ACC Minister Nikki Kaye yesterday met Acclaim Otago representatives, after a major report, released by the ACC claimant support group last week, said many injured New Zealanders faced ''serious barriers'' to justice.
Ms Kaye said the Wellington meeting had been ''very constructive'' and she was ''hugely respectful of the time they've put into their report''.
''I believe change will come and the report will make a contribution to this,'' she said in response to ODT questions.
Ms Kaye had agreed to meet Acclaim Otago again ''and intend to consult with them on a number of issues'', she said.
Warren Forster was lead author of the report, titled ''Understanding the Problem'', which was based on a study of more than 500 recent ACC-related appeals through the courts.
He and fellow authors had yesterday also met representatives of the Accident Compensation Corporation and the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment, he said.
Mr Forster said the report's authors had ''sincerely appreciated'' the minister taking the time to engage with the report's contents and were persuaded she was ''committed to meaningful reform of the disputes process''.
''Key points of discussion were how we could improve transparency and trust and confidence, with ACC, the minister and ACC claimants around ACC,'' he said. Dr Denise Powell, a past president of Acclaim Otago, emphasised the key role of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, and was ''cautiously optimistic'' that ''systemic problems'' could be addressed. Mr Forster said the minister had emphasised current delays in the appeals system were ''unacceptable and we need to work together to resolve this''.
The report's authors looked forward to ''being involved in the specifics of the consultation process'' over proposed Government ACC reform, he said.
Prof Mark Henaghan is University of Otago dean of law, and acting director of the Otago Legal Issues Centre, which helped prepare the report, which was funded by the Law Foundation.
Prof Henaghan said the minister's initial response to the report had been ''brilliant'', and he was ''encouraged'' she was taking the report's findings seriously and striving to make changes.
The report had been thoroughly researched and showed that lack of adequate access to experienced legal representation by many ACC claimants was clearly undermining their rights to justice in appealing ACC decisions.
New Zealand had signed up to the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, was regarded as a good international citizen and ultimately had to live up to its obligations under the convention, he said.
Money could be saved, overall, if claimants were financially able to hire a lawyer to make their case at the initial ACC review stage, rather than costlier and time-consuming court appeals being needed later, he said.
