Compensation for loss of earnings

There is financial compensation for those eligible live organ donors who take unpaid leave from work to have surgery and recover.

In limited circumstances, discretionary earnings compensation may also be available if a live organ donor takes unpaid leave to attend medical appointments that are necessary for their surgery to take place on the scheduled date.

To qualify for compensation:

• you must have lost earnings while recovering from donating an organ
• the person receiving your organ must be eligible for publicly funded health services in New Zealand or as part of the Australia and New Zealand Paired Kidney Exchange Program
• the live organ donor surgery must take place in New Zealand or as part of the Australia and New Zealand Paired Kidney Exchange Program.

To be eligible for compensation, donors who donate under the Australia and New Zealand Paired Kidney Exchange Program must also be registered with the New Zealand Kidney Exchange Programme.

If you are not sure whether you qualify:

• contact your district hospital coordinator, Monday to Friday, freephone: 0800 855 066
• email the claims management team claimsmanagement@health.govt.nz

Annual and sick leave

You will not have to use your annual or sick leave unless you need to be off work for longer than the maximum 12-week period covered by the Compensation for Live Organ Donors Act 2016.

Compensation for Live Organ Donors Act 2016 — Ministry of Health (external link)↗

Complete and send your form before your surgery

You must complete and send your application form for compensation to our claims management team before the date of your surgery. You need to provide all the supporting documents with your application. 

If you are eligible for live organ donor compensation, you will receive 100% of your calculated loss of earnings for a maximum of 12 weeks from the date of surgery. Your compensation will be based on your earnings over the last 52 weeks from the date of application received.

The amount you receive will depend on:

• the amount of earnings you lose as a result of the donation — we calculate this as a weekly amount of your verified earnings over the last 52 weeks
• how long it takes you to recover — up to 12 weeks.

How weekly compensation for loss of earnings is calculated for employees

The average weekly earnings of a donor who is an employee are calculated from the total amount of earnings in the 52 weeks immediately before the application date. They are adjusted for any periods that the donor was not in paid employment, or has taken unpaid leave.

How weekly compensation for loss of earnings is calculated for self-employed people

The average weekly earnings of a donor who is self-employed are calculated from the donor's total taxable earnings from self-employment in their individual income tax return for the most recently completed tax year before the application date, divided by the number of weeks in the tax year. 

Depending on your personal situation, there will be different documents that you need to include with your application for compensation of loss of earnings.

Bank account

You will need to provide a verified copy of your New Zealand bank account details. For overseas donors, you can provide a friend or relative's New Zealand bank account details.

Tax code declaration

All donors receiving compensation will need to provide a completed tax code declaration form. 

Tax code declaration (IR330) — Inland Revenue (external link)↗

KiwiSaver

If you are a member of KiwiSaver, you will need to provide a completed KiwiSaver deduction form, or a copy of your contributions holiday notice. 

KiwiSaver deduction form (KS2) — Inland Revenue (external link)↗

If you have any question, or need help completing the forms:

• contact your donor liaison coordinator
• email claimsmanagement@health.govt.nz

If your surgery date is brought forward, we will prioritise your application so your compensation payments start on time when we can. 

If your surgery is delayed for more than 3 months, you will need to complete another application form. For advice email claimsmanagement@health.govt.nz

If you were recovering from a live organ donation of a kidney, or a piece of your liver on 5 December 2016, you may be able to claim backdated compensation under the Compensation for Live Organ Donors Act 2016.

If you did not receive financial assistance

If you took unpaid leave to donate a kidney or piece of your liver, you can apply to us for a backdated lump sum for your loss of earnings during this time.

If you did receive financial assistance

If you received financial assistance from the Ministry for Social Development (MSD) then you can also apply for compensation from us.

The amount of compensation will be the difference between:

• what you have received through MSD during this time
• anything you would be entitled to when the Act came into effect on 5 December 2017.