New Zealand Case Law: Decisions & Judgments

Topic

Backdating of benefits

Legal area

Court

30 Apr 2014

Cooper-Kake v Accident Compensation Corporation

Citation

[2014] NZACC 105
Court

District Court

The appeal was allowed in respect of the Corporation's 28 July 2009 determination, and the appellant is entitled to payment of backdated attendant care hours for the specified periods (except when a hospital inpatient); leave to withdraw the appeal against the 21 April 2009 review decision was granted; costs follow the successful appeal and the parties were ordered to agree a reasonable sum to be paid (including disbursements) direct to John Miller Law.
17 Dec 2013

KOROUA v CHIEF EXECUTIVE OF THE MINISTRY OF SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT [2013] NZHC 3418 [17 December 2013]

Citation

[2013] NZHC 3418
Court

High Court

The Authority's factual conclusion that the Ministry committed no erroneous action or inaction was supported by the evidence because the appellant knowingly and repeatedly misrepresented his birth date and only corrected it in 2010; therefore neither limb of s 80AA applied and backdating to 2005 was not available, so the appeal must be dismissed.
27 Mar 2013

Robson v Accident Compensation Corporation

Citation

[2013] NZACC 82
Court

District Court

Insufficient evidence existed that an assessable mental injury was present at the time of the 1996 and 1999 assessments; those assessments were not nullities and the 2008/2010 assessment was a reassessment, so backdating beyond the date applied by ACC is not permitted; appeal dismissed.
11 Mar 2013

Pearce v Accident Compensation Corporation

Citation

[2013] NZACC 57
Court

District Court

The Corporation was not required by statute to make a fresh decision based on overall fairness or to backdate the independence allowance; the 31 January 2012 letter did not constitute a new reviewable decision and the refusal to make a decision which the Corporation had no statutory power to make was not reviewable; therefore the review and appeal are dismissed.
20 Dec 2012

Gerard v Accident Compensation Corporation

Citation

[2012] NZACC 410
Court

District Court

The review decision to refuse backdating was correct because there was no clear, fresh evidence showing the increased home help need existed from June 2010; an earlier judicial confirmation of the reduced hours stands unless convincingly displaced by fresh evidence, and the occupational therapy report supported refusal to backdate.
20 Dec 2011

O'Brien v Accident Compensation Corporation

Citation

[2011] NZACC 374
Court

District Court

The suspension of the appellant's Independence Allowance for failure to attend reassessment lawfully extinguished entitlement for the period; s117(3)B permits backpayment only in exceptional and inequitable circumstances which were not established here, therefore ACC correctly declined to backdate payments to October 1999.
13 Mar 2009

Bedford v Accident Compensation Corporation

Citation

[2009] NZACC 35
Court

District Court

The 2003 independence allowance assessment was quashed because it failed to account for mental injuries subsequently recognised as causally linked to covered physical injuries; the combined whole person impairment is 43% and the entitlement for the mental injuries is to be backdated to the date the appellant lodged his claim for cover for those mental injuries, while the date for payment for the physical injuries remains the original claim date; respondent ordered to issue a fresh decision determining the date of mental injury claim and pay accordingly.
5 Feb 2009

Thomas-Hiddleston v Accident Compensation Corporation

Citation

[2009] NZACC 13
Court

District Court

The 29 May 2007 letter amounted to a decision capable of review because ACC elected to reconsider the specific issue of backdating attendant care to the accident date and to reassess earlier attendant care decisions on the basis of new reports; therefore the Reviewer has jurisdiction to consider backdating and past levels of attendant care and the matters are referred back to Review for resumption.
19 Mar 2008

Lelievre v Accident Compensation Corporation

Citation

[2008] NZACC 59
Court

District Court

The 2006 whole person impairment assessment cannot be backdated to 1998 because the statutory scheme confines remedies to the review/appeal process and clause 63(e) governs the effective date of adjustments following reassessment; there is no statutory authority to backdate the 2006 assessment to 1998 and the appeal must be dismissed.
20 Dec 2007

DONALDSON V ACC HC WN CIV-2006-485-895

Citation

openlaw-6277de37_c5d3_4364_9a3b_bfd25c7ea3de.pdf
Court

High Court

Court held ACC acted on a wrong principle by applying a night-rate category inapplicable to the claimant (applying the over-14 rate to a child under 14) and by failing to undertake an individual assessment; the review decision on night rate is quashed and remitted for reconsideration. Further, the court held regulation 8(1)'s restriction on payment from application date was inconsistent with the subsequently enacted s26A and thus does not prevent backdating of attendant care payments in this case; the review decision on date of payment is quashed and remitted for reconsideration.