Weekly Compensation for Veterans

If you can’t work full-time because of a service-related injury or illness, you may be able to access Weekly Compensation. It's to compensate you for lost earnings, and help you return to work when ready.

Qualifying

To qualify, you must:

Special rules apply if you’re at (or close to) New Zealand Superannuation age.

Applying

Applying to ACC

For injuries and some illnesses, you may also qualify for ACC’s Weekly Compensation. You must apply to ACC as well as to us.

Where our payment would be greater than ACC's, we'll pay the difference. We may also fund extra rehabilitation.

Applying to us

 Application form (Weekly Compensation) [PDF, 427 KB] sets out the information we need:

  • you complete the veteran sections of the form
  • your doctor or specialist completes the medical sections (including why you can’t work; how long that’s likely to last).

We may ask you to have further assessment.

Meeting your responsibilities

Helping you return to work, when ready, is a focus of Weekly Compensation. We’ll work with you on a treatment & rehabilitation plan (or you may already have one with ACC).

Your rehabilitation responsibilities include:

  • working with us to set up a vocational rehabilitation plan
  • engaging fully in vocational rehabilitation
  • attending assessments arranged for you (including vocational reassessment around every 6 months).

You must also:

  • send us a medical certificate every 13 weeks (unless we agree on another arrangement)
  • tell us of any changes to your work or income situation.

Getting paid

Payments are based on a percentage of your weekly earnings before you had to stop work:

  • for first year of incapacity — up to 100%
  • after that — up to 85%.

To calculate your payments, we'll need to get your income details:

  • From employer (if you had employment or PAYE income) — your earnings in the 12 months before you became unable to work
  • From IRD (if you were self-employed or a shareholder) — your earnings in last full tax-year before you became unable to work.

Recipients of Weekly Compensation may also be eligible to receive a Community Services Card.

Find out more about the Community Services Card on the Work and Income site (external link)

Finding out more

One-page summary

Related information

Relevant legislation

 

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