• Get support
    The support you may be able to get depends on your circumstances.
    Currently serving
    While serving, the NZDF will take care of your health and wellbeing issues. If you have qualifying service, we may be able to provide you with home help. Register now with Veterans’ Affairs, and when you need some support, we’ll be ready to help you.
    Ex-serving
    We can provide you with health, rehabilitation and financial support if you have a condition related to your service. We can also provide home help assistance and financial support for you to commemorate your service.
    Family and whānau
    How we can support you, your family and whānau.
    Non-military personnel
    Non-military personnel can have Qualifying Operational Service in certain circumstances.
  • Remembrance
    We're proud to honour the service of the veteran community.
    Services Cemeteries and plaques and headstones
    We help look after Services Cemeteries. We're also able to contribute towards plaques and headstones.
    Commemorative funding
    There are two types of financial contributions available from the Commemorative Fund.
    Medals and service records
    The NZ Defence Force's Personnel Archives and Medals team ​administer medals and hold most New Zealand military service records.
    ​When someone dies
    We may be able to provide support when someone who had Qualifying Service dies.
    Your family's military history
    Learning more about your family's military history is a great way to honour their service.
    Certificate of Appreciation and Veterans' Pins
    The Certificate of Appreciation and Veteran's Pin recognise operational service.
  • Eligibility
    To be eligible to receive support from us, you — or certain family members — need to have Qualifying Service.
    Check your eligibility
    Check the support, services, or entitlements you may be able to get from us.
    Qualifying Service
    To get support from us you — or certain family members — need to have Qualifying Service.
    Living outside NZ
    You can still get support from us even if you live outside NZ.
    Eligibility criteria for family and dependants
    You may be able to get support if you're the spouse, partner, child or dependant of someone with Qualifying Service.
    Veterans of foreign militaries
    Veterans' Affairs New Zealand was established to support New Zealand veterans.
  • For clients
    We put veterans and our clients at the heart of everything we do.

    If you have a question at any stage please contact us—we're here to help.
    How we'll work with you
    We'll work with you to help you get the best support available.
    Your treatment card
    Your treatment card helps you get no-cost treatment and medication for your approved conditions.
    Your rights and responsibilities
    ​We want to make sure you have the best possible experience when you deal with us.
    Payments
    Information on payment rates and dates.
    How we make decisions
    We use a number of tools and processes to make decisions. This helps ensure each decision we make is fair and treats our clients consistently.​
    Living outside NZ
    You can still get support from us even if you live outside NZ.
    Other benefits
    You may be able to access a range of discounts and benefits. Not only that, your family may get access too.
  • For providers
    Information for providers of services to Veterans' Affairs and our clients.
    Treatment cards and letters
    To help you identify our clients, we issue treatment cards and letters.
    Invoicing us
    How to invoice us to ensure we pay you quickly and correctly.
    Treating our clients
    Information for healthcare professionals providing treatment to our clients.
    Councils and local authorities
    Guidance for councils and local authorities relating to services cemeteries and memorials
    Forms
    Forms for our clients, family and whānau, and our providers.
Need urgent help now?
Need urgent help now?

Veterans' Independence Programme

The Veterans' Independence Programme (VIP) aims to help you to remain independent and safe in your own home by providing home assistance services.

This is a non-urgent, needs-based programme for veterans with Qualifying Service who are having some difficulty managing in their own home.

It offers services like:

  • gardening
  • lawn mowing
  • clearing gutters
  • home cleaning.

Check to see if you have Qualifying Service

If you have Qualifying Service but not a service-related condition, you may still eligible for VIP services.

VIP services are based on your needs

You will only meet the criteria for services from the VIP programme if no one else in your household can provide the support.

To understand more about the needs of a client, we undertake a needs assessment.
This will help us to understand:

  • what is important to you
  • your medical treatment and health care needs
  • your rehabilitation needs, such as:
    • medical management assistance to manage treatment and medical goals
    • social assistance to overcome any barriers to rehabilitation, or to being part of your community
    • vocational assistance to return to work
  • your ability to safely manage daily independent living
  • your situation and whether you have any support already in place
  • the requirement for impairment and income compensation
  • who is helping you at home, and whether we should assess their needs too.

Following this assessment, it may be 3–4 months before the services are put in place.

About our needs assessment

What a needs assessment involves

Your needs assessment will be done over the phone by your case manager or a Support Centre Officer. It will take around 15 to 30 minutes.

 

  • Step 1 We'll prepare

    Your case manager will prepare for the assessment by reviewing your files and medical reports.

  • Step 2 We'll call you

    Your case manager or a Support Centre Officer will contact you by phone. They'll:

    • explain the needs assessment process
    • explain your rights and responsibilities
    • ask if you're free to do the needs assessment now
    • ask if you have whānau members or another non-professional support person helping you — we'll talk to them to see if they have needs that relate to the support they give you. 

  • Step 3 We'll complete the assessment

    Your case manager or Support Centre Officer will leave the call and take some time to complete the assessment. They will call you back at an agreed time. In some cases, they may also need additional information from a health professional.

    After the assessment, your case manager will work with you to figure out what will best meet your needs.

Processing times

It may take 3 to 4 months before the services begin. 

This is because VIP services are not critical to the health of clients and don't include any treatment or medical services. These services are designed to support the day-to-day lives of clients in their own homes.

We work with third-party providers of these services to put them in place soon as they are able. However, some are having capacity problems, which may cause a delay. 

Spouse and partner

Your spouse or partner can keep getting Veterans' Independence Programme services even if you:

  • are getting treatment in a hospital, but have not permanently moved into the hospital
  • have entered long-term residential care for up to 12 months
  • pass away — for up to 12 months after your death.

In this section

A-Z of services

Eligibility checker
Last Modified: 21 March 2023
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