Competition in the workplace accident compensation scheme will benefit overseas insurance companies and will not improve injury prevention and rehabilitation, ACC minister Maryan Street says.
At an ACC Futures seminar in Wellington on Monday, Ms Street told healthcare professionals that employer levies have been tracking downwards and competition is not needed to drive them down further.
The National Party has told the seminar it plans to investigate opening up workplace accident compensation to allow more competition.
Ms Street says that would be a goldmine for overseas insurance companies and questions what incentive private insurers would have to promote injury prevention.
She says she believes improvements can be made to the current ACC system only if it remains intact.
