Levy Consultation: What you told us

From 11 September to 9 October, we consulted with the public on our levy proposals to meet the rising costs of supporting New Zealanders recovering from injury.

Approximately 66 per cent of funding for ACC comes from levies paid by business owners, self-employed people, employees through their pay-packet, and motor vehicle owners when they buy petrol at the pump or when registering a vehicle.

Every three years, we look at the forecasts of costs and volumes of claims, and propose changes to the levy rates. 

We also consider other changes to the levy system to improve the way risks are assessed, how we incentivise injury prevention and to make the system as efficient as possible.

Thanks very much to everyone who made a submission, we appreciate you taking the time to give us your feedback. 

How much feedback did we receive?

Over the levy consultation period, we received 8,748 total submissions, including 6,925 sentiments (agree/disagree). 

Most of the feedback we received related to proposals impacting motorcycle owners, with 6,039 responses.

Of the feedback received, 91 per cent of respondents disagreed with the proposed increase to the contribution that motorcyclists make to the costs of injury. However, 86 per cent of respondents agreed with providing a discount to levies for motorcyclists who completed advanced rider safety training.

We received positive feedback for the proposed changes to the work account, including 72 per cent support for removing subsidisation of the No Claims Discount, and Experience Rating products, by businesses outside these programmes.

Respondents also supported proposals for reclassifying professional sports and home improvement stores.

What were the main feedback themes?

Feedback on most of the proposals was mixed or negative.

One of the consistent themes we heard is the proposed increase to levies are too high. 

Some of the reasons cited included cost of living pressures, particularly on small businesses, and a view that ACC is currently delivering a substandard service.

There was a strong theme that ACC should better target proposed levy increases to drivers of risk and risky behaviour. 

We also heard some concerns about the evidence and data used to inform the proposals, such as who ACC includes in motorcycle injury statistics, and what evidence supports using motorcycle capacity (CC) as a predicter of risk.  

But positive feedback came through for the new classification units for home improvement stores and professional sports, with respondents saying the changes are a better reflection of the risks in these industries and make levies simpler for businesses.

What happens next?

We’re now reviewing all your feedback and will take it into consideration before we present our final recommendations to the Minister for ACC.

The Government will then make the final decisions on how the levies and the levy system will change for the next three years. 
 
The Government’s decisions are expected in November and will come into effect from April 2025.