The Ombudsman has found that ACC "acted unreasonably" in the way it responded to an Official Information Act request. Photo: RNZ / Angus Dreaver
ACC is looking to hire an independent whistleblower service at the same time as it has been reprimanded by the Chief Ombudsman.
John Allen on Tuesday released his findings into behaviour by the Accident Compensation Corporation that one staffer described in online chats as, "wrong. Fundamentally wrong".
"The whistleblower's actions brought a serious issue to light and will hopefully act as a deterrent to other agencies which may be considering 'gaming' the OIA [Official Information Act]," Allen said in a statement on Tuesday.
ACC had told journalists using the OIA in 2023 that it had not found the details of any events that cost more than $10,000. A parliamentary question had been asked about this by David Seymour.
But a whistleblower then claimed the corporation left out information about one event, "to bring the cost below $10,000 and reduce the chance of the agency being criticised", Allen said.
The Ombudsman found ACC had had an event, costing $18,000 to fly staff to Wellington to farewell a deputy chief executive.
"ACC told me that some of those staff members were also there for other work" so did not count it, Allen said.
But the evidence to support that claim did not stack up.
"My opinion is that ACC was wrong not to include the full amount in its response and as a consequence I found that ACC has acted unreasonably in the way it responded to the requests."
Allen's investigation showed a staffer dealing with the information request expressed concerns.
The corporation had learned its lesson, put more controls on spending and improved record keeping, he said.
"This is a case where the actions of a whistle-blower have sharpened up practice for everyone in the corporation."
A tender document shows ACC has gone looking for an independent whistleblower service to provide channels for both ACC personnel and non-ACC people to speak up confidentially.
It said its systems at the moment were only internally focused.
Case studies in the document showed it wanted a new system, not automated but in-person, that could cover fraud from outsiders to bullying by staff, and that would build trust and empathy.
"The objective is to foster an authentic and high-trust dialogue between Disclosers and ACC, encouraging individuals to feel acknowledged, respected, and safe."
ACC is a frequent target of criticism for its handling of claims, complaints and disputes. RNZ most recently revealed some people challenging ACC decisions had received identical dispute rulings with wording that appears to have been copied and pasted from previous cases.
Public agencies must provide whistleblower services under the 2022 Protected Disclosures laws.
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