ACC support centralised - with loss of four Whanganui jobs

Whanganui's ACC office will have four fewer staff and operate differently by June next year. Photo / Bevan Conley

Four jobs are set to be lost from Whanganui's ACC office.

Staff in Whanganui are likely to drop from 14 to 10, a spokesman said, and there would be title changes for the leaders of the Whanganui branch.

ACC first flagged a major change to the way it works in October last year, with a move to centralise the processing of more minor claims such as sprains, strains and fractures - the sorts of injuries that make up 94 per cent of claims.

Those people will get support through an online process, or from five "hubs" in Auckland, Wellington, Hamilton, Christchurch and Dunedin. The hubs will need about 100 additional staff members and most administration will be done from them.

The 10 remaining Whanganui staff will deal with more serious claims where face-to-face contact may be needed.

Staff there are in the process of expressing their interest in the jobs that remain, and some may have the option to move to other centres, with support, or take redundancy.

New roles should be confirmed by early August and the complete re-arrangement and change in delivery should be in place in Whanganui by June next year.

The changes would give people more options about how much help they wanted, the spokesman said, and Whanganui staff would spend less time in administration and more time with clients.

The changes have been tested in Hawke's Bay and Hamilton.