How payments work
Learn how weekly compensation is calculated and when to expect payment.
If there are changes to your income or you receive any taxable income while you receive weekly compensation, please let us know straight away. This includes getting paid for a public holiday, a pay rise or bonus, receiving income support.
On this page
When will I get paid?
We'll start paying you after we've accepted your claim, checked you're eligible for weekly compensation, and processed your application. You become eligible for weekly compensation 7 days after your injury prevented you from working.
If this is an injury you've had cover for previously, we might be able to start paying you from the date you were re-injured.
Learn more about applying for weekly compensation
Payment in the first 7 days
We do not pay for your first week off work.
If you’re an employee or shareholder-employee and your injury happened at work, your employer must pay you for the first week.
If you were injured outside of work, talk to your employer about using leave, like sick or annual leave, to get paid during your first week off.
Your first weekly compensation payment
An initial payment is made automatically once your weekly compensation is calculated and set up. It’ll probably be on a different day from your preferred payday. Ongoing payments will be made on the preferred payday you chose in your application.
This initial payment is from the date you became eligible for weekly compensation, so the amount may be different to what you were expecting. The second payment will be a regular weekly payment.
You’ll likely receive a text message or email confirming when your weekly compensation has been set up. We’ll send a letter confirming the payment amount. You can also view this letter in your MyACC account and choose your communication preference.
Ongoing weekly payments
Future payments will be made weekly on your chosen payday. Any tax will come out of your payments like your regular income.
To set up KiwiSaver contributions on your payments, send a completed KS2 KiwiSaver deduction form to your recovery team
Download KS2 KiwiSaver deduction form from the Inland Revenue website
How much weekly compensation will I get?
Tip: View upcoming payment dates and amounts in your MyACC account.
We pay weekly compensation of up to 80% of your earnings if you have an injury we cover. For most employment types this is based on your weekly income over the four weeks before your injury prevented you from being able to work. Some employment types are calculated differently, like self-employed or shareholder-employee.
How could I get 100% of my earnings?
If your employer can find options for you to return to work, like reduced hours or different tasks, they will pay you for these hours and we can continue to pay you some weekly compensation.
We will reduce the weekly compensation payment so it does not add up to more than 100% of your pre-injury income when combined with your work earnings.
You’ll need to let us know what hours or earnings you receive each week so we can correctly recalculate the weekly compensation so you aren’t overpaid. We would need you to pay back any weekly compensation overpaid.
If your employer cannot offer reduced hours or different tasks, you can still apply for weekly compensation. You do not need a ‘fully unfit’ medical certificate and can be on a ‘fit for selected work’ certificate while receiving weekly compensation.
Luka has a ‘fully unfit’ medical certificate and is unable to work. They usually earn $1,000 a week for 40 hours of work, and over the past 4 weeks have earned $4,000 before tax.
While Luka is certified fully unfit to work, we pay them 80% of their usual earnings. This is $800 weekly before tax.
Luka starts to recover, and the doctor said they can start working reduced hours, issuing a new ‘fit for selected work’ medical certificate.
Luka agreed with their manager to return to work for 20 hours a week and will receive $500 for this work. Luka logs into MyACC and enters the 20 hours work, so we can recalculate their weekly compensation. We reduce the weekly compensation payment to $500.
Combining both work earnings and weekly compensation, Luka earns 100% of their usual weekly income of $1,000.
Calculating the rate
We have a short-term weekly compensation rate for the first 4 weeks, and a long-term rate if you are receiving weekly compensation for more than 4 weeks.
You may notice a change in your weekly compensation payments if you are receiving it for more than 4 weeks.
For most employment types we calculate weekly compensation based on your earnings in the 4-weeks before your injury stopped you from being able to work. This is the short-term rate.
If you receive weekly compensation for more than 4 weeks, it changes to the long-term rate. This is based on your earnings in the previous year before your injury. There are also minimum and maximum amounts of weekly compensation we can pay, set in the Accident Compensation Act 2001. These amounts change each year.
From 1 April 2024, the minimum rate of weekly compensation payable is 80% of the adult minimum wage of $926.00 for a 40-hour week. The minimum rate of weekly compensation payable is $740.80, based on a 40-hour week. The maximum weekly compensation rate payable is $2,350.62
Changes to payments
You'll need to call us and let us know if you're paid any other taxable income while you're getting weekly compensation as it will impact how much we can pay you.
This includes payment for a public holiday, a bonus or pay rise.
If you get any income from your employer while also receiving weekly compensation we’ll need to adjust your weekly compensation so you don’t get overpaid. If you’ve been overpaid weekly compensation, we’ll ask for it to be repaid.
If your payment falls around a public holiday, we try to pay you earlier. Payments can take 1 to 3 days to process depending on your bank.
If you were paid for a public holiday, but you did not work, let us know the number of hours you were paid for.
If you did work on a public holiday, let us know the hours you worked, the hourly rate, and the public holiday rate that applies, for example, time-and-a-half or double time.
If you receive New Zealand Superannuation or support from Work and Income New Zealand, this may affect your weekly compensation payments. Get in touch with our team to find out more.
If you receive weekly compensation while returning to part time work and receiving wages, this means you have two sources of income. One of them will need a secondary tax code.
We recommend you contact Inland Revenue about tax codes.
Choosing the right tax code
If you haven't received a payment you were expecting and need this urgently, contact us.
If we pay you too much weekly compensation, we’ll write to you and let you know the next steps to correct this.
Once your health provider has assessed you as 'fully fit' through your medical certificate you can return to work. When you are working your regular pre-injury role or an alternative suitable role, we’ll stop weekly compensation payments.
If your injury is stopping you from starting full-time work of at least 30 hours per week, we may be able to pay you for loss of earnings. You could be eligible if:
- you've turned 18
- you were injured before you turned 18, or injured after turning 18 but you've been in full-time study or training
- you can't work because of your injury for six months or more
- you're no longer in full-time study or training
- you're earning or already getting weekly compensation but it's less than what we'd pay for loss of potential earnings.
How much we can pay for loss of potential earnings
We can make weekly payments at 80% of the weekly minimum wage.
Applying for loss of potential earnings
To apply, talk to your recovery team. They’ll talk you through the process and forms needed to apply.
Apply for weekly compensation now
There are two ways to apply for weekly compensation:
- Online using MyACC. Register then log in and access the application in the 'Get support' section.
- Phone our claims team.
If you haven’t received a registration code by email or text, or don't want to use MyACC, contact us to apply for weekly compensation over the phone.
Phone 0800 101 996 (Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm)