Assessors
Receiving your correct treatment and compensation is in the hands of the ACC registered Assessor who makes an assessment in an appointment time allocated to you and then sends a diagnosis ( a Supported Assessment ) - and/or a Whole Person Impairment percentage ( for Permanent Impairment Compensation ) report to ACC.
It is your right to see the report and ask the assessor to make any corrections of your details that are incorrect, before ACC receives this report.
It is your right to choose an assessor from a list of assessors that ACC will send to you.
As with any medical professional, researching, doing your due diligence and asking others is key to a successful assessment.
Assessments
With all of these assessments, we encourage you to take notes, saying everything that you feel you want to say and handing them to the assessor at the interview in case you freeze or forget at the time. Sometimes you have proof of what you are explaining and you can give the assessors copies of this proof as well.
Supported Assessment
is for diagnosis and claim acceptance. It can be carried out over the course of 1 to 2 hours to a series of appointments over weeks. You will be asked the details of the event during this interview.
For standard claims, ACC has 21 days after receiving a claim to process that claim and make a decision about your entitlement. They can extend the time for making the decision if they need more information, but they can't extend it to more than four months after you lodged your claim.
For complicated claims, ACC has two months to make a decision after receiving a claim. Complicated claims are claims involving:
- a mental injury caused by rape or other sexual crimes, which ACC calls "sensitive" claims, or
- personal injury caused by a work-related gradual process, disease or infection, or
- treatment injuries, or
- late claims (claims lodged later than 12 months after the date of your accident or injury).
If ACC needs more information, it can extend the time for making the decision by up to two months. You and ACC can also agree to extending the time further, but ACC have to decide about your claim within nine months after you lodged it.
Note: If ACC don't meet the deadlines for processing your claim, the law says you're covered for your injury, just as if ACC had approved your claim.
PIC ( Permanent Impairment Compensation )
is to determine your level of impairment. You will be rated by a percentage which is called a WPI ( Whole Person Impairment ) That rating determines your rate of payment. Your percentage needs to be a 10% rating or over to qualify for financial compensation.
To receive Permanent Impairment Compensation, phone ACC and ask for an ACC554. This form will require you to fill out some parts, and your GP to fill out the rest. Make an appointment with your GP for this and your GP will post it to the PIC team, who will then start your process and in due course will send you a list of available assessors. Research within the ACC Sensitive Claimant Support group by searching names or asking in a post.
Here are the four areas of the questionnaire
Here is the PIC assessment questionnaire in depth, starting from page 33 onwards
Remember, you can see a copy of the report the assessor has completed, before being sent to ACC
Weekly Compensation -
If you are unable to carry out your employment duties due to an accepted ACC claim diagnosis, you may be eligible for weekly compensation. If ACC agree, they will pay 80% of your current wages. ACC take a long time to decide if you are entitled or not, so going forwards with a SLP ( Supported Living Payment ) with MSD will carry you over until ACC make a decision. You submit an ACC 54 for weekly compensation through your GP and an ACC 18 3 monthly through your GP thereafter. SLP requires a medical certificate from your GP.
Socialisation Rehabilitation Needs Assessment -
Schedule 1 - Entitlements and under entitlements there is a sub section called Social Rehabilitation - then there are numerous sub headings. Aids and appliances, Attendant Care, Child care, Education Support, Home Help, Modifications to Home, Training for Independence, Transport for Independence.
You ask for a Social Rehabilitation Needs Assessment - through your GP or your lead provider ( therapist ) to your recovery partner - you then have an ACC approved Social Rehabilitation Needs Assessor come to your home to talk about what your needs are and they write a report for ACC respond to. If you have physical and sensitive issue claims and needs, this is taken into account. The goal is to get you to a "normal" level of social interactions and abilities. ( I have just been through this step ). This assessment is written within the ACT and is a legal requirement for ACC to uphold, only they "forget" to tell you about it - you have to ask. Social is what it sounds like - hobbies, sports, cafes.. etc - but if you can't travel to a cafe for example, then that needs to be worked out. If you can't travel to get the groceries, again, that needs working out. ( This could come in the form of a decent car ). If you need support at medical procedures ( cervical smear, mammogram xrays etc ), that needs to be worked out. If you are needing dental work to feel confident in public. There are probably a range of other social requirements we may have. Support from your GP and/or lead provider ( therapist ) is key and if you have any problems contact Wayfinders.
LOPE ( Loss of Potential Earnings )
LOPE is a form of weekly compensation for people who were injured as children and cannot work. There are three assessments carried out over around two years. Go to your GP and request they send an ACC 18 to ACC to get this process started.
The LOPE Assessments -
Section 105 Occupation Assessment. This is purchased by following the Initial Occupation Assessment (IOA) process. The purpose of this assessment is to provide supporting information to subsequent assessors so that they can determine whether there is now, or has been at some time in the past, incapacity from engaging in work types for 30+ hours based on their skills, training and education.
2) Section 105 Function Assessment (psychiatric/psychological). If ACC has already determined the client's Personal Injury cover through a Supported Assessment then this assessment will determine the functional effects of the client's mental injury on their ability to engage in work types identified in the Occupation Assessment. If the client has not completed a recent Supported Assessment, then they should be referred for a Supported Assessment with additional questions on Function, as specified in the referral letter for s105 Supported + Function Assessment (psychiatric/psychological)
3) Section 105 Occupational Medical Assessment. This assessment is to determine how the injury has been (retrospectively) or is
currently affecting the client's ability to work. This assessment is only used in cases of doubt about incapacity, or when it appears
likely that there is no longer any incapacity and that entitlement will be declined. Contact Recovery Support to confirm before omitting
referral for this assessment
The above downloads are the Functional Assessment