Veterans' Affairs New Zealand

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Briefing to the Incoming Minister

Entitlements and Services

• The Service Delivery Structure
• War Disablement Pensions
• Allowances and Concessions
• Surviving Spouse Pension
• Decision Making Process War Disablement Pensions
• Veteran's Pension
• Medical Care
• Children of Vietnam or Operation Grapple Veterans
• Case Management
• Rehabilitation Loans
• Ex-Service Memorials and Services Cemeteries
• Commemorations
• Anzac Day at Gallipoli
• Commemorative Funding
• Medals

The Service Delivery Structure

There is no legislated definition of a veteran. Eligibility for entitlements and services is determined by the fact that the veteran has war and emergency service with the New Zealand Armed Forces.

Given the decline in the number of veterans in the population, a parallel social assistance framework for veterans is not viable. Therefore, the focus is on working within, and maximising the potential of, the broader health and social assistance framework to deliver services in a way that meets the needs of veterans.

In addition to the general entitlements made available to the New Zealand population as a whole, veterans have access to a variety of veteran specific entitlements.

War Disablement Pensions

War Disablement Pensions are granted under the War Pensions Act 1954 and the War Pensions Regulations 1956 and subsequent amendments.

Pensions for death or disablement as a result of war service were first introduced in New Zealand with the introduction of the Military Pensions Act 1866. This Act was replaced with the War Pensions Act 1915. These Acts formed the basis of New Zealand’s current legislation, the War Pensions Act 1954.

A War Disablement Pension is not compensation for an injury, it is a compensatory payment designed to counterbalance the impact of the injury on a veteran’s quality of life.

War Disablement Pensions are not an automatic entitlement. Veterans with eligible service in a recognised war or emergency can apply for a War Disablement Pension for any current disability that they believe is attributable to or aggravated by their service.

Eligible service in a recognised war or emergency is defined by the Minister of Veterans' Affairs under the provisions of the War Pensions Act 1954. This is done by the issuing of a declaration specifying the period of service recognised for War Disablement Pension purposes.

A disability that a veteran seeks a War Disablement Pension for may occur during service, or it may develop at a later date as a result of that service. A War Disablement Pension is granted for that disability if the disability is deemed attributable to, or aggravated by, that service.

If the death of a veteran, who has served in a recognised war or emergency, is deemed attributable to, or occurs during, that service, there are automatic entitlements that apply to surviving partners and dependants.
The War Pensions Act 1954 works on the basis of a reverse onus of proof, where the claimant is given the benefit of the doubt as to the cause and nature of the disability. This ensures that the decision making process favours the veteran.

Each claim for a War Disablement Pension is determined individually, with consideration given to the nature and extent of the disability being claimed. The amount awarded is based upon the percentage of whole body disablement and the impact of the specific disability on an individual veteran.

A veteran can have War Disablement Pension coverage for any number of different disabilities with a range of level of disablement from 0 to 100 percent. The maximum rate paid for a War Disablement Pension is 100 percent. However, this may be extended up to 160 percent in circumstances where a veteran’s quality of life is severely limited by the veteran’s disabilities.

If an application for a War Disablement Pension is declined, a veteran can ask to have the claim reopened and reconsidered as a new claim if the veteran is able to provide new medical evidence relating to the disability and its likely cause. There is no time limitation on when a veteran can seek to have a claim reopened.

A War Disablement Pension is a tax free life time entitlement and is generally not considered as income when assessing entitlement to other support a veteran might be accessing.

The amount paid for War Disablement Pensions differs based on the percentage pension a veteran is receiving. Payments currently range from $8.83 per week for a 5% disability to $166.62 per week for a 100% disability. Thresholds over 100% are payable in cases of severe disablement, up to $293.26 per week (160% disabled and over 60 years of age).

There are currently 16,600 veterans in receipt of a War Disablement Pension, with the largest group being World War ll veterans. As the age of this group continues to rise, there is a rising attrition rate putting downward pressure on the number in receipt of War Disablement Pensions.

The largest number of War Disablement Pension claims are for hearing loss, 80% of all claimants receive a War Disablement Pension for hearing loss. The next most significant number is orthopaedic disabilities with 25% of all claimants, followed by skin conditions, including skin cancers, at 15% of all claimants, and then psychological disabilities at 12% of all claimants.

Service personnel with routine service, service in the armed forces in a non-war or emergency situation, and former members of the NZ Police with service prior to 1 April 1974, when accident compensation cover was introduced, are also covered by the War Pensions Act 1954 for death or disability that is directly attributable to their service. Members of the Mercantile Marine are entitled to make application for a War Disablement Pension for service during World War ll. The reverse onus of proof does not apply in these cases, there must be evidence of a direct causal link between the disability and service.

Allowances and Concessions

The War Pensions Act 1954 provides for allowances and concessions to be paid to veterans who are in receipt of a War Disablement Pension. These include: funeral grants; attendant allowances; clothing allowances; travel allowances; additional payments for gallantry awards; war bursaries for veterans’ children; a battery allowance for hearing aids provided through war pensions, and subsidised motor vehicle loans. On the death of a veteran there is provision to pay children’s pensions and parent’s allowances for dependent children.

In addition, there is nothing to preclude a veteran from accessing social security entitlements outside of the War Pensions Act 1954, if they meet the qualifying criteria.

Surviving Spouse Pension

A Surviving Spouse Pension is paid to the surviving spouse/partner of a veteran if the death of the veteran, who has served in a recognised war or emergency, is deemed attributable to, or occurs during, that service or is the result of routine service pre 1 April 1974. A Surviving Spouse Pension is also paid to the surviving spouse/partner of a veteran if the veteran was in receipt of, or could have been in receipt of, a War Disablement Pension of at least 70% at the time of death.

These payments are not taxed and are paid for the surviving partner’s lifetime unless the surviving partner remarries or enters into a new relationship. The current rate for the Surviving Spouse Pension is $122.91 per week. There are currently 4,600 surviving partners in receipt of a Surviving Spouse Pension.

Decision Making Process War Disablement Pensions

The War Pensions Act 1954 requires that a Secretary for War Pensions be appointed. The Secretary is responsible for the administration of the War Pension Act 1954. The Secretary is appointed by the Chief of Defence Force and is a member of the civil staff of the New Zealand Defence Force. Decision making process diagram.

Veteran’s Pension

The Veteran’s Pension is an income support payment that is paid at the same rate as New Zealand Superannuation.

Veterans at, or over the current age of retirement, qualify for a Veteran's Pension, as an alternative to New Zealand Superannuation, if they have served in a recognised war or emergency and are in receipt of a War Disablement Pension of at least 70 percent.

Veterans under the current age of retirement, who have served in a recognised war or emergency, and are unable to work due to mental or physical infirmity (whether related to their service or not), may also qualify for a Veteran’s Pension. This is an alternative to the Sickness or Invalids Benefit.

Prior to the introduction of the War Pensions Amendment Act 2003, veterans under the current age of retirement and in receipt of a Veteran’s Pension were not able to undertake voluntary or paid employment while in receipt of the Veteran’s Pension. The War Pensions Amendment Act 2003 saw the introduction of an abatement regime that allows veterans under the age of retirement and with fluctuating mental and/or physical health to manage their work and health situation in a flexible manner by enabling them to participate in paid employment without losing their full entitlement to a Veteran’s Pension.

A Veteran’s Pension is taxed but not asset tested. It confers automatic entitlement to a Community Services Card for both the veteran and the veteran’s partner and a lump sum payment if either partner dies. Veteran’s Pension payments are not reduced should a veteran require long term hospital care.

Applications for Veteran’s Pension are made using an administrative process and are not subject to the same process as War Disablement Pensions. If a veteran’s application for a Veteran’s Pension is declined, and the veteran wishes to review this decision, the veteran can appeal in the first instance to the Secretary for War Pensions. If the veteran is not happy about the decision made by the Secretary, the veteran can appeal the Secretary’s decision to the Social Security Appeal Authority or a specially constituted Medical Board.

There are currently 8,700 recipients of a Veteran’s Pension. It is expected that this number will rise as the World War ll veteran population ages and their rate of War Disablement Pension increases making them eligible to transfer from New Zealand Superannuation to a Veteran’s Pension.

Medical Care

Veterans in receipt of a War Disablement Pension receive fully funded health care for their accepted disabilities. This covers GP visits; specialist visits; prescription costs; private hospital care if the need is urgent and where public hospital care is not available; treatment from a variety of providers and appliances or equipment needed to overcome disability and enhance quality of life.

Veterans in receipt of a Veteran’s Pension have an automatic entitlement to a Community Services Card for the veteran and the partner.

Children of Vietnam or Operation Grapple Veterans

The children and partners of Vietnam and Operation Grapple veterans have access to fully funded counselling. Genetic counselling is also available. In addition, the children of Vietnam or Operation Grapple veterans, who were conceived after their parent’s service in Vietnam or Operation Grapple, and who suffer from spina bifida and/or cleft lip/palate, acute myeloid leukaemia and adrenal gland cancer can access fully funded care and assistance.

This support maintains parity with the support offered to the children of Vietnam veterans by the Commonwealth Government of Australia.

Case Management

The approach taken by Veterans' Affairs New Zealand to respond to the changing demographic and to ensure that the variety of needs presented by veterans can be met is to provide service delivery centred on the needs of individual veterans and their families. This is done using the case management service that was introduced in 2001.

The case management service runs on a brokerage model. Case managers assist veterans throughout New Zealand from the Wellington office. The approach taken is a holistic one. Case managers connect veterans and their families to appropriate services within the community that best address their needs and assist with improving and maintaining their quality of life.

The focus is the case manager facilitating access to existing publicly funded health and disability services and the entitlements that are available through the social assistance and war pensions’ framework. Case managers also make recommendations for the use of Veterans’ Affairs New Zealand funding in situations where the need, generated by service, is urgent and no other service is available.

Rehabilitation Loans

The provision of Rehabilitation Loans for veterans ceased on 1 August 1991. Existing loans were grandparented and the subsidies on existing loans continue to be paid.

Ex-Service Memorials and Services Cemeteries

Unlike many other countries, New Zealand has specifically designated areas within public cemeteries, and stand-alone individual cemeteries, for the interment of veterans, irrespective of whether death was due to service or to natural causes. These are called Services Cemeteries and there are now 181 of these throughout New Zealand.

Services Cemeteries are a co-operative venture between local and central government. Land is set aside throughout New Zealand by local authorities.

Central government, through Veterans’ Affairs New Zealand, pays a yearly maintenance grant and provides assistance with the on going development of the cemeteries. Local branches of the Returned Services Association and veterans’ organisations are also involved in the maintenance and development of Services Cemeteries in their local communities.

Veterans’ Affairs New Zealand is responsible for ensuring that Services Cemeteries are maintained in perpetuity and has an agreement specifying the maintenance standards required in Services Cemeteries in place with each local authority that has Services Cemeteries in their area. Veterans’ Affairs New Zealand monitors the delivery of these standards. Veterans’ Affairs New Zealand also contracts for capital works for the ongoing development of Services Cemeteries.

If the veteran is buried in a Services Cemetery, a standard type of memorial bronze plaque or granite headstone is used. These memorials are purchased through Veterans’ Affairs New Zealand at a subsidised rate. These memorials can also be purchased at a subsidised rate for interment in a public cemetery.

If a veteran’s death is deemed to be attributable to service, the memorial is provided free of charge by Veterans' Affairs New Zealand.

The partner of the deceased veteran can also be interred in the Services Cemetery with the deceased veteran. A double memorial commemorating both the deceased veteran and the partner is provided at a subsidised rate.

Commemorations

The commemoration of specific anniversaries is decided on a year by year basis by Cabinet. Each of these events is subject to a separate funding bid.

Anzac Day at Gallipoli

Veterans’ Affairs New Zealand has responsibility for co-ordinating the New Zealand Government’s participation in the commemoration of Anzac Day at Gallipoli. This involves liaison with the Commonwealth Department of Veterans Affairs, Australia, assistance with the organisation and management of the Dawn Service at Anzac Cove and the organisation and management of the New Zealand service at Chunuk Bair.

Commemorative Funding

A fund has been established to assist veterans who wish to attend commemorations and, or revisit battlefield sites. The fund can also be used to support projects being undertaken by veterans’ groups, such as reunions, to commemorate significant military anniversaries, exhibitions, oral histories, memorials, booklets etc.

This fund has been established in recognition of the value commemorative events have for the servicemen and servicewomen who have served New Zealand.

The fund currently stands at $0.100 million per annum. The fund gives out small grants to support projects as opposed to totally funding activities. The amount given for New Zealand based commemorative events is $10 per veteran involved in the event up to a maximum of $5,000.

Funding for veterans attending events overseas is to assist with the costs of travel and the amount paid is dependent upon the location the veteran is travelling to. The amount is set on the basis of the average cost of an airfare.

Medals

The provision of medals is an issue relating to serving personnel, albeit medals may be struck retrospectively. The Minister of Defence deals with the provision of medals and responds to medallic grievances.

Veterans who have not claimed their medals can make application to the New Zealand Defence Force who assess eligibility and issue these.

• Introduction
• The Veteran Community
• Entitlements and Services
• Statutory Appointments
• Veterans' Affairs Portfolio
• Veterans' Affairs New Zealand
• The Ministry of Social Development
• Key Policy Issues

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