ACC ruling infringed human rights - tribunal

An independent tribunal has championed a pensioner's right to continue ACC rehabilitation for an injured hand even though his financial compensation payments have been replaced by a state pension.

The Human Rights Review Tribunal has upheld a claim by John Howard that an ACC decision contravened his right to freedom from discrimination.

Mr Howard was being paid weekly compensation and given "vocational rehabilitation" but lost access to the rehabilitation when his age meant he was switched to superannuation payments instead of compensation.

The pensioner argued that ending vocational rehabilitation hampered his ability to seek further work and constituted discrimination on the grounds of his age. Compulsory retirement on grounds of age was made illegal for many workers by the Human Rights Act 1993.

Today's declaration of inconsistency by the tribunal is the first which it has made since the Human Rights Act was amended in 2001 to allow them.

The tribunal hears human rights cases in the equivalent of a district court, and the crown has the right to appeal its decisions.

If unchallenged, the decision means the Minister for Accident Compensation Maryan Street will have to report to Parliament on how to address the inconsistency.

Chief human rights commissioner Rosslyn Noonan said: "This decision is a landmark in human rights law in that it shows how any New Zealander can challenge legislation they believe to be discriminatory and impacts upon them adversely".

- NZPA