Revealed: More than $44,700 in ACC claims for Rotorua Lakes Council staff

Rotorua Lakes Council buildings. Photo / Andrew Warner

More than $44,700 has been paid out in ACC claims for Rotorua Lakes Council staff over the past three years.

Rotorua Lakes Council said the large majority of the claims involved soft tissue injuries such as strains and sprains.

Organisational enablement deputy chief executive Thomas Colle said there was “no particular department or area of the council which tends to feature higher than any other”.

However, of the three most common injury claims, 29 involved soft tissue damage, 10 involved cuts, punctures or stings, and less than four involved fractures or dislocation.

“These injuries may often occur during sports and exercise activities, but sometimes simple everyday activities can cause an injury. Sprains, strains and contusions, as well as tendinitis and bursitis, are common,” Colle said.

Fourteen instances of slipping, tripping, and falling were the most common causes of injury, as were 12 cases of lifting, carrying, and straining. Another six cases involved staff being struck by a person or animal.

Asked what measures the council took to better protect employees and why, Colle said the biggest risk within an office environment came from ergonomics, “so we put a large emphasis on workstation assessments ... we have also introduced standing desks and encouraged staff to take breaks”.

“The most common day-to-day impact on any business would be the result in loss of productivity, due to lost time. However, the priority for [the] council is to avoid all workplace injuries and ensure all our staff work in a safe and enjoyable work environment.”

Figures obtained through the Local Government Official Information Act reveal $44,737 was paid out in 45 ACC claims to Rotorua Lakes Council staff between January 1, 2020 and December 31, 2022.

At Bay of Plenty Regional Council, $36,221 was paid out for 36 injuries, and in the neighbouring Tauranga and Western Bay districts, $31,171 and $28,265 were paid out for 50 and 28 injuries respectively in that same time period.

Bay of Plenty Regional Council risk and assurance manager Steven Slack said the employees working outside seemed to suffer the most injuries.

“This is primarily in ... unpredictable terrain, such as biosecurity, data services, and rivers and drainage, as they either involve walking in the bush rivers or unfamiliar environments.

“The nature of our work is that much of it can be out in the environment, therefore we tend to get soft tissue injuries that relate to strains and sprains from working on uneven ground in all types of climatic conditions.”

At Western Bay of Plenty District Council, health, safety and wellbeing lead Clint Boyle said its animal services officers had experienced the most injuries across the council team.

“This isn’t due to dog bites/aggression, but [is due to] lifting and moving dogs and slip, trip and fall-related injuries.”

Western Bay of Plenty District Council health, safety and wellbeing lead Clint Boyle. Aggressive behaviour from people in recent years has been ID'd as a key risk factor for ACC claims. Photo / Alex Cairns

However, aggressive and intimidatory behaviour from people towards the council’s public-facing staff was identified as a key risk factor for ACC claims, Boyle said.

Tauranga City Council general manager of corporate services Alastair McNeil said most injuries were sustained in its bylaws and parking department.

“Looking at the cause of injuries, the most common trends are ergonomic/manual handling and falls/trips/slips [on the same level],” McNeil said.

“The work carried out by the Bylaws and Parking team is often physical and requires long periods of standing and walking.”

However, the number of these injuries had dropped due to changes in how the work is carried out “such as using a car to scan vehicle number plates and changes to how we operated during Covid”.

Rotorua Lakes Council organisational enablement deputy chief executive Thomas Colle. Photo / Andrew Warner

The Public Service Association represents and supports more than 80,000 workers across the public service.

The association declined to comment specifically on ACC claims.

However, national sector leader Ian Gordon previously said assaults and abuse of council staff were a problem, as they often became the face of the council and received people’s responses - good and bad - to the organisation.