ACC for Casual, Part-Time and Multiple-Job Workers in NZ (2026): How Weekly Compensation Is Worked Out

How ACC works out weekly compensation for casual, part-time and multiple-job workers in NZ: irregular income is averaged over the year, two-job rules, minimums, the first-week stand-down, and where income protection fills the gap.

If your hours move around, your ACC payment is harder to predict than it is for someone on a steady salary. Casual shifts, seasonal peaks, two part-time jobs, a quiet month here and a busy one there — ACC has to turn that into a single weekly figure, and the way it does the maths can leave people surprised by what lands.

This article explains, in plain terms, how ACC works out weekly compensation when your income is irregular or comes from more than one job, what the minimums are, how the first week works, and where private cover can fill the parts ACC was never built to cover. It is general information, not advice about your situation.

TL;DR: ACC weekly compensation pays up to 80% of your pre-injury earnings ¹. For casual, seasonal and multiple-job workers, ACC usually adds up everything you earned across all jobs in the year before your injury and divides by 52 weeks — even if you only worked some of them ². That spreads a busy year thinner than people expect, which is the main reason irregular earners come up short.

How does ACC calculate weekly compensation for irregular income?

If a covered injury stops you working, ACC pays weekly compensation of up to 80% of your pre-injury gross weekly earnings — that is your income before tax and deductions ¹. The hard part for irregular earners is the words "weekly earnings", because your weeks are not all the same.

ACC handles this differently depending on whether you count as a permanent or a non-permanent employee.

• Permanent employees generally have their pay from the current employer totalled and divided by the number of weeks actually worked, up to 52, with unpaid-leave weeks taken out of the divisor ⁴. So a steady full-timer's average reflects the weeks they were genuinely working.
• Non-permanent employees — which captures most casual, seasonal, fixed-term (with under a year left) and multiple-job workers — have all their earnings over the past year added up and divided by 52 weeks, regardless of how many weeks were actually worked ².

That divisor is the thing to understand. For a non-permanent worker, ACC spreads a year's earnings across a full 52 weeks even if you only worked 30 of them. A strong stretch of work gets averaged down by the quiet weeks around it. It is not a penalty so much as a flat rule, but it is why a casual worker's weekly figure can feel low relative to what they were earning while the work was on.

There is also a timing layer on top of the averaging, which is where the first month matters.

How do the short-term and long-term rates differ?

ACC does not use the same earnings window for the whole claim. The rate changes after four weeks ³.

For irregular earners this can cut either way. If you were injured during a busy patch, the short-term rate (based on the month just gone) may be higher than the long-term rate, then drop after four weeks once ACC switches to the annual average. If you were injured during a quiet patch, the reverse can happen and the payment may rise. Neither is a quirk you can plan around precisely — but it does mean the figure you see in the first month is not necessarily the figure you keep.

What happens if you have two or more jobs?

ACC looks at the person, not the job. If you hold two or more jobs and a covered injury stops you working, ACC adds together the earnings from all of those jobs over the past year and runs them through the non-permanent calculation — total earnings divided by 52 weeks ².

A few practical points follow from that:

• Both incomes count. You are not limited to the job where the injury happened, or to your "main" job. The earnings from every job you held in the year go into the pool ².
• The 52-week divisor still applies. Two part-time jobs that together looked like full-time work can still be averaged across a full year, including any weeks you were between roles or only working one of them ².
• It is averaged, not stacked. ACC does not pay 80% of job one plus 80% of job two as separate amounts. It blends the lot into one weekly figure, then pays 80% of that, subject to the cap and minimums below.

So two jobs do not mean two payments. They mean one combined average — which is usually fairer than ignoring a second income, but still bound by the same dividing-by-52 rule.

How are casual and seasonal earnings averaged?

This is best shown with a pattern rather than a paragraph. Take a seasonal worker who earns hard for part of the year and little for the rest. ACC totals the year and divides by 52, so the weekly compensation reflects the whole year, not the peak.

Figure: how ACC averages irregular earnings

The bars below show a casual or seasonal earning pattern across a year. The dashed line is the averaging window — total annual earnings spread across 52 weeks — and the resulting weekly compensation is 80% of that average ¹².

_Illustrative only, based on ACC's non-permanent calculation: total earnings over the year ÷ 52 weeks, then 80% ¹². Your figures will differ._

The takeaway is simple enough: a good season does not produce a "good-season" payment. It produces an averaged payment. For people whose living costs run year-round but whose income clusters into a few months, that gap between peak earnings and averaged compensation is the part worth planning for.

Does ACC have a minimum weekly compensation amount?

Yes, but it is tied to working full-time before the injury. If you were a full-time earner — broadly, working 40 or more hours a week before you were hurt — ACC floors your weekly compensation at a minimum based on the adult minimum wage. For the period from 1 April 2025, that minimum is $752.00 gross per week, being 80% of the adult minimum wage ($23.50 an hour × 40 hours = $940; 80% of $940 = $752) ⁶.

The catch for irregular earners is the "full-time" condition. A genuine part-time or casual worker who was not working full-time hours before the injury generally does not get the full-time minimum, so a low averaged figure stays low. The minimum protects people whose full-time pay happened to be modest; it does not top up someone who was deliberately working part-time.

At the other end, there is a maximum. Following the annual indexation effective 1 July 2025, ACC's maximum gross weekly compensation is $2,615.30 per week (it was $2,418.55 before 1 July 2025) ⁷. That ceiling matters more to high earners than to most casual workers, but it is part of the same rulebook.

How do the first week and stand-down rules work?

Before any of the averaging matters, there is the first seven days — and how it is treated depends on where the injury happened ⁵.

• If you were injured at work, your employer must pay first-week compensation, set at 80% of what you earned in the seven days before the injury. ACC then takes over from week two ⁵.
• If the injury did not happen at work, there is a one-week stand-down: you get nothing for the first week from either your employer or ACC, and ACC weekly compensation starts from week two ⁵.

For casual and multiple-job workers this is worth pausing on. If you have an employer at the time of a work injury, the first-week obligation sits with them. But if you were between shifts, between jobs, or the injury happened off the job, the stand-down is yours to absorb — with no second job's wages to lean on if both incomes have stopped. A short emergency fund covering the first week or two is part of a sensible plan here, not a luxury.

What if you were between jobs when injured?

This is where the rules get least generous, and where irregular workers are most exposed.

ACC weekly compensation is built around pre-injury earnings. If you genuinely had no earnings in the relevant period — for example, you had finished one seasonal contract and not yet started the next — there may be little or no earnings for ACC to base a payment on. You may still get cover for treatment and some other support, but the income side depends on what you were actually earning before you were hurt.

In short: a gap between jobs is the weakest point in the casual-work pattern. The injury is still covered; the income replacement may not be there to the extent you would hope. It is one of the clearest reasons people in seasonal or contract work look at cover that does not switch off between engagements.

How does ACC treat a mix of PAYE and self-employed income?

Plenty of people earn through a mix — some PAYE wages, some self-employed or contracting income. ACC treats the two streams under different rules.

• PAYE earnings feed into the employee calculation described above (80% of averaged weekly earnings, divided by 52 for non-permanent workers) ¹².
• Self-employed earnings are handled under ACC's self-employed cover. Under standard CoverPlus, your weekly compensation is based on the liable earnings from your most recent tax return ⁸. If you were newly self-employed with no prior earnings to draw on, and you do not qualify for the full-time minimum, your self-employed weekly compensation could be as low as $0 ⁸.
• CoverPlus Extra is the alternative: it lets you agree a fixed level of cover in advance, so your payment is based on the agreed amount rather than last year's tax return ⁸. That can suit people whose income is new, lumpy or hard to evidence.

One more point that catches people out: ACC weekly compensation is taxable income. Tax, and any deductions such as student loan or KiwiSaver, are taken from your payments — so the net amount you actually receive is lower than the headline 80% gross figure ⁹.

For a fuller treatment of where ACC stops for self-employed and contracting income, see our guides on income protection for contractors and the illness gap and the five limits where ACC is not income protection.

How do you protect irregular income beyond ACC?

ACC is no-fault cover for injury. The pattern of gaps for casual, part-time and multiple-job workers comes down to a few recurring things:

• The 52-week averaging spreads a busy year thin, so the payment can sit well below what you earn when work is on ².
• The full-time minimum does not reach part-time and casual workers who were not on 40+ hours ⁶.
• Gaps between jobs can leave little pre-injury income for ACC to base a payment on.
• Illness is not covered at all. ACC is for injury; if a medical condition (not an accident) stops you working, ACC weekly compensation generally does not apply.

Private income protection is the tool built to sit over those gaps. Unlike ACC, it insures a defined share of your income rather than a government-set average, it can pay for illness as well as injury, and it does not assume a full-time pattern. The trade-offs are real and worth understanding: most income protection policies use a waiting period (often 4, 8 or 13 weeks) before they start paying, premiums depend on your occupation and income, and whether a claim is paid depends on the policy terms, exclusions, stand-down periods, underwriting and your disclosure. It is a summary here — always read the policy wording.

How a benefit is set matters for irregular earners in particular. Agreed-value-style cover fixes the benefit at the outset, while indemnity-style cover assesses your income at claim time, which can pay less after a quiet year. We cover that distinction in agreed value vs indemnity income protection. Because we are independent, Smiths Financial compares how these definitions and waiting periods work across the major New Zealand insurers — Partners Life, AIA, Fidelity Life, Asteron Life, Chubb and Cigna among them — rather than fitting you to one company's rulebook.

It is also worth knowing the cap side of ACC. For higher earners, ACC's maximum weekly compensation leaves a separate shortfall; we explain that in the ACC weekly compensation cap and the gap it leaves.

Your checklist: irregular income and ACC

01. Know your divisor. If you are casual, seasonal or hold multiple jobs, ACC likely totals your year's earnings and divides by 52 — not by the weeks you actually worked ².

02. Count all your jobs. Earnings from every job in the past year feed one combined average, but you get one blended payment, not one per job ².

03. Check the minimum applies to you. The $752/week floor is for full-time earners (40+ hrs); part-time and casual work usually misses it ⁶.

04. Plan for the first week. Work injuries are employer-paid for week one; non-work injuries carry a one-week stand-down with no pay ⁵.

05. Mind the gaps between jobs. Little pre-injury income can mean little weekly compensation, even though the injury is covered.

06. Cover illness separately. ACC is for injury; income protection is the usual route for illness and for topping up an averaged ACC figure.

Frequently asked questions

How does ACC work out weekly compensation if my income is irregular? For casual, seasonal and multiple-job workers, ACC generally adds up your earnings from all jobs over the year before your injury and divides by 52 weeks, then pays up to 80% of that average ¹². For the first four weeks a short-term rate based on the month before the injury applies; after that it uses the annual average ³.

If I have two jobs, does ACC pay me twice? No. ACC combines the earnings from all your jobs into one annual average and pays 80% of that single figure, subject to the minimum and maximum ². Both incomes count, but you receive one blended payment, not a separate payment per job.

Is there a minimum ACC payment for part-time workers? There is a minimum of $752.00 gross per week, but it applies to people who were working full-time (around 40+ hours a week) before the injury ⁶. A genuinely part-time or casual worker who was not on full-time hours generally does not get the full-time minimum, so a low averaged figure stays low.

Does ACC pay for the first week off work? It depends on where the injury happened. For a work injury, your employer pays the first week at 80% of your recent earnings, and ACC starts from week two. For a non-work injury, there is a one-week stand-down with no payment, and ACC begins in week two ⁵.

What if I was between jobs when I was injured? The injury is still covered, but ACC weekly compensation is based on your pre-injury earnings. If you had little or no income in the relevant period, there may be little for ACC to base an income payment on ². This gap is a common reason seasonal and contract workers look at private income protection.

Is ACC weekly compensation taxed? Yes. ACC weekly compensation is taxable income, and tax plus any deductions such as student loan and KiwiSaver come out of it, so the net amount you receive is lower than the 80% gross figure ⁹.

General information, not personalised financial advice. It does not take into account your particular financial situation, goals or needs. Before acting, consider whether it is right for you and seek advice tailored to your circumstances. Whether a claim is paid depends on the terms, conditions, exclusions, stand-down periods and underwriting of the specific policy, and on your disclosure — always read the policy wording. Craig Smith Business Services Ltd (FSP712931), trading as Smiths Financial, holds a Class 2 licence issued by the Financial Markets Authority and is a member of the Financial Dispute Resolution Service (FDRS). Written by Henry Smith, Financial Adviser; reviewed by Craig Smith, Principal Adviser. Last reviewed 24 December 2025.