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  • 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.
    A-Z list of services and entitlements
    View all of the services and entitlements available to qualifying veterans and their family and whānau.
  • 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.
    NZ Post Stamps
    This series of stamps explores the stories of 6 veterans deployed after 1995. You can purchase the stamps on the NZ Post website.
  • 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.
    Veteran Card
    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.
    Information about claims
    Information on processing times, how to make a claim, and what happens next.
  • 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.
    Audiologists
    Schedules of fees, invoicing and application instructions, and information for treating hearing needs.
    How military service affects the health of veterans
    Veterans can experience physical and mental health conditions disproportionately compared to the general public. Different NZDF 'operations' may be linked to higher rates of specific conditions. Understanding a veteran's service can help you to understand their health.
Check Your Eligibility
Check Your Eligibility

Code of Claimant's Rights

The Code of Veterans' and Other Claimants' Rights sets out standards of service you're entitled to when you deal with us.

On this page
Your rights If you think we're not meeting the Code

Your rights

The spirit of the Code is a positive partnership — working together with trust, respect, and understanding.

You have the right to:

  • dignity and respect
  • fair treatment and consideration of your views
  • respect for your culture, values and beliefs
  • a support person or persons
  • effective communication
  • full information
  • respect for your privacy
  • complain.

These rights are set out by Veterans’ Support (Code of Veterans’ and Other Claimants’ Rights) Notice 2015. 

English:

Veterans’ Support (Code of Veterans’ and Other Claimants’ Rights) Notice 2015 [PDF, 157 KB]

Te reo Māori:

He Pānui mō Te Tautoko i ngā Mōrehu Hōia 2015 [PDF, 236 KB]

If you think we're not meeting the Code

Raise a concern

If you find our service falls short of these standards, tell the staff member concerned or their manager. They have to:

  • work with you to address your concern, and
  • let you know how they have addressed it.

If your concern can’t be dealt with under the Code, we may be able to suggest other ways of resolving it.

Make a complaint under the Code

If talking to a staff member doesn’t resolve your concern, you can lodge a complaint under the Code.

Our complaints service will look into your concern and decide whether we breached the Code.

Use the Complaints Form to lodge your complaint.

Complaints Form [PDF, 220 KB]

Get a complaint reviewed under the Code

If you’re unhappy with our decision, you can seek a review under the Code. You must:

  • use our form for review under the Code, and
  • get it to us within 3 months of the complaint decision unless the delay was beyond your control.

An independent review officer — appointed by the Chief of Defence Force — will:

  • review your complaint, and
  • issue a decision within 30 days of us getting your application.

If we uphold your complaint

If your complaint is upheld at the complaint or review stage, we may be told to do a combination of these:

  • apologise to you
  • explain to you what happened
  • send you more information
  • meet with you
  • give you access to an interpreter
  • give you access to your file
  • help you get answers to any further questions or requests
  • do other things to resolve the issue.

We’ll also make sure that our staff learn from your complaint.

Your rights and responsibilities

Last Modified: 22 February 2023
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