The Government has put a hold on its controversial plans for a new tribunal to hear appeals against accident compensation decisions.
The original scheme was unveiled last year by Dunedin lawyer Warren Forster after he was told of it by a senior Government official during a discussion over an information request.
He and other accident compensation lawyers objected to the replacement of the District Court appeal provisions with the proposed tribunal, which they said would not be headed by a judge.
The proposed tribunal would also replace the Accident Compensation Appeal Authority, which hears appeals on cases from before the 1992 ACC reforms.
On Thursday, Mr Forster and colleagues will make public their major review of access to justice for ACC claimants, a copy of which they have sent to the Government.
ACC Minister Nikki Kaye and Courts Minister Amy Adams said in a statement today that Cabinet agreed last month that the bill changing the appeal system would not proceed yet, to allow for more consultation, the investigation of other options, and evaluation of efforts to reduce the number of ACC appeals.
The consultation would end in September this year and the Cabinet would make a decision on the proposed tribunal in December.
"...the Government has agreed that lawyers, advocates, ACC claimants' support groups and disabled people's organisations should also have the opportunity to take part in consultation".
The proposed tribunal would be faster than the current process, Ms Adams said. Appeals currently took on average more than 650 days.
Ms Kaye said the number of reviews of ACC decisions had decreased to 6000 a year, from 10,000.
"An ACC early-resolution pilot, aimed at resolving disputes before they go to a review hearing, has seen resolution rates increase from 14 per cent to 38 per cent in participating branches, since the trial started in 2014," she said.
ACC expected to extend the system nationally by December 31.
Ms Kaye has asked officials to review the regulations which set the rates paid to lawyers and doctors for their work in ACC decision reviews.
A discussion document on the consultation would be issued within a fortnight, she said.
- By Martin Johnston of the New Zealand Herald
