What is Weekly Compensation?
Weekly compensation (also known as weekly payments) is an entitlement for people who cannot work due to a covered accident injury. It provides income replacement — typically 80% of your pre-injury earnings — for as long as your incapacity continues, subject to certain limits.
Eligibility
To receive weekly compensation, you must:
- Have an accepted ACC claim for your injury
- Have been employed or self-employed at the time of injury
- Have a medical certificate stating you are unable to work (total or partial incapacity)
- Be entitled under the Accident Compensation Act 2001
Non-earners (e.g., children, students, beneficiaries, retired people) do not receive weekly compensation but still receive treatment and rehabilitation support.
How Weekly Compensation is Calculated
For Employees
Your weekly compensation is 80% of your average weekly earnings before the injury. ACC calculates this based on your earnings in the 52 weeks before the injury, up to a maximum cap (the "weekly maximum").
Current maximum: From 1 July 2025, the maximum weekly compensation is $2,418.55 per week (before tax), rising to $2,466.20 per week from 1 July 2026. The cap is indexed annually to movements in the Labour Cost Index.
For Self-Employed People
Your compensation is 80% of your assessed pre-injury earnings based on your historical income (typically the last two years of tax returns). If you have opted into the CoverPlus Extra or standard CoverPlus plan, your levies and cover level may differ.
Abatement (Earning While Injured)
If you can do some work while recovering, ACC uses an "abatement" formula. Your weekly compensation reduces based on what you earn. Abatement allows you to try returning to work without losing all your entitlement:
- If your actual earnings are less than your pre-injury earnings, ACC pays 80% of the difference.
- If you earn at or above your pre-injury level, no weekly compensation is paid.
Waiting Period
There is a one-week stand-down (the first week after your injury) during which ACC does not pay weekly compensation. Your employer may pay sick leave or annual leave for this period. After one week, ACC payments begin automatically if you remain incapacitated.
How Long Do Payments Last?
Weekly compensation continues for as long as you are incapacitated due to the covered injury, until you reach vocational independence or return to work. In practice, ACC reviews your case periodically and may commission medical assessments. If ACC assesses you as vocationally independent, payments may cease.
Taxation
ACC weekly compensation is taxable income (like wages). Tax is deducted at source at your marginal rate, and you receive it as part of your annual tax assessment through IRD.
Current Rates: 2025/26 and 2026/27
The maximum weekly compensation is indexed annually to the Labour Cost Index. From 1 July 2025 the maximum is $2,418.55 gross per week (about $125,765 annualised); from 1 July 2026 it rises 1.97% to $2,466.20 gross per week. The minimum for full-time earners is also protected: from 1 April 2026, someone who worked 40+ hours per week before injury is paid at least $766.40 gross per week (80% of the $23.95 adult minimum wage for a 40-hour week). Between those bounds you receive 80% of your pre-injury earnings. High earners should note the cap: once pre-injury earnings exceed roughly $157,000, the 80% replacement rate effectively shrinks because of the maximum — a gap some people cover with income-protection insurance.
How Payments Are Calculated Over Time
ACC uses two different windows. For the first four weeks of weekly compensation, the payment is 80% of your average earnings in the month before the injury — a snapshot designed to match your current pay. After that, it is 80% of your average earnings over the 52 weeks before the injury (excluding any weeks you did not work), which smooths out seasonal or irregular income. For self-employed people, earnings are based on your most recent two years of assessed income under your ACC cover plan (CoverPlus or CoverPlus Extra). If your income changes — a promotion before the injury, or a second job — tell ACC promptly; the assessment uses the correct window only if ACC knows about all your income sources.
If Payments Stop or Change
Weekly compensation is not indefinite. ACC reviews cases periodically and can commission medical assessments; if ACC decides you are vocationally independent (able to work 30+ hours a week in a job suited to your skills) payments can cease after a 13-week notice period. You also lose entitlement if you return to work at or above pre-injury earnings, or if you decline a reasonable offer of suitable work. Every decision to stop or reduce payments comes with review rights: ask ACC for the reasons, gather medical evidence, and apply for a review within 3 months. Many cessation decisions are overturned on review when the claimant's GP disagrees with ACC's assessment — do not assume the first decision is final.
The 2026/27 Numbers: Minimum and Maximum
Weekly compensation is 80% of your pre-injury earnings before tax, but it is not a straight 80% for everyone — it is bounded at both ends by rates that are reset annually:
- Minimum for a full-time earner: $766.40 a week gross — 80% of the adult minimum wage of $23.95 an hour for a 40-hour week (the minimum wage rose from $23.50 to $23.95 on 1 April 2026).
- Maximum: about $2,410 a week gross — 80% of the maximum liable earnings of $156,641 for 2026/27.
- Below the minimum: part-time and low-earning claimants are floored at 80% of minimum wage only if they were working full-time hours; otherwise the payment follows actual earnings.
Both bands rise each year with the minimum wage and the liable-earnings cap, so a payment that looks correct against last year's figures may be a dollar or two light this year.
Short-Term vs Long-Term Rates: The Four-Week Switch
Two different formulas apply, and the one used changes four weeks after your injury:
- First four weeks (short-term rate): earnings in the four weeks immediately before your injury, divided by four, multiplied by 80%. Example: $5,000 ÷ 4 = $1,250; 80% = $1,000 gross a week.
- After four weeks (long-term rate, permanent employee): total income from your job divided by the weeks you actually worked, up to a maximum of 52. Example: $58,800 ÷ 49 weeks worked = $1,200; 80% = $960.
- After four weeks (non-permanent employee): total income from all non-permanent jobs divided by 52 regardless of weeks worked. Example: $52,000 ÷ 52 = $1,000; 80% = $800. This suits casual, seasonal and multi-job workers whose income is lumpy.
Agreed unpaid leave is excluded from the permanent-employee calculation, which is why the divisor is often below 52 and the long-term payment can differ from the short-term one.
Abatement, Secondary Tax and Overpayments
You can earn while receiving weekly compensation, but your combined income is not allowed to exceed 100% of your usual pay. ACC adjusts your payment to prevent overpayment — this is called abatement — and you are required to report earnings as soon as they happen, which is straightforward through MyACC.