NZ YOGA TEACHERS BEND OVER BACKWARDS TO PAY ACC LEVIES
Join Ali Hale Tilley from Sadhana Yoga NZ (www.sadhanayoganz.com) as she prepares to face the legal team from ACC - a multi-billion dollar Crown entity ...
According to ACC, “Yoga instruction" is deemed as risky as snow skiing instruction, kick-boxing instruction and teaching high-impact aerobics. Although Yoga teachers make very few ACC claims they are charged the same levy fees as community rugby.
This means that irrespective of qualifications, experience levels, or teaching methods,Yoga teachers are pigeon-holed by ACC − without specific industry classification − into the Levy Risk group of 'Sports and physical recreation instruction' (CU 84500), paying $1.37 for every $100 earned in ACC levies.
Meanwhile, dance and ballet teachers – a category that undoubtedly includes hip-hop, pole-dancers & twerking instructors – only pay $0.26 for every $100 earned. The same low fee applies to Fitness trainers who teach 'diet, exercise and lifestyle factors' under Adult community education. Likewise, Personal health and fitness trainers pay a levy of $0.40 per $100.
Yoga instruction also seems unfairly coded in terms of the rest of New Zealand. For example: sedentary lawyers and accountants in high stress jobs pay $0.04c; ACC workers and plastic surgeons pay $0.06; massage therapists $0.18; prostitutes $0.40; traffic police pay $0.44; fire-fighters $0.92; and professional netball players pay$1.31.
In fact, the only people paying higher ACC levies than Yoga teachers are professionals in high risk jobs such as rugby players, dairy farmers, motor racing trainers, and tow truck drivers.
Sign our online petition so that we can take our request for recoding to ACC's Legal Review.
Updates
Reached 250 supporters
May 9, 2015
April 29, 2015
One hundred people actually signed this thing and I am honestly floored because who knew so many of us were sitting around feeling this exact same frustration about these absurd levies. It feels like we are finally starting to get some traction which is wild considering how much I doubted anyone would even notice my ranting about yoga versus rugby.
Reached 100 supporters
April 27, 2015
180 Comments
I would like to see yoga become accepted as a form of therapy for injury rehabilitation in the same bracket as physiotherapy. It would also be good to see the RYT hours help to allow proof of training in this case, to legitimise the teacher.
Yoga has both restorative and injury prevention benefits! Yoga has reduced the amount of ACC claims i have made...ACC should be paying yoga teachers for the students they have, not the other way round!
It is very hard to understand why ACC would class yoga teachers along with high impact and injury sports instructors. Maybe those making the decisions need to attend some yoga classes for several months to gain some understanding..
Is it posible the industry classification simply was the lazy way forward. A default inclusion rather than specific review of the real risks and criteria for inclusion in the current category CU84500.
Yoga is a holistic health and wellbeing practice with rigorous standards for certifying teachers to instruct on the physical aspects of the practice. The ACC levy rate is completely unsupported by an even cursory cost/benefit analysis of the practice.
PrMJxtynbEcsChIF
fqiJYhKLtOm
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NZ YOGA TEACHERS BEND OVER BACKWARDS TO PAY ACC LEVIES
Join Ali Hale Tilley from Sadhana Yoga NZ (www.sadhanayoganz.com) as she prepares to face the legal team from ACC - a multi-billion dollar Crown entity ...
According to ACC, “Yoga instruction" is deemed as risky as snow skiing instruction, kick-boxing instruction and teaching high-impact aerobics. Although Yoga teachers make very few ACC claims they are charged the same levy fees as community rugby.
This means that irrespective of qualifications, experience levels, or teaching methods,Yoga teachers are pigeon-holed by ACC − without specific industry classification − into the Levy Risk group of 'Sports and physical recreation instruction' (CU 84500), paying $1.37 for every $100 earned in ACC levies.
Meanwhile, dance and ballet teachers – a category that undoubtedly includes hip-hop, pole-dancers & twerking instructors – only pay $0.26 for every $100 earned. The same low fee applies to Fitness trainers who teach 'diet, exercise and lifestyle factors' under Adult community education. Likewise, Personal health and fitness trainers pay a levy of $0.40 per $100.
Yoga instruction also seems unfairly coded in terms of the rest of New Zealand. For example: sedentary lawyers and accountants in high stress jobs pay $0.04c; ACC workers and plastic surgeons pay $0.06; massage therapists $0.18; prostitutes $0.40; traffic police pay $0.44; fire-fighters $0.92; and professional netball players pay$1.31.
In fact, the only people paying higher ACC levies than Yoga teachers are professionals in high risk jobs such as rugby players, dairy farmers, motor racing trainers, and tow truck drivers.
Sign our online petition so that we can take our request for recoding to ACC's Legal Review.
Updates
Reached 250 supporters
May 9, 2015
April 29, 2015
One hundred people actually signed this thing and I am honestly floored because who knew so many of us were sitting around feeling this exact same frustration about these absurd levies. It feels like we are finally starting to get some traction which is wild considering how much I doubted anyone would even notice my ranting about yoga versus rugby.
Reached 100 supporters
April 27, 2015
180 Comments
I have NEVER made an ACC claim for any injury acquired through yoga practice or teaching in 25 years of professional teaching and my ACC levey per year is over $3,000. I do not even hold regular classes in New Zealand!
I would like to see yoga become accepted as a form of therapy for injury rehabilitation in the same bracket as physiotherapy. It would also be good to see the RYT hours help to allow proof of training in this case, to legitimise the teacher.
Yoga has both restorative and injury prevention benefits! Yoga has reduced the amount of ACC claims i have made...ACC should be paying yoga teachers for the students they have, not the other way round!
It is very hard to understand why ACC would class yoga teachers along with high impact and injury sports instructors. Maybe those making the decisions need to attend some yoga classes for several months to gain some understanding..
Is it posible the industry classification simply was the lazy way forward. A default inclusion rather than specific review of the real risks and criteria for inclusion in the current category CU84500.
Yoga is a holistic health and wellbeing practice with rigorous standards for certifying teachers to instruct on the physical aspects of the practice. The ACC levy rate is completely unsupported by an even cursory cost/benefit analysis of the practice.
PrMJxtynbEcsChIF
fqiJYhKLtOm
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I have NEVER made an ACC claim for any injury acquired through yoga practice or teaching in 25 years of professional teaching and my ACC levey per year is over $3,000. I do not even hold regular classes in New Zealand!