Privacy, consent and your rights

The Accident Compensation Act 2001 has been designed to protect and assist New Zealanders if they are injured. 

ACC or Accredited Employers in the ACC Partnership Programme, and Third Party Administrators (Wellnz), are entitled to access relevant personal and medical information directly related to the injury or occupational disease. This is so decisions can be made regarding:

• Claim cover
• Entitlements
• Rehabilitation for a work-related injury claim.

The ACC45 Medical Certificate completed by the ACC Registered Treatment provider contains a consent that allows Wellnz to obtain personal injury-related information about the injured employee. This then allows Wellnz to lodge the injury claim and to activate the initial need process to support the injured claimant.  

Further consent requests

Where further ongoing information is needed or an employee is unable to return to work, Wellnz has a specific consent form which the injured staff member will be asked to sign. This allows Wellnz to share relevant information with treatment providers when investigating injuries and planning rehabilitation interventions.

This includes when:

• Determining diagnosis
• Determining coverage for injuries
• Planning rehabilitation support.

Consent conditions

The University and/or Wellnz staff will obtain the injured person’s consent for the collection and release of information by asking the injured employee to complete a consent form.

A fact sheet will be provided to the employee in such cases so that they understand the consent process.

The consent does not allow Wellnz to access, hold or disclose information that is not relevant to a claim. The University and Wellnz are bound by the provisions of the Privacy Act and the Health Information Privacy Code.

Both Wellnz and the University are required to inform ACC of any privacy breaches and are subject to an audit of this process.

In these cases, a fact sheet will be provided to the injured employee so that they understand the consent process.

1. Injury occurs.
2. Employee reports accident to rehabilitation coordinator/case manager.
3. Employee and rehabilitation coordinator complete claim/consent form.
4. Rehabilitation coordinator explains consent process to injured employee.
5. Claim/consent form forwarded to Wellnz.

Under the Accident Compensation Act 2001, a Code of Claimant Rights has been developed and applies to all injury claims managed by ACC and Accredited Employers.

The code outlines the rights that an injured employee has in regard to how they are treated when they make a workplace accident claim. The same rights apply to how ACC must interact with all claimants they deal with.

There are no financial awards if the code is breached. However, directives may be issued to apologise and/or amend procedures if complaints are substantiated.

We reference the code of ACC Claimants’ Rights in all cover decisions.

Employer responsibilities

As an Accredited Employer, we are required to:

• Treat all employees who make claims with respect, dignity and honesty
• Make a copy of the code available to any staff member who requests this
• Investigate and respond to any concerns or issues staff have in regard to a possible breach of their rights by supervisors, managers or Wellnz. 

The rights under the code are to:

• Be treated with dignity and respect
• Be treated fairly and have your views considered
• Have your culture, values and beliefs respected
• Have support persons
• Have effective communication
• Be fully informed
• Have your privacy respected
• Be able to complain.

Every person who makes a claim must be advised of, and have access to, the ACC Code of Claimants' Rights.

The following link is to a resource available to staff only.

• Fact sheet: Code of Claimant Rights (PDF 99.6 KB)

Find out more about the different ways of raising a work-related complaint or disputing a decision.

Look now: Complaints and disputes.

Document Control
Version: 1.0
Last Updated: June 2020
Next Review: June 2023
Owner: hsw@auckland.ac.nz
Approver: Associate Director, Health Safety & Wellbeing