The Principle Behind It
ACC's vocational rehabilitation services are built around one clear preference: workplace-based rehabilitation is preferred where appropriate, and most clients stay in their pre-injury role with their pre-injury employer — the "same job, same employer" outcome. Everything else on the ladder exists for the cases where that is medically impossible.
That preference is not only clinical. Returning to the same job is the cheapest outcome for the scheme and usually the best outcome for the claimant, which is why the process is designed to exhaust the same-job option before considering a change of employer or occupation.
The Four Pathways, In Order
| Service | When it is used | What it looks like |
|---|---|---|
| Stay at Work (SAW) | You can return to your pre-injury role with support | Modified duties, reduced hours, equipment, task-specific rehabilitation, work-context retraining |
| Back to Work (BTW) | The pre-injury role is gone, but your medical clearance supports the same type of work | Same job, different employer. Includes a report containing a graduated return-to-work plan |
| Work trials | It is unclear whether a role is sustainable | Time-limited paid placements used to test the work before committing to it |
| Training for work | The old occupation is medically closed off | Short vocational courses or retraining toward a realistic job option |
Task and work-context-specific rehabilitation — rebuilding the specific physical or cognitive demands of the job — is delivered inside these pathways, but only where it is necessary, appropriate, and aligned with clinical best practice rather than duplicating what a graduated return to work can achieve.
The Vocational Rehabilitation Report (VRR)
Where things are unclear, ACC can commission a Vocational Medical Services assessment, producing a Vocational Rehabilitation Report (VRR). It is an assessment and report used to help people return to work after injury, and it is triggered when:
- the medical aspects of your fitness for work are unclear, or
- rehabilitation has stalled and nobody can say why, or
- a diagnosis needs clarifying before a plan can be built.
A VRR carries significant weight in what happens next, so if one is scheduled, engage with it properly. Bring your own functional documentation — what you cannot do, on which days, and why — because the assessment compares your residual capacity against specific job types rather than against your old role.
Graduated Return to Work: What to Expect
Most returns are graduated rather than immediate. A typical plan starts with reduced hours or lighter duties and steps up as your capacity improves, with your medical certificates updated as the hours change. Two things make this work:
- A documented task list. Ask your employer for a written list of the tasks and physical demands of your role. ACC can then design a return that the employer can actually accommodate instead of guessing.
- A current medical certificate at all times. Weekly compensation depends on a valid certificate, and an expired one stops payments even for a return-to-work programme — upload the new certificate before the old one lapses.
You can also earn while on weekly compensation without losing it entirely. Your total income simply cannot exceed 100% of your usual pay, which is exactly the space a graduated return occupies.
Vocational Independence and Your Payments
At the end of the process sits vocational independence — a formal finding that, with your current injury, you can work in a listed job type for 30 hours or more a week. It matters because a vocational independence finding can end weekly compensation after a period of job-search support, commonly three months, even though treatment entitlements and social rehabilitation may continue.
Two protections are worth holding onto:
- Timing. ACC generally cannot assess vocational independence until you have completed at least three months of vocational rehabilitation.
- Challenge. You can dispute a vocational independence decision through the independent review process, and within three months of the decision.
If Your Employer Says There Is No Suitable Work
Ask for it in writing, and tell your recovery team the same day. A written refusal changes the pathway — it moves you from Stay at Work toward Back to Work or training options — but only if it is documented. Verbal statements that "there's nothing for you" are one of the most common reasons vocational rehabilitation stalls, and they are almost always resolvable once there is a written task list and a modified-duties proposal to respond to.
If you disagree with the rehabilitation plan itself, you have the right to have it reviewed, and ACC advocates and Community Law Centres can help you put the case together.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between Stay at Work and Back to Work with ACC?
Stay at Work supports you returning to your pre-injury role with your pre-injury employer — the same job, same employer outcome ACC prefers. Back to Work is used when the pre-injury role no longer exists but your medical clearance supports the same type of work, so it becomes the same job with a different employer.
What is a Vocational Rehabilitation Report (VRR)?
It is an assessment and report commissioned through ACC's Vocational Medical Services to assist a return to work. It is used when the medical aspects of fitness for work are unclear, when rehabilitation has stalled, or when a diagnosis needs clarifying. It carries significant weight in subsequent decisions.
When can ACC assess me as vocationally independent?
ACC generally cannot assess vocational independence until you have completed at least three months of vocational rehabilitation. A finding of vocational independence can end weekly compensation after a period of job-search support, commonly three months, though treatment and social rehabilitation may continue.
Can I work part-time while receiving ACC weekly compensation?
Yes. Graduated return to work is built on exactly that. The limit is that your total income — wages plus weekly compensation — cannot exceed 100% of your usual pay, and you must report the earnings as soon as they happen.