ACC LEVY CHANGES FROM 1 APRIL 2026
Aimee Pivott
1. No Claims Discount is ending
The No Claims Discount will be discontinued because it hasn’t achieved the intended health and safety improvements and has required subsidising from other businesses.
What’s changing:
- Levy invoices will no longer include a 10% discount or a 10% loading based on claims history.
- Employers will see this reflected in their provisional invoices from 2026.
- Self employed people will see the change from their 2027 invoice, unless they cease self employed before then.
2. Experience Rating becomes self funding
Experience Rating will move to a self funding model, meaning businesses not in the programme will no longer subsidise discounts for those who are.
What’s changing:
- Businesses in the programme will pay an additional Experience Rating (ER) Programme rate—currently 7.2%—on top of their Work Account levy.
- This will be shown as a single Work Levy (ER) rate and is separate from any loading or discount based on a business’s claims history.
- Employers will see this change in their 2026 provisional invoice.
- The levy calculator has been updated to include the ER Programme rate for affected customers.
3. Interest on new instalment plans
Interest will apply to all new or renewed levy instalment plans, including the three and six month plans that were previously interest free. This change aims to create fairness for businesses that pay their levies in full and on time.
What this means:
- Each instalment will include interest, calculated using a formula linked to broader economic interest rates.
- Instalment plans set up before 1 April 2026 will keep their current interest rate until they finish—three and six month plans will remain at 0%.
- All instalment plans will use the same annualised interest rate.
Longer instalment plans will accumulate more interest overall.
4. Late payment interest (previously late fees or penalties)
Late payment interest will apply when levies or instalments become overdue. Changes are being made to both how the rate is set and how interest is applied.
What’s changing:
- The late payment interest rate will be based on a formula linked to the instalment interest rate, with an added margin to discourage late payments.
- Late payment interest will be calculated daily and compounded monthly.
To avoid additional interest charges, businesses should ensure payment is arranged before the invoice becomes overdue.
Checking the new interest rates
From 1 April 2026, both instalment and late payment interest will be calculated using a standard formula based on the Reserve Bank of New Zealand’s latest monthly floating first mortgage rate for new customers.
The confirmed interest rates will be published at acc.co.nz/interest once finalised.
We strongly suggest that you log into MyACC for Business to check that your policy details are correct, if you require assistance, please get in touch with us.
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