Executive Lead appointed to NZ Income Insurance Scheme proposal

Every year, more than 100,000 New Zealanders are made redundant, laid off, or have to stop working because of a health condition or disability.

The Government, Business New Zealand and the New Zealand Council of Trade Unions are therefore proposing a new way to protect workers and the economy – a New Zealand Income Insurance Scheme (NZIIS).

The scheme aims to support people who lose their jobs through no fault of their own, or who have a health condition or disability and need to temporarily reduce their working hours. 

The proposed scheme would provide workers greater financial security for a period of time, so they can find a job that matches their skills and aspirations, or retrain for a new career path.

Having your say

Public consultation is currently underway on the proposed scheme. As part of the proposal, the Government is recommending that ACC runs the scheme, given our capability and experience running a similar scheme for injuries.

A decision on whether the scheme will proceed and who will run it is due later this year.

However, the work we’re doing now will inform the final delivery of the scheme, regardless of which agency is selected to administer it, should it proceed.

We have therefore appointed Stephen Crombie to the role of ACC Executive Lead – NZ Income Insurance Scheme (NZIIS).

Appointing a critical role

Stephen is currently the Deputy Chief Executive of the People and Capability group at the Ministry of Social Development.

Prior to that, he was the inaugural Chief Executive of Education Payroll and has held several senior roles across government, most recently at NZ Police and Department of Internal Affairs.

“Stephen is an experienced leader who has a strong background in engaging across the public sector to achieve outcomes for New Zealanders,” ACC Chief Executive Megan Main says.

“He brings significant experience in supporting the design and implementation of complex programmes of work and major transformations, for example through his involvement in the vaccination rollout and the recent establishment of the new Ministry for Disabled People,” she adds.

“With his background in the health and social service sectors and his experience leading major multi-organisation programmes, I know Stephen will provide strong leadership as we navigate the implementation planning and establishment of NZIIS.”

Stephen will lead the high-level pre-implementation planning currently being undertaken by ACC to inform costs and timeframes if a decision is made to progress the scheme.

Prior to Stephen taking up his new role on 13 June, Gary Baird will be acting Executive Lead, on secondment from Inland Revenue, where he is Deputy Commissioner of Enterprise Services.

“Gary’s background in leading teams through transformation and integration projects will be a strong asset to the NZIIS team during this pre-implementation phase, and I look forward to welcoming him to ACC,” Megan says.

Learn more about the scheme

More information and the opportunity to have your say on the NZ Income Insurance Scheme proposal is available on the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) website.

A New Zealand Income Insurance Scheme

Public submissions will close on 26 April 22, 5pm.