I’m requesting anonymised ACC claim data related to dental injuries over the past five years. Specifically, I’m seeking information on claims that required prior approval, as well as data on age groups, treatment types, outcomes, and processing times. Ideally, the dataset would include case-level anonymised details to allow analysis of trends, costs, and claim outcomes between 2019 and 2024. The requested dataset should include: - Total number of ACC dental claims per year, broken down by age group, by cost per claim, by status (e.g., Approved, Rejected, Pending) - Number of claims per year that required prior approval vs no prior approval - Average and distribution of processing times (from claim submission to decision) - Main rejection reasons for declined dental claims -Treatment category and/or type (e.g., emergency, restorative, surgical)
At present, there is no accessible, detailed dataset on dental injury claims in New Zealand. This limits understanding of the scale, cost, and nature of these injuries, as well as the performance of the claims process. Without access to this data, researchers and policymakers cannot accurately identify trends, high-risk age groups, or areas needing improved treatment access or preventive action.
Releasing this dataset would enable independent analysis of dental injury patterns and ACC claim performance. It would help identify systemic issues, support prevention-focused research, and guide more effective allocation of healthcare and funding resources. Ultimately, making this data open would improve transparency and contribute to better oral health outcomes for New Zealanders.
Dataset submitted
29 October 2025. Kia ora, Your Official Information Act request, reference: GOV-043805 Thank you for your email of 16 October 2025, asking for the following information under the Official Information Act 1982 (the Act): "I’m requesting anonymised ACC claim data related to dental injuries over the past five years. Specifically, I’m seeking information on claims that required prior approval, as well as data on age groups, treatment types, outcomes, and processing times. Ideally, the dataset would include case-level anonymised details to allow analysis of trends, costs, and claim outcomes between 2019 and 2024. The requested dataset should include: - Total number of ACC dental claims per year, broken down by age group, by cost per claim, by status (e.g., Approved, Rejected, Pending) - Number of claims per year that required prior approval vs no prior approval - Average and distribution of processing times (from claim submission to decision) - Main rejection reasons for declined dental claims -Treatment category and/or type (e.g., emergency, restorative, surgical)." The requested data can be found at this link: https://catalogue.data.govt.nz/dataset/gov-043805-acc-data-on-dental-claims-from-2019-2024 Please refer to the notes and caveats when interpreting the information provided. Claim level data: An enquiry requesting a full dataset of claim level information for individual clients is considered research and needs to be approved by our ACC Ethics Panel. Our ACC external website has information about the ethics panel, refer to: https://www.acc.co.nz/about-us/research If you have any questions about this response, please get in touch You can email me at GovernmentServices@acc.co.nz. If you are not happy with this response, you can also contact the Ombudsman via info@ombudsman.parliament.nz or by phoning 0800 802 602. Information about how to make a complaint is available at www.ombudsman.parliament.nz. Ngā mihi Christopher Johnston Manager Official Information Act Services Government Engagement
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Agency responded