Difficult decisions and trade offs loom for ACC over injury prevention

Monday, 1 December 2025

ACC faces tough calls on injury prevention, with “ballooning” costs and a turnaround plan now before its board chair.

Last month the agency cemented its retreat by slashing its funding to WaterSafety NZ from March next year.

Chief executive Megan Main told a select committee on Monday while they were “not giving up on injury prevention”, there would be some “difficult decisions around things that aren't working”.

She called injury prevention a “really complex space … We can't wrap the country in cotton wool”.

In regards to WaterSafety NZ, ACC injury prevention head Renee Graham said they were not seeing any “measurable change” around drowning-related claims. in the claims that they were receiving around drowning related incidents”.

Graham said she did not expect further programme cuts this financial year, but acknowledged some initiatives were not having the desired impact and that ACC was working with those providers.

Main said ACC needed to ensure levy payers’ money was invested wisely, noting legislation required a return on investment and that it was incumbent on the agency to regularly review spending to assess whether it was delivering.

“The reality is that there's a lot of trade-offs and choices that we need to make.”

ACC Minister Scott Simpson was asked about a signalled “turnaround plan,” which he has previously said would set a new direction to restore the scheme to “putting clients first and delivering fast, efficient rehabilitation.

He said ACC’s costs had “ballooned”, rising significantly faster than the rate of economic inflation in recent years

Simpson said he had written a new letter of expectation to the board chair and a response was expected this week.

“The outstanding claims group liability, which estimates the future cost of existing claims, currently covered by ACC … has reached $65 billion. That’s a very big and significant number.

“Without any change, that projected figure is likely to increase to $78.3 billion by the 28/29 year. Very large numbers and heading in what I think is the wrong direction.”