We propose increasing the Earners’ levy rate for workers from $1.39 per $100 wages or salary to $1.45 in 2025/26, $1.52 in 2026/27 and $1.59 in 2027/28.
| Earners' Account | Current (2024/25) | 2025/26 | 2026/27 | 2026/27 |
| Cost of supporting recovery | $3,906,581,175 | $4,147,577,473 | $4,439,311,456 | |
| Operating costs | $15,621,997 | $15,705,404 | $16,051,471 | |
| Total funding for new claims | $3,922,203,172 | $4,163,282,877 | $4,455,362,926 | |
| Funding adjustment for current funding position | $295,635,062 | $280,771,766 | $292,061,461 | |
| Levy required for the year | $4,217,838,234 | $4,444,054,643 | $4,747,424,387 | |
| Accepted funding shortfall from FPS caps | -$1,081,496,983 | -$997,644,920 | -$991,999,126 | |
| Proposed levy | $3,136,341,251 | $3,446,409,723 | $3,755,425,261 | |
| Earners' levy per $100 wages or salary | $1.39 | $1.45 | $1.52 | $1.59 |
| Year on year change | +4.3% | +4.8% | +4.6% |
Reasons for proposed levy increase
Between June 2021 and June 2024, the number of claims, the number of claims for injuries that require time off work to recover has grown by 7%.
Compared to the last levy consultation in 2021, the costs of injuries for the 2025/26-2027/28 levy years are expected to be higher due to an increase in the:
- Numbers of injuries requiring time off work.
- Costs for funding of ambulance and public health acute services (PHAS).
- Recovery time required before the worker can return to work.
- Number and cost of sensitive claims in the Earners’ Account (mental injury caused by sexual violence).
- Inflationary pressures in the past three years.
How the Earners' Account levy is used
The levy collected for the Earners’ Account is used to support injuries to workers that occur outside of work, but not in road crashes.
For example, an office worker injured while riding a trail bike on a farm, playing sport or doing some DIY around the house would be paid from the Earners’ Account.
Over the next four years we expect to cover around 750,000 claims per year from workers who were injured outside of work. We are consulting on the need to fund over the next three years, $6.03 billion for compensation of lost wages and salary, $1.12 billion for surgery costs, $3.25 billion for treatment at the hospital or in the community, and $1.18 billion to support recovery through training or helping around the home.
The recommended Earners’ Account levies are 20% ($786 million) lower than the full cost of supporting the new injuries in 2025/26.
|
|
From (current amount) |
Proposed for 2025-2026 levy period |
Proposed for 2026-2027 levy period |
Proposed for 2027-2028 levy period |
|
Maximum for everyone |
$142,283 |
$152,790 |
$156,641 |
$160,244 |
|
Minimum for full-time self-employed people |
$44,250 |
$49,365 |
$50,501 |
$51,632 |
Employees include private domestic workers, such as caregivers
Employees include private domestic workers. A private domestic worker is a person who works for another person (an employer) in the employer’s home. Private domestic workers include home-helpers, caregivers, nannies and gardeners. They’re specifically mentioned in the AC Act alongside employees. You’re not a private domestic worker if you provide an ACC client with attendant care.
