ACC long-term claimant payment cuts

The story so far

In the year to June, ACC stopped payments to nearly 8,000 long-term clients after deciding they were work-ready or no longer injured.^{28 Oct 2025} Some affected people, including a Dunedin man, say they cannot work and see the decision as a cost-saving measure.^{28 Oct 2025} In November, ACC said it planned to use artificial intelligence to help decide which of the roughly 25,000 people receiving compensation for a year or more should return to work, following a ministerial instruction to reduce that group.^{17 Nov 2025} An advocate described the move as shocking.^{17 Nov 2025} By December, ACC was moving more people off long-term claims to manage costs, causing financial hardship for some, including a man with chronic fatigue and brain fog after a concussion five years earlier.^{9 Dec 2025}

Latest

ACC is continuing to move more people off long-term claims, and families affected by the changes report financial hardship.^{9 Dec 2025}

Key moments

1. 28 Oct 2025ACC stops payments to nearly 8,000 long-term clients in year to June
2. 17 Nov 2025Minister instructs ACC to reduce pool of about 25,000 long-term claimants
3. 17 Nov 2025ACC plans to use artificial intelligence to help decide who returns to work
4. 9 Dec 2025Families report hardship as ACC moves more people off long-term claims

Written from the stories below; each sentence links to its sources.