How long will I get weekly compensation for?
Usually, you’ll get weekly compensation until you’re able to do your job again. But if you’re permanently incapable of doing your pre-injury job, ACC doesn’t usually allow you to get weekly compensation indefinitely (although this does happen in some cases – for example, with serious brain or spinal injuries).
Instead, when your vocational rehabilitation is finished, you’re assessed on the basis of the “vocational independence” test – that is, whether you’re capable of working full-time in a job for which you’re suited by your experience, education or training. In deciding what kinds of jobs you’re suited for, the assessors have to take into account how much you were earning before you were injured.
If the assessors decide you do have vocational independence, your weekly compensation will continue for another three months and then it will stop.
If you can’t find a job during those three months, you’ll need to register with Work and Income to apply for a benefit, such as jobseeker support. See the chapter “Dealing with Work and Income”.
If your condition gets worse later on, so that you no longer have vocational independence, you can reapply to ACC for weekly compensation.