In some circumstances ACC may not have enough information to allow them to make an informed decision on claim, or may have an incomplete picture of a claimant’s injury and medical/personal history. Due to time limits in the legislation, ACC may be forced to decline cover or or entitlements until more information is provided.
Similarly, ACC may issue a decision that is potentially correct at the time, but which a claimant knows to be wrong for another reason that may not have been clear in the ACC file when the decision was made. Alternatively, a claimant may simply be upset with the decision itself or not having the reasons and alternatives explained to them clearly, or at all.
These examples are often areas where claimants become justifiably frustrated, but where a formal independent review hearing can sometimes be avoided by engaging with ACC in Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR), i.e. conciliation/mediation.
We always advise clients to allow us to lodge an application for review, even if ADR is a possible resolution option. This protects rights of review and prevents undue delay if the conciliation process fails. It also allow us to negotiate reimbursement of our fees on your behalf and can generally happen in a few weeks rather than several months for a hearing outcome.
Where Applicants agree to attempt ADR, it requires a signed agreement to conciliate in good faith and a conciliation meeting with an ACC Review Specialist and an impartial conciliator from Talk Meet Resolve, Fairway or ICRA. At the conclusion of the meeting the parties will have either agreed a binding solution to the dispute or if the matter is not resolved will continue to an independent review hearing.
Not every issue can be resolved using ADR, and ACC can decline to conciliate if they feel it will not help the matter in dispute. However, ACC SOS always remain open to ADR as a potential early way to resolve ACC disputes.
Anyone wanting to know more about ADR or ACC Reviews should feel free to contact ACC SOS for a no obligation conversation.
