Seeking feedback on ACC’s occupational diseases list

Days left

27
open
Submissions due: 27 November 2024, 5pm

The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) is seeking feedback on proposed additions to Schedule 2, the list of occupational diseases in the Accident Compensation Act 2001 (the AC Act).

Schedule 2 is the list of occupational diseases covered under the AC Act. For an occupational disease to be included in Schedule 2, there must be strong scientific evidence proving a causal link to a work-related risk.

About the consultation

We welcome your feedback on the proposed additions to Schedule 2. In particular, we welcome your views on whether you think each addition is appropriate and practical, and what impacts you think each addition could have on raising awareness for occupational exposures faced by New Zealand’s workforce.

We want to hear from individuals, claimants, businesses, occupational diseases experts, and any other interested parties on these proposed additions.

Your feedback will help us to form our final recommendations to the Minister for ACC.

Please note that this consultation is only seeking feedback on the fourteen proposed additions and is not seeking any further suggested additions to Schedule 2.

About the proposed additions

The fourteen disease/exposure pairings have been proposed for inclusion by the panel of health experts following their review of up-to-date epidemiological evidence.

The panel determined that these fourteen disease/exposure pairings demonstrated a sufficiently strong causal relationship between the exposure and development of the corresponding disease.

The proposed additions consist of nine new entries to Schedule 2 and additions to five existing entries.

What happens after you have made your submission

Once you have submitted your feedback to us (by 5:00pm on 26 November 2024), all submissions will be analysed to help inform our final recommendations to the Minister for ACC on additions to Schedule 2.

We may get in contact directly if we require clarification on your submission, or would like further information from you (if you have supplied your contact information).

Release of information

We will publish a summary of submissions document and may publish individual submissions on the MBIE website. When you make a submission, MBIE will consider that you have consented to it being published on the MBIE website, unless you clearly state otherwise (you can easily notify us of this in the submission form provided below). If your submission contains any information that is confidential or that you do not want published, you can also say this in your submission.

Please note that submissions may be requested under the Official Information Act 1982 (the OIA). If you have any objection to the release of any information in your submission, please clearly indicate this in your submission form, or cover email accompanying your submission. Please clearly indicate which parts of your submission you consider should be withheld under the OIA and the reason why.

We will seek to consult with you when responding to any such requests for information under the OIA. If you object to the release of information in your submission, we will take that into account when responding to such a request.

The Privacy Act 2020 applies to submissions and survey responses. Any personal information you supply to us in making a submission will only be used for the purpose of assisting in the development of policy advice for this review of Schedule 2. Please clearly indicate if you do not wish for your name, or any other personal information, to be included in the summary of submissions document that we may publish.

Questions about the consultation

If you have any questions about the consultation process, please contact us at ACregs@mbie.govt.nz 

Relevant documents

How to make a submission

Submissions will close on Tuesday, 27 November 2024 at 5pm.

The discussion document has questions throughout on the proposed additions to Schedule 2, accompanied by some background on each exposure and corresponding disease, and the panel’s rationale for recommending its inclusion in Schedule 2.

We have provided a submission form which you can download. If you cannot use this template, you are welcome to write your submission in a blank document; if you do this, please clearly indicate which question you are responding to.

You do not need to answer all of the questions, and you are welcome to provide more comment on proposed additions you feel more strongly about. Your submission can be anonymous, and you can choose not to provide contact details.

You can email your submission to ACregs@mbie.govt.nz or post it to:

The Manager, Accident Compensation Policy
Workplace Relations and Safety Policy
Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment
PO Box 1473
Wellington 6140

Last updated: 30 October 2024