Statistics New Zealand has the statutory role of Injury Information Manager under the Accident Compensation Act 2001. This page provides you with information about the establishment of the Injury Information Manager role and its purpose and functions as described in the legislation.
Background and history
A review of New Zealand injury data was jointly undertaken by Statistics NZ and the Department of Labour in 2000–01 and a report on this review was published in 2002. The review found that there were significant gaps in available injury information, and that the production and management of this information was not adequately coordinated. As a result, the Government decided to establish an information manager function for injury-related information and in 2002 Statistics NZ was appointed as Injury Information Manager.
Role of the Injury Information Manager
As Injury Information Manager, Statistics NZ is responsible for coordinating the production, collection and dissemination of official injury statistics. The primary goals of the Injury Information Manager are to improve the quality of information on injury in New Zealand, to achieve better outcomes for injury prevention, treatment, and rehabilitation, and to minimise the personal, social, and economic costs of injury. Statistics NZ, as Injury Information Manager, works to achieve these goals through the Official Injury Information Programme.
The statutory requirements of the Injury Information Manager are set out in part 8 of the Accident Compensation Act 2001, which lists five purposes of the Injury Information Manager:
- To facilitate the achievement of the Government’s overall injury management (including injury prevention) objectives, as determined from time to time, through information collection.
- To facilitate the development and maintenance of a coherent set of statistics and indicators, and a research database on injury information.
- To enable analysis of such information to enhance policy development in both the government and private sectors.
- To facilitate the dissemination of such information across all appropriate sectors (including the government and private sectors).
- To enable the effectiveness of government agencies to be monitored in relation to the Government’s overall injury management objectives.
The Accident Compensation Act 2001 also details four functions of the Injury Information Manager:
- To develop, set, publish and maintain standards for the purpose of this part after consultation with such persons or organisations as the manager considers appropriate.
- To collect and aggregate injury-related information.
- To facilitate access (including by publishing) to injury related information and unit record data.
- To consider and review current and future injury-related information requirements.
These functions of the Injury Information Manager largely mirror the responsibilities of Statistics NZ (outlined in the Statistics Act 1975). These can be summarised as: providing leadership and coordination in the Official Statistics System, and collecting and disseminating official statistics.