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Confidence in ACC vital, Rebstock says

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Confidence in ACC vital, Rebstock says

3News NZ

ACC Minister Judith Collins

ACC Minister Judith Collins

Opposition parties say ACC's new service agreement with the Government is "window dressing" but the corporation's new boss says she's taking it seriously.

The agreement was released on Thursday and sets the top priority as rebuilding public confidence in the scheme.

ACC Minister Judith Collins says she's "rebalancing" its responsibilities after the turmoil over a huge privacy breach and opposition attacks over the way it has "exited" thousands of long-term claimants over the last three years.

Its chairman, chief executive and three board members have resigned in the last two weeks.

Paula Rebstock, appointed as interim chairwoman, says ACC's "major responsibility" is to support people with injuries and rehabilitate them.

The previous service agreement, signed by Ms Collins' predecessor Nick Smith, put financial management at the top of the list.

"We do need to build trust and confidence in the scheme and we have to remember what our main task is," Ms Rebstock said on Radio New Zealand on Friday.

"We also have to manage our costs, because ACC has to be sustainable."

Ms Rebstock confirmed case managers' pay would continue to be assessed partly on the basis of how many people they rehabilitated.

That's a big issue with opposition parties who say it amounts to bonus payments for staff who manage to cut claimants' entitlements or get them off compensation altogether.

"We have to assess the performance of people whose job it is to rehabilitate people so we know how well they are doing that," she said.

NZN

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Comments

1/07/2012 3:42:10 p.m.

Linda wrote:

ACC even tried to get my seriously head injured husband back into work. Instead ACC found a way to pay his entitlements at below the minimum adult wage rate. Tax and levies are paid on it so no reason is acceptable to pay any less entitlement! Who else can relate to this?

30/06/2012 6:37:52 a.m.

alison wrote:

Until staff are rewarded for helping bring back trust and fairness in acc no one will believe this crock of lies as anything more than a national joke.

29/06/2012 5:06:13 p.m.

ana wrote:

Until Acc stops its practice of not allowing injury victims to go to genuine non aligned specialists post care "nothing will change". Acc needs to step away from playing judge jury and executioner.That is the fundamental test of faith for people to trust Acc once again to be honest and no longer underhand with directed outcomes.

29/06/2012 9:41:02 a.m.

John wrote:

The word "rehabilitate" is code for bully, scheme and lie. Its meaning has become so twisted that it is unrecognisable.