Overview
Work-related injuries have their own set of rules under the ACC scheme. Employers and employees have specific obligations, and different levy rates apply to fund the Work Account. This guide covers the key aspects of work-related ACC claims.
What is a Work-Related Injury?
A work-related injury is a personal injury suffered by an employee:
- While at work (on the employer's premises or at another location for work purposes)
- While performing work duties, whether at the workplace or elsewhere
- While travelling for work (but not commuting to/from work)
- Due to a work-related gradual process, disease, or infection (e.g., repetitive strain injury, occupational asthma, exposure to hazardous substances)
Employer Obligations
Employers have several legal obligations when an employee is injured at work:
- Record the injury: Keep a detailed injury register covering all workplace injuries (even minor ones)
- Assist with the claim: Help the employee access medical treatment and lodge the ACC claim
- Pay the first week: Employers pay the employee's normal wages during the first week of incapacity (the ACC stand-down period)
- Provide suitable work: Offer modified duties or alternative work if the employee can return with restrictions
- Rehabilitation cooperation: Participate in return-to-work planning and rehabilitation meetings
- Maintain confidentiality: Protect the employee's medical and claim information
Experience Rating
New Zealand's ACC Work Account uses an Experience Rating system. This means an employer's levy can be adjusted up or down based on their workplace injury history:
- Good performers: Employers with fewer and less severe workplace injuries get levy discounts
- Poor performers: Employers with higher-than-average injury rates pay levy surcharges
- The rating looks at the last 3 years of claims data and compares it to industry averages
- Adjustments can range from -50% (maximum discount) to +50% (maximum surcharge)
- The system is designed to incentivise workplace health and safety
Work Account Levies
Employers pay levies into the Work Account. The levy rate depends on:
- Industry classification: Each industry has a risk-based levy rate (e.g., construction pays higher rates than office work)
- Total payroll: Levies are calculated as a percentage of total employee earnings
- Experience rating adjustment: As above, your levy can be discounted or surcharged
Return to Work
ACC and the employer work together to support the employee's return to work. This may include:
- Gradual return: Starting with reduced hours or lighter duties
- Modified duties: Temporarily different tasks that suit the employee's restrictions
- Workplace modifications: Ergonomic adjustments or equipment
- Retraining: If the employee cannot return to their original role
Employee Rights
Employees with work-related injuries have the right to:
- Make an ACC claim (employer cannot prevent this)
- Receive treatment and weekly compensation (after the first week)
- Return to their job or suitable alternative work
- Be protected from discrimination due to their injury
- Appeal ACC decisions through the review and appeals process
Work Levy Rates by Industry (2025/26 and 2026/27)
The work levy an employer pays depends on the industry's risk classification. The average rate is $0.66 per $100 of liable earnings for 2025/26, rising to $0.69 per $100 for 2026/27 — but individual industries sit well away from the average: low-risk office and professional services pay around 0.16-0.20%, while high-risk industries such as forestry, construction and meat processing pay over 3%. The levy is charged on each employee's liable earnings up to the cap ($152,790 for 2025/26, $156,641 for 2026/27), and employers pay it annually by invoice from ACC. Because the rates are risk-based, the levy is also a financial signal: industries that reduce injuries see their classification unit rates fall over time, and individual employers can earn experience rating discounts of up to 50% (or face surcharges of up to 50%) based on their own claims history.
The First Week, Sick Leave, and Your Job
For work-related injuries, ACC's one-week stand-down does not leave you unpaid: the employer pays your normal wages for the first week of incapacity (this is a statutory obligation, not ACC's cost). After that, ACC pays 80% of pre-injury earnings. Two employment protections matter: you are entitled to be offered suitable work or modified duties while recovering, and you cannot be dismissed because of your injury (though genuine redundancy and poor performance still apply). If your employer pressures you to return before you are ready, a medical certificate from your GP is the document that counts. And remember: the injury register entry your employer keeps is legally required — if it is missing, that is a compliance issue for them, not a barrier to your claim.
Work Levy in 2026/27: Average and by Industry Risk
The average work levy for 2026/27 is $0.69 per $100 of payroll, up from $0.66 in 2025/26 and forecast at $0.72 for 2027/28. It is paid by employers (on behalf of employees) and by self-employed people, and it funds injuries that happen at work or because of work.
Your actual rate is not the average — it is set by your classification unit, and the spread is wide:
- Office-based work — around $0.10 to $0.30 per $100 of payroll.
- Construction, forestry and high-risk trades — $1.50 per $100 and above.
- Self-employed — same classification logic, assessed through your annual return rather than payroll.
Experience Rating: How Your Claims Record Moves Your Levy
Employers with at least three years of ACC history are experience-rated, meaning the levy you pay is adjusted up or down based on your own claims record. The potential adjustment scales with payroll size:
| Employer size (payroll) | Maximum discount | Maximum loading |
|---|---|---|
| Small — under $490,000 | 10% | 10% |
| Medium — $490,000 to $1.66 million | 15% | 15% |
| Large — over $1.66 million | 50% | 75% |
From April 2026 the threshold for including medical and treatment costs in experience rating rose to $750, so smaller claims now count towards your record than previously. The practical implication for employers is direct: early return-to-work planning is not just good management, it is levy management.
The First Week of a Work Injury
For an injury that happened at work, the employer pays 80% of the employee's usual pay for the first week (7 calendar days) from the date of injury, and ACC's weekly compensation generally starts on day 8. Three rules employers regularly get wrong:
- You cannot require the employee to use sick leave for the first week of a work injury.
- Top-ups must be agreed. An employer and employee can agree to lift first-week compensation from 80% to 100% by reducing the employee's sick leave entitlement by one day for each five days covered.
- The clock runs from the date of injury, not from the first day the employee stayed home — a Saturday injury still starts the seven days on Saturday.
Your Job, Your Rights, and Getting Back to Work
Being injured at work does not end your employment, and your employer has obligations around a safe return. ACC funds workplace-based rehabilitation wherever it is appropriate, and its guidelines express a clear preference for keeping you in your pre-injury role with the same employer — modified duties, reduced hours, or equipment — before considering a change of employer or occupation.