for children: If your child is injured or if you look after a child and your ACC covered injury prevents you from doing everything you need to, you might get special support. This could be help at home, funded daycare or home education.

• Hāpai support: This is a tikanga-based service for Māori and follows te ao Māori principles. The programme is still new so it’s not available everywhere but hopefully will do in time. It offers a culturally-supportive approach to the ACC process and rehabilitation for injured Māori and their whānau.

• Support for Permanent Injuries: They provide financial help if your injury will affect you for life.

ACC’s aim is to help you live as independently as possible.

Getting equipment through ACC

If you do need equipment to support you in living an everyday life, you can be referred by a healthcare professional. If you already have an active claim, you can make a request for equipment yourself too through MyACC or giving the team a call. ACC equipment might be provided for you by disability equipment providers Accessable or Enable New Zealand.

Take a look at the ACC equipment journey.

Find out more about assistive equipment here

Getting housing modifications through ACC

If you are an ACC client and need to modify your home to live a good life, you can get in touch with ACC to request changes. If you need wider hallways or doorways, rails for your bathroom or other changes which make things accessible ACC might cover the cost of those changes being made. We spoke to the team at Enable New Zealand who manage modification services on behalf of ACC for south of the Bombay Hills and they shared their journey map with us. If you live in Auckland or above, the process will be pretty similar but you’ll work with Accessable.

Take a look at the ACC housing modification journey.

Find out more about housing modifications here

Getting your support person to look after your claim

If you want support from someone you know to work with ACC for you, you can choose to give them what’s called your ‘authority’. This means that they’ve promised you to do their best for you and handle things in the way you want them to. It might be that there’s too much paperwork, you’re too busy or everything just feels a bit confusing.

Check out the link below if you want to make this happen.

Giving someone authority to act on your behalf

Find out if you are able to get financial support through ACC on their website:

What we cover (acc.co.nz) 

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