Accessing ACC's Rongoā Māori Service

Find out how you can include rongoā Māori as part of your rehabilitation if you have an injury covered by us.

What is rongoā Māori?

Rongoā Māori is traditional Māori healing that includes various holistic approaches, e.g. whitiwhiti kōrero (support and advice), mirimiri and romiromi (bodywork). We can fund certain types of rongoā Māori to support social rehabilitation after an injury. 

Find a rongoā Māori practitioner

A list of ACC-registered rongoā Māori practitioners is available on Healthpoint. Visit their website to find a practitioner in your rohe.

Visit Healthpoint now
Rongoā practitioner providing treatment outdoors

He ringa nā Rongo, he ringa nā te aroha. The hands of peace are the hands of love
- nā Tūrei Ormsby, mātanga reo

Who’s accessing our Rongoā Māori Service

  • Between 2022 and 2025, the average ethnicity split of kiritaki (clients) accessing rongoā Māori was 57% Māori and 43% non-Māori.
  • In its first five years, our Rongoā Māori Service has supported over 15,000 kiritaki (June 2020 – June 2025). 
  • One in three of our kiritaki are accessing rongoā Māori to support their rehabilitation after experiencing sexual harm.

 

Of our kiritaki

one third
are accessing rongoā Māori to support their rehabilitation after a soft tissue injury, like sprains or strains

Out of kiritaki surveyed

83%
agree that rongoā Māori is helping them achieve their recovery goals

In its first five years

> 15,000
have been supported by Rongoā Māori Service
85%
of surveyed kiritaki who have accessed the service are satisfied with the service they received

How you can access rongoā Māori

You must have a covered injury

If support for your injury is covered by us, you can request rongoā Māori as part of your rehabilitation. Request this through the ACC recovery team member who's managing your claim, through our online service MyACC, or contact us:

Phone 0800 101 996
Email [email protected]
MyACC: Register or log in to MyACC

We'll talk to you about how your injury is affecting you and how you expect rongoā will help you to rehabilitate. You don't need to be referred to a rongoā Māori practitioner, but a clinician may choose to support your request for rongoā Māori.

When you request access to rongoā Māori, we'll ask you to tell us which practitioner you would like to see, and we can help get you set up.

Your Recovery team member will need to approve your request before you can start to receive rongoā Māori.

If you don’t yet have an ACC claim

We won’t pay for rongoā Māori before we accept your claim.  If you want to access rongoā Māori before we accept your claim, you'll have to pay for it yourself.  If you haven't made a claim for your injury yet, call our Claims Helpline:

Phone 0800 101 996

You can also visit your GP, physiotherapist, or other treatment provider. They'll make a claim for you.

If you've experienced sexual abuse or assault, use our online search tool on the Find Support website to see the organisations that have therapists who can support you. This therapy is a free service, paid for by us.

Find Support

Rongoa Māori for maternal birth injuries

Services for kiritaki with a covered maternal birth injury are available and funded through ACC to support rehabilitation.

Maternal birth injuries

Using an ACC registered rongoā Māori practitioner

A list of ACC-registered rongoā Māori practitioners is available on the Healthpoint website. All practitioners listed are registered to provide ACC services. This means they have been police vetted and endorsed by rongoā mentors and mana whenua.

If you want to see a practitioner we haven’t worked with before, we'll need to register them before approving your request.

All rongoā Māori practitioners are subject to the requirements of the Health and Disability Commissioner Act 1994. 

Contact us

If you have questions about using rongoā Māori, complete the form below.

Request more information about rongoā Māori

Last published: 29 May 2025