ACC plans to add more than 100 new roles in Dunedin, as the organisation seeks a new space in the central city.
An ACC spokesman said yesterday it was close to securing a new short-term location in the CBD, as its hunt for more space in the city continues.
''We are currently talking to a number of potential landlords.''
Dunedin Mayor Dave Cull said he was thrilled at the announcement ACC would expand the number of roles in the city by 102.
He said the increase in ACC job numbers had been signalled for a while, but it was nonetheless great news for the city.
The DCC had announced in 2016 ACC was investigating the feasibility of constructing a new building on the site of the Frederick St car park, near Dunedin Hospital.
Mr Cull acknowledged finding accommodation in the city for the new workers would be difficult, given many were likely to come from elsewhere in the country due to redundancies, along with the anticipated increase in workers heading south for the new hospital build.
''That's an issue we have been grappling with for some time.
''Our population has grown quite dramatically in the last few years, and our workforce has grown and will continue to grow with the building of the new hospital.''
ACC chief operating officer Mike Tully said as part of structural changes over the next 18 months, new roles would be created in Auckland, Hamilton, Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin.
The new ACC structure proposed having 409 roles in Dunedin, an increase of 102 overall, although many of those positions were different from current roles.
Any existing roles not identified in the new model would cease to exist on August 16.
The new roles were to work with clients recovering from ''less severe'' injuries, such as sprains, strains and fractures, which he said made up 94% of claims and did not usually require face-to-face support.
''All 25 existing ACC sites will remain open, and we'll continue to offer face-to-face services for clients where it supports their recovery,'' Mr Tully said.
''A significant number of new roles are being created across New Zealand.
At the same time, there could be around 300 redundancies over the next 12 months, not accounting for natural attrition, or people taking up relocation opportunities.
''Overall, the number of people in our client service teams will remain at around 1800.''
The changes were geared around providing a faster, more flexible service, he said.
ACC had already begun tailoring services based on feedback from clients.
Employees affected by the changes would be offered reassignment to a similar role in the same location if one was available, reassignment to a similar role in a different location or redundancy.
PSA assistant national secretary Jeff Osborne said
the proposal was a major change for both staff and for the delivery of ACC services.
The union was concerned about the impact on individual workers as well as those who use ACC services.
''We would be very concerned if the proposal did move in the direction of reducing New Zealanders' ability to access ACC services.''
Mr Osborne said the union also had concerns an element of the proposal could risk undermining the collective agreement, and it would be communicating with ACC on this soon.
