ACC's Sensitive Claims process 'not really fit for purpose': sexual violence support org

An organisation supporting victims of sexual violence has called the ACC Sensitive Claims process "not really fit for purpose".

Mosaic provides support for male victims of sexual abuse in Wellington for free, but chief executive Richard Jeffrey told 1 NEWS ACC’s process of approving counsellors is letting people down.

The charity organisation is ACC registered, but has struggled to get its counsellors accredited as ACC providers.

ACC Sensitive Claims are for victims of sexual violence.

Approved claimants can access things such as funded therapy sessions and, in some cases, are eligible for weekly compensation.

In December last year, Mosaic filed six applications for its staff members.

Just two of its applicants were approved.

Jeffrey claims it took six months before one of the four declined counsellors were contacted by ACC and was told by the Government body the application had failed because the practising certificate submitted had expired.

The certificate expired in March 2021 — three months after the application had been submitted — and by which point the practitioner had renewed their licence.

"What were they doing for six months?" Jeffrey asked. 

"We submitted another application the same day as hers — it got approved after two weeks. It’s just really inconsistent and really slow. During six months, you can see a lot of people.

"We’re failing the whole community."

Since the beginning of this year, Mosiac has had 450 enquiries from people wanting to begin the ACC process with them.

Around half were immediately declined as Mosaic did not have the capacity or the qualified staff to accommodate the demand.

Jeffrey said Mosaic chooses to decline people over placing them on a waitlist as it gives people false hope.

"If you’re the 100th person on a waitlist, how soon are you going to see somebody?" he asked.

He said it will be a similar situation for other organisations like his around the country.

"We’re not alone in this. There’s more well-established agencies, and who knows how many enquiries they are getting."

In a statement, an ACC spokesperson told 1 NEWS it does its best to process applications quickly and accurately. They attributed the instance of the Mosiac counsellor failing her application to an administration error, and had since apologised.

"We are focused on streamlining our process so it’s easier for providers to work with us," the Government body spokesperson told 1 NEWS.

It said on average it takes approximately six weeks for an organisation to become an ACC approved supplier, and that counsellors can be added to that suppliers’ books at any time but applications for them usually take up to 10 working days to be processed.

"It is not our intention to make it challenging," ACC said of the process it takes to become an ACC approved counsellor.

In half of the country’s regions, it’s taking longer than two months for people to secure an appointment with an ACC counsellor.

In Wellington, it can take more than eight weeks, but in Manawatū-Whanganui, waitlists are soaring to more than 12 weeks.

ACC told 1 NEWS it is a sector-wide issue across New Zealand and there is a global practitioner shortage.