ACC has sold its wholly owned subsidiary, Catalyst Risk Management Limited, to allow the Corporation to focus more on its core business.

The sale, to Australian company Employers Mutual, has been completed, with the new owners taking over Catalyst’s contracts, its 38 staff, and its offices in Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and Napier.

Catalyst provides specialist injury management, wellness and safety services for businesses and their employees, and is a third party administrator in the ACC Partnership Programme.

Employers Mutual is a workers compensation manager operating in New South Wales and South Australia.

ACC Board Chairman, John Judge, said today the Board’s decision to sell the company reflected ACC’s desire to concentrate on its core business.

“Catalyst has allowed ACC to pursue initiatives in the past, but it is time for ACC to pursue its core business,” he said. “The government has signalled its intention to grow the Accredited Employer Programme and has been consulting on the possibility of choice in the Work Account. These potential changes made Catalyst an attractive proposition for Employers Mutual."

Employers Mutual chief executive Tony Middlebrook said his company was looking forward to working with employers and assisting workers to return to health in New Zealand through Catalyst.

“We are market leaders in this field in Australia, and we are excited by the opportunity that Catalyst presents within the New Zealand market,” he said. “Catalyst Risk Management is the ideal vehicle for us to do this – it has a good client base and a good reputation. We are looking forward to working with New Zealand companies to assist in improving their outcomes.”

The sale of Catalyst Risk Management completes ACC’s divestment of four subsidiary companies set up in 1998, with ACC Healthwise and Prism closed in 2000, and the Dispute Resolution Service becoming a separate Crown entity on 1 July this year.