Travel Concession Payment—Veterans' Independence Programme
You may be able to get financial support to help you travel within NZ if you have a severe impairment.
Travel must be personal travel within NZ in the North, South, Stewart or Chatham Islands.
There are 3 different travel concessions. Each one gives different levels of help with travel costs.
Partial travel concession
Partial travel concession pays half the amount a full concession pays. You can get it for a condition that restricts you using your legs to move around.
To receive a partial travel concession, you must already be receiving one of these supports:
- War Disablement Pension with permanent impairment of at least 55%
- Disablement Pension with permanent whole-person impairment of at least 48%
- Permanent Impairment Compensation for whole-person impairment of at least 48%.
You'll not qualify if you have restricted mobility because of a heart or lung condition.
Full travel concession
You can get a full travel concession if you're receiving these supports, either permanently or for the past 3 years:
- War Disablement Pension with permanent impairment of at least 100%
- Disablement Pension for at least 75% whole-person impairment
- Permanent Impairment Compensation for whole-person impairment of at least 75%.
Recreational travel concession
You can get full travel concession with funding for an escort if you qualify for full travel concession and one of the following also apply to you.
You:
- are medically certified as unfit to travel alone
- are totally blind
- have lost both legs above the knee
- are on a War or Disablement Pension or Permanent Impairment Compensation for amputation of at least part of a limb.
Full travel concession with escort gives you:
- full travel concession for your own travel costs
- help with an escort’s travel costs on public transport journeys.
Claim forms
We must receive your travel claim form:
- after the travel, and
- before the end of the following calendar month.
The statutory declaration travel concession is for the first NZD$200 worth of private vehicle travel a year.
Statutory declaration travel concession [PDF, 282 KB]
The claim form travel concession is for everything else.
Claim form travel concession [PDF, 504 KB]
Evidence
To pay Travel Concession we need evidence that you have travelled. Evidence could include:
- a ticket — with cost on it — from public transport
- a ticket and receipt from an airline
- a statutory declaration for private-vehicle travel for the first NZD$200 in the calendar year
- fuel receipts at the journey's beginning and end for private-vehicle travel after NZD$200.
If you can't send the standard evidence — because of an exceptional situation — you'll need to set up a dispensation with us in advance. You'll need to:
- complete the Dispensation Form Travel Concession
- send the application form and any supporting information to us.
Dispensation form travel concession [PDF, 238 KB]
If you can't send this, contact us.
After you apply we'll:
- contact you to confirm we've received your application
- start the decision-making process
- inform you in writing the outcome of your application.
If we need more information, we'll get in touch with you.
Contact us for more information
We strive to be transparent. If you want to know how this entitlement is administered you can read the internal policy.