Briefing to the Incoming Minister
The Ministry of Social Development
The Ministry of Social Development processes and pays War Disablement and Veteran's Pensions in accordance with policy and guidelines provided by the Secretary for War Pensions. The Ministry of Social Development also makes Rehabilitation Loan Scheme payments on behalf of Veterans' Affairs New Zealand.
The Ministry of Social Development administers and pays War Disablement and Veterans' Pensions through a specific unit, War Pension Services. This unit, with its 36 staff, operates out of Hamilton and is both a processing and call centre.
The Ministry of Social Development Forecasting and Modelling Unit monitors expenditure results for the Benefits and Other Unrequited Expenses administered by the Ministry of Social Development under Vote: Veterans' Affairs – Social Development. Forecasting and expenditure results are discussed monthly by Veterans' Affairs New Zealand and the Ministry of Social Development so that factors driving expenditure changes can be built into predictions.
The relationship between Veterans' Affairs New Zealand and the Ministry of Social Development is critical to the effective processing of War Disablement Pensions and Veteran's Pensions. The definition and management of this relationship is formalised in a service delivery and policy agreement.
Key Service Delivery Issues
Key Points
- The demand for services has increased substantially.
- A review of the case management structure and service delivery has been undertaken and changes made.
- A project is being undertaken to streamline the War Disablement Pension application process.
- The RNZRSA is seeking the separation of the role of the Secretary for War Pensions and the Director Veterans’ Affairs as the RNZRSA believes the roles are mutually exclusive.
- The structure of Veterans’ Affairs New Zealand is similar to the structure that operates in other veterans agencies where the person who is appointed to hold the statutory pensions role also holds the most senior management role in the organisation.
Case Management
The demand for services has increased substantially. This has impacted on the service delivery. In order to address the issues that have arisen as a result of the increased demand for services, the Director Veterans’ Affairs New Zealand has undertaken a review of the structure and service delivery within the case management service. As a result of this review, changes to the structure of the case management service are being implemented and performance measures put in place to monitor the levels of service delivery.War Pensions Process
The war pension application process is dependent on the availability of medical information to make a decision on the level of disablement. The increased number of applications has put pressure on the process. A project is being undertaken to streamline the War Disablement Pension application process. The aim is to speed the process up and to streamline administration procedures.Review of Veterans’ Affairs New Zealand and the role of the Director/Secretary for War Pensions
The RNZRSA has, as one of its policies, sought a post implementation review of Veterans’ Affairs New Zealand. The RNZRSA are of the view that one of the outcomes of the review would be the separation of the role of the Secretary for War Pensions and the Director Veterans’ Affairs. This view is premised on the belief that a post implementation review, that was signalled on the establishment of the Office of Veterans’ Affairs, has not been carried out; that the roles of the Secretary for War Pensions and the Director Veterans’ Affairs are mutually exclusive; and that there are management and governance issues in the current situation where the roles are undertaken by one person. A post establishment review of Veterans’ Affairs New Zealand was undertaken by the Chief of Defence Force in 1999/2000, prior to the appointment of the first permanent Director. This review considered the roles of the Secretary for War Pensions and the Director Veterans’ Affairs. An additional review of the responsibilities within the war pensions function was undertaken in April 2001 and led by DPMC, as part of a review of services to veterans. The structure of Veterans’ Affairs New Zealand is similar to the structure that operates in other agencies such as the Commonwealth Department of Veterans’ Affairs Australia, where the person who is appointed to hold the statutory role of repatriation commissioner also holds the most senior management role in the organisation. The role of Secretary for War Pensions is a statutory role whose power and authority is defined in the War Pensions Act 1954. The Secretary cannot act outside those legislatively defined parameters. Prior to the establishment of Veterans’ Affairs New Zealand, the role of Secretary for War Pensions was vested in the Chief Executive of Work and Income New Zealand, the agency responsible for the payment of War Disablement and Veteran’s Pensions. On the establishment of Veterans’ Affairs New Zealand, the decision was made to move this position thereby separating the operational implementation of policy from its development.The role of the Director Veterans’ Affairs New Zealand is a senior management role responsible for the management of Veterans’ Affairs New Zealand, as an organisation. In this capacity, the Director makes decisions around the provision of service delivery under the auspices of the Public Finance Act 1989, as amended by the Public Finance Amendment Act 2004. These decisions are subject to internal audit by the New Zealand Defence Force and to external audit by Audit New Zealand. While the roles of the Secretary for War Pensions and the Director Veterans’ Affairs are complimentary, it is critical that the work of the Secretary for War Pensions and the work of the Director Veterans’ Affairs remain separate. This is done within the current operation of Veterans’ Affairs New Zealand. The advice provided to the Secretary for War Pensions on War Disablement and Veteran’s Pension issues is provided and considered within the bounds of the legislation. The decisions made on other forms of service delivery are made within the parameters that the funding is provided for. In considering requests for assistance that require additional funding from Veterans’ Affairs New Zealand, reference is made to the other services that the veteran might be receiving to ensure that there is no duplication of services.
Senior International Forum
The Senior International Forum is a co-operative grouping of senior officials from the veterans' affairs administrations from Australia, Canada, United Kingdom, United States of America and New Zealand. The Senior Forum is focussed on sharing information on the issues facing the veteran population and the different approaches taken to resolving these issues. In 2005 the Senior Forum was extended to include a ministerial summit. The next ministerial summit and Senior Forum are planned for Australia in 2006. New Zealand hosted the 2004 Senior International Forum in Wellington.- Introduction
- The Veteran Community
- Entitlements and Services
- Statutory Appointments
- Veterans' Affairs Portfolio
- Veterans' Affairs New Zealand
- The Ministry of Social Development
- Key Policy Issues
This page was last reviewed
30 August, 2010
and is current.