The Accident Compensation Commission, Fiji (ACCF) CEO, Mr. Parvez Akbar ran an awareness session via Zoom for members of the Fiji Commerce and Employers Federation (FCEF) on 09^th September 2021. The session was with company Directors, employees and HR practitioners from all over Fiji.

The session covered the rights, entitlements and obligations under the Accident Compensation Act 2017.

Mr. Akbar highlighted the benefits of the Accident Compensation Scheme for victims of motor vehicle, employment and school accidents, particularly given the challenges that existed prior to the introduction of the Accident Compensation Scheme. These included having to prove fault, facing unreasonable exclusions, being caught up in protracted and acrimonious legal proceedings and incurring legal costs.

Mr. Akbar advised that approximately 80% of the compensation payments made by ACCF would not have been made under the previous law. This was established after analysing payments made by ACCF in the context of the previous requirement to prove fault. A significantly larger number of people now have access to compensation. Examples of accident scenarios and compensation payments were also provided during the session.

In addition to this, Mr. Akbar discussed the coverage of occupational diseases under the Regulations and highlighted the key considerations for assessing any COVID-19 related applications.

The attendees were reminded that the annual Motor Vehicle Accident Levy has been exempted for the period 01^st August 2021 till 31^st July 2022.

FCEF thanked ACCF for delivering the presentation which provided very useful insight into the work of ACCF and the scheme.

ACCF has paid approximately $21.4 million in compensation since 01^st January 2018 of which $16.5 million has been paid for motor vehicle accidents, $4.6 million for employment accidents and $0.3 million for school accidents.