ACC or a sickness benefit in New Zealand: which one pays, how much and for how long

Written by Henry Smith · Reviewed by Smiths Insurance & KiwiSaver, licensed Financial Advice Provider (FSP712931) · Updated 2026-09-09 · Reviewed annually, or sooner if the rules it describes change.

Financial advice is provided by Craig Smith Business Services Limited, trading as Smiths Insurance & KiwiSaver, a licensed Financial Advice Provider (FSP712931). QuoteHub is a trading name.

ACC pays up to 80% of pre-injury earnings for an accident, capped at $2,466.20 a week from 1 July 2026, while Work and Income's Jobseeker Support pays a flat $372.55 a week for a single adult with an illness that limits their ability to work (ACC, retrieved 9 September 2026; Work and Income, retrieved 9 September 2026). The system that applies depends entirely on whether an accident caused the absence, not on how severe it is.

What is the actual difference between ACC and a sickness benefit?

The single fact that decides everything is cause: ACC only pays for personal injury caused by an accident, and Work and Income only pays for illness, injury or disability that is not from an accident (ACC, retrieved 9 September 2026). The table below sets out how differently the two systems calculate what you get.

Feature	ACC weekly compensation	Jobseeker Support / Supported Living Payment
What triggers it	Accident-caused injury only	Illness, injury or disability, any cause
How much it pays	80% of pre-injury average weekly earnings	Flat weekly rate, not linked to past earnings
Weekly cap or rate	$2,466.20 gross cap from 1 July 2026	$372.55 net (Jobseeker, single 25+) or $424.60 net (SLP, single 18+)
Weekly floor	$766.40 for a full-time earner from 1 April 2026	No equivalent floor; rate is fixed by category
Who pays the first week	Employer, if injury happened at work	Not applicable; benefits are not employer-funded
Income-tested	No	Yes, reduces with other income

(ACC; Work and Income; retrieved 9 September 2026.)

What does ACC actually cover?

ACC covers personal injury caused by an accident, including at work, on the road, or through treatment injury, but it excludes most illness, gradual-onset conditions and most hernias, among other exclusions (what ACC does not cover). If your absence started with a diagnosis rather than an accident, ACC almost certainly does not apply, and Jobseeker Support or Supported Living Payment is the relevant system instead.

How much does ACC pay compared with a sickness benefit?

ACC pays up to 80% of what you were earning before the injury, capped at $2,466.20 a week from 1 July 2026 and floored at $766.40 a week for a full-time earner from 1 April 2026, while a Work and Income benefit pays a fixed rate regardless of your former income, currently $372.55 a week net for a single Jobseeker Support recipient aged 25 or over (ACC, retrieved 9 September 2026; ACC, retrieved 9 September 2026; Work and Income, retrieved 9 September 2026). For a higher earner, that gap is large. Full detail on the ACC calculation is on ACC weekly compensation explained.

Which pays more, ACC or a benefit?

ACC almost always pays more for anyone earning above roughly $465 a week before tax, because it is earnings-linked at 80% rather than a flat rate; for someone below that income, or with no recent earnings, the two can be closer or a benefit can pay more, since ACC has a $766.40 floor for full-time earners while a benefit is not tied to earnings at all (ACC, retrieved 9 September 2026; Work and Income, retrieved 9 September 2026). You cannot choose between them: the cause of your absence decides which system applies.

Getting the right benefit if it is illness, not injury

What is the difference between Jobseeker Support and Supported Living Payment?

Jobseeker Support is for a health condition, injury or disability that affects your ability to work; Supported Living Payment is for one that severely limits it, generally meaning you cannot regularly work 15 or more hours a week in open employment (Work and Income, retrieved 9 September 2026). Supported Living Payment pays more: $424.60 a week net for a single applicant aged 18 or over, against $372.55 for Jobseeker Support at the same age (Work and Income, retrieved 9 September 2026).

What do I need to apply for either benefit?

Both need a medical certificate from a health practitioner confirming your condition and its impact on your ability to work; Work and Income calls the Jobseeker Support version a Work Capacity Medical Certificate (Work and Income, retrieved 9 September 2026). Getting that certificate is covered on medical certificate NZ.

Can my payment reduce if I have other income?

Yes. Jobseeker Support reduces as your or your partner's income rises, and can reduce to $0 and then stop after 6 weeks at $0 if income stays too high (Work and Income, retrieved 9 September 2026). ACC weekly compensation is not reduced by unrelated income in the same way, though it has its own abatement rules if you return to some paid work while still receiving it.

How the timelines compare

The other practical difference is when the money starts, and the table below lines up the key dates for each system.

Milestone	ACC	Jobseeker Support / Supported Living Payment
Who pays week 1 (injury at work)	Employer, at 80%	Not applicable
When ACC or the benefit itself starts	Around day 8	After application and medical evidence are processed
Review point	Ongoing, based on medical evidence	Ongoing, based on medical evidence
Automatic extras	None additional from ACC itself	Winter Energy Payment, Community Services Card

(ACC; Work and Income; retrieved 9 September 2026.)

How long does each one pay for?

ACC weekly compensation continues for as long as the injury meets ACC's cover criteria and you remain unable to work, reviewed periodically (ACC, retrieved 9 September 2026); Jobseeker Support and Supported Living Payment continue on the same basis, reassessed against your medical evidence, with no fixed end date published for either. See how long can you be off work sick in NZ for what happens at each stage of a longer absence.

Do I keep getting sick leave while on ACC or a benefit?

Sick leave and ACC or a benefit are not paid together for the same days once ACC or the benefit takes over, though remaining sick leave can be used to top up an ACC payment by agreement, 1 day for every 5 ACC days, once you have been on ACC for more than 5 days (Employment New Zealand, retrieved 9 September 2026). Full carry-over and entitlement detail is on sick leave entitlement NZ.

Where the two systems interact

What if my employer already pays me for the first week of an injury?

If the injury happened at work, your employer must pay 80% of your usual earnings for the first week, and ACC takes over from the second week (Employment New Zealand, retrieved 9 September 2026). If the injury did not happen at work, you use sick leave or other paid leave for that first week if you have any, and it is unpaid if you do not.

Can sick leave top up my ACC payment?

Yes, by agreement. If you are on ACC for more than 5 days, you and your employer can agree to top the payment up from 80% to 100% of usual earnings, using 1 day of sick leave for every 5 days on ACC (Employment New Zealand, retrieved 9 September 2026). See sick leave entitlement NZ for how that balance is built up.

Can I move from ACC to a Work and Income benefit if my injury turns into a longer illness?

If ACC ends because your condition is reassessed as no longer meeting ACC's cover criteria, or your entitlement ends, Work and Income's Jobseeker Support or Supported Living Payment becomes the next system to apply to, subject to their own medical evidence requirements (Work and Income, retrieved 9 September 2026). There is no automatic transfer between the two: each requires its own application.

Does either system cover travel to medical appointments?

Neither ACC weekly compensation nor a Work and Income benefit is a travel payment; the separate scheme for that is National Travel Assistance, which pays $0.44 a kilometre from 2 April 2026 for eligible specialist travel, but you cannot claim it alongside ACC or Work and Income travel assistance for the same trip (Health New Zealand, retrieved 9 September 2026). Full detail is on National Travel Assistance NZ.

What neither system replaces

Is there anything ACC and a benefit both leave uncovered?

Yes, the gap between what either system pays and your actual former income, particularly for a mid-to-high earner. ACC's 80% figure still leaves a 20% shortfall against pre-injury earnings, on top of the weekly cap, and a Work and Income benefit is a flat rate well below most wages (ACC, retrieved 9 September 2026; Work and Income, retrieved 9 September 2026). Private income protection insurance is designed to sit alongside ACC or a benefit and close some of that gap; see the income protection guide, income protection cost NZ and the income protection calculator. The ACC gap calculator shows the shortfall specifically against the ACC figures.

ACC's rules go well beyond weekly compensation, and these QuoteHub pages cover the parts that come up most often alongside a sickness-versus-injury question.

Question	Where it is covered
How ACC's 80% figure is actually calculated	ACC weekly compensation explained
What ACC will not pay for	What ACC does not cover
ACC versus a private policy	ACC vs private insurance
When ACC payments actually stop	When ACC payments stop NZ
Timing of ACC payments	ACC payment timing NZ
ACC for the self-employed	ACC for contractors NZ and ACC levy self-employed NZ
CoverPlus vs CoverPlus Extra	ACC CoverPlus vs CoverPlus Extra
A declined ACC claim	ACC claim declined: what next

(Each figure sourced on its own linked QuoteHub guide.)

The verdict

The two systems are not competitors, they are a fork: an accident routes you to ACC, an illness routes you to Work and Income, and neither pays what a full income replacement policy would. Financial advice is provided by Craig Smith Business Services Limited, trading as Smiths Insurance & KiwiSaver, a licensed Financial Advice Provider (FSP712931). QuoteHub is a trading name. For the full sequence of what to check first, go back to financial help when sick NZ, or read best income protection insurance NZ and do I need income protection insurance before you start a free comparison to look at closing the gap with income protection.

Adviser's view

QuoteHub's read is that the mistake people make here is not underestimating the numbers, it is assuming severity decides which system pays. It does not. Cause decides: an accident routes to ACC, an illness routes to Work and Income, and neither system lets you choose the more generous one just because your situation feels serious enough to deserve it.

Henry Smith, Financial Adviser (FSP1010699). General information, not personalised financial advice.

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Cite this page QuoteHub NZ (2026). ACC vs Sickness Benefit NZ: Which Pays More (2026). www.quotehub.co.nz/guides/off-work-sick/acc-vs-sickness-benefit-nz. Updated 2026-09-09.