Media release: ACC turns 50 - Time to up the game on injury prevention

As the Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC) turns 50, it’s time to modernise the way we approach injury prevention according to experts.

In the latest Briefing from the Public Health Communication Centre, long-time researcher on ACC, Dr Grant Duncan and co-author, University of Otago injury epidemiologist Professor Michael Keall examine how injury prevention strategies have changed since ACC was launched in 1974.

Dr Duncan says as a world-leading, universal, no-fault personal injury compensation and rehabilitation scheme, ACC has served New Zealanders well, but there needs to be a more strategic approach to injury prevention.

“ACC's injury prevention strategies often focus on individual behaviour, but evidence in recent decades suggests greater effectiveness in addressing systemic factors like unsafe housing and inadequate product regulations,” he says.

Professor Keall points out that simple measures like mandatory safety features in all homes could reduce fall-related injuries by 26%. Product safety regulations could also prevent the sale of ineffective or unsafe items like subpar grab rails and outside lighting.

“Social disparities in injury rates persist, with renters and low-income groups particularly affected. Mandating safety standards in rental housing could significantly improve injury prevention equity,” says Professor Keall.

Dr Duncan says ACC can play a stronger public health role in our society.  “Greater collaboration with public health researchers, government agencies, and community organisations would strengthen ACC's evidence-based injury prevention strategies and public health role.

The blueprint for the ACC scheme was the Woodhouse report of 1967 which recommended the scheme include a department “charged with the promotion of safety” and commented that its “unique records” would support that.

Dr Duncan says today, not enough is done with ACC's five decades of injury data which present a unique opportunity to lead research-informed injury prevention efforts.