ACC recognised for rongoā Māori in awards
ACC has been named as a finalist in Te Hāpai Hapori, the Spirit of Service Awards, for our work with the Rongoā Māori Service, traditional Māori healing.
Run by Te Kawa Mataaho, the Public Service Commission, the awards recognise public servants who go the extra mile and initiatives that deliver great outcomes for people in New Zealand.
ACC is one of three finalists in Te Tohu mō Whai Ratonga, the Māori Crown Relationships Award, joining City Rail Link (for the Mana Whenua Forum) and Te Tāhū o te Ture, the Ministry of Justice (for Whakaorangia te Mana Tangata).
Te Tohu mō Whai Ratonga celebrates outstanding public service contributions to supporting Māori Crown relationships through auahatanga (innovation), whakapūmautanga (durability) and kōwhiringa (opportunities).
“The Rongoā Māori Service exemplifies a commitment to protecting rongoā as a taonga and ensuring equitable access to services and experiences, leading to better health outcomes for Māori,” states Te Kawa Mataaho in its summary of finalists.
Providing choice in recovery
Rongoā has been available through ACC as a rehabilitation service since 2020 and has now helped over 10,000 ACC kiritaki (clients) across the motu.
ACC Head of Māori Health Partnerships Eldon Paea says it’s great for our mahi to be recognised.
“This is a huge honour for our team, and I want to thank and acknowledge the many people who have helped build our Rongoā Māori Service,” he says.
“Offering rongoā as a rehabilitation service is part of our continuing efforts to deliver equity for Māori.
“It presents injured Māori, and all New Zealanders, with more choice in their recovery options, and is a positive step towards delivering equity for tangata whenua.”
Growing understanding of rongoā
In May, we hosted the inaugural Rongoā Māori Conference in Rotorua. It brought together more than 400 rongoā practitioners, health providers and other members of the health community.
“We wanted to bring together our health providers and rongoā practitioners to share, learn and see how we can work together to meet all the needs of our communities,” Eldon says.
“It was a great opportunity to whakawhanaunga (build relationships) and grow understanding of traditional Māori healing and its place in Aotearoa New Zealand’s health sector.”
Our research shows Māori are more likely to sustain a serious injury than non-Māori, but less likely to make an injury claim.
Māori clients generally account for 12.5 percent of new claims volumes annually but account for 16.7 percent of the population.
Our data shows rongoā Māori claim volumes are 1.5 times higher in the 12 months to June 2024 (7,240 claims), compared to June 2023 (4,734 claims).
The winners of Te Hāpai Hapori will be announced at an awards event on 26 September.
More information
To see the other Te Hāpai Hapori finalists and find out more information, go to the website.
Te Hāpai Hapori, the Spirit of Service Awards
If you have a covered injury, you can find out more about accessing the Rongoā Māori Service on our website.
