More Vietnam veterans will become eligible for an ex gratia payment
More Vietnam veterans will become eligible for an ex gratia payment
About the MOU
New conditions are now eligible for ex gratia payments under the Vietnam Veteran Memorandum of Understanding (MOU).
The added conditions are:
- Monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance (MGUS)
- Hypertension.
More information about the MOU
This is the result of the United States National Academy of Sciences’ most recent review of international research and databases which provide information about the long-term health effects on Vietnam veterans of the herbicides and defoliants that had been sprayed during the conflict.
This review concluded that these two conditions should now be added to the list of those for which there is “sufficient evidence of association between the chemicals of interest [in this case Agent Orange] and health outcomes”.
Veterans and Agent Orange: Update 11 (2018) — By the National Academy of Sciences [PDF, 4.7 MB]
There is no process specified in the MoU for how to go about adding new conditions to Schedule 1, and this makes managing the process ad hoc and difficult. An agreed process would ensure that future changes to the Schedule 1 ex gratia conditions can be managed smoothly.
This change to the MOU would need to be agreed by both parties, and discussions are to be held between the Crown and representatives of the two groups that were signatories to the MOU in 2006 — the Royal New Zealand Returned and Services’ Association, and the Vietnam Veterans’ Association.
The Cabinet minute concerned is available for public viewing.
In 2006, the Crown signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with representatives of Vietnam veterans, acknowledging that the veterans were affected by the toxic environment they served in.
The MOU was part of a package of additional measures, aimed at acknowledging the past, putting things right and improving services to Vietnam veterans.
The MOU entitles veterans who suffer from one of a specified number of conditions to an ex gratia payment of NZD$40,000.
The MOU accepts the same conditions that appear on a United States National Academy of Sciences list of conditions where there is sufficient evidence of associations between the chemicals of interest (in this case Agent Orange) and health outcomes. They are known as the Prescribed Conditions and are listed in Schedule 1 of the MOU.
This list is based on an overview of international research and databases, dealing with the association between herbicides, such as Agent Orange, and particular health conditions.
When the MOU was signed there were five conditions on the United States National Academy of Sciences list. These conditions are:
- Soft tissue sarcoma
- Non-Hodgkin lymphoma
- Hodgkin’s disease
- Chloracne
- Chronic lymphocytic leukaemia — including hairy-cell leukaemia and other chronic b-cell leukaemias
Two new conditions have been added to the United States National Academy Sciences list and thus become Prescribed Conditions listed on Schedule 1 of the MOU. They are:
- Monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance (MGUS)
- Hypertension
No. Only those that served in Vietnam and have one of the Prescribed Conditions listed in the MOU.
No. If you have previously received an ex gratia payment for one of the Prescribed Conditions, you are not eligible to apply for an ex gratia payment for either of the new conditions.
These arrangements recognise that the loyal service of the veterans to New Zealand was not recognised as it should have been when it should have been and that inadequate support was provided to them after they returned home from the conflict.
In particular, it recognises that, for many years, successive governments ignored the concerns of the veterans about the impact on their health of serving in a toxic environment where Agent Orange was used. A package of measures was therefore agreed, aimed at acknowledging the past, putting things right and improving services to Vietnam veterans.
These commitments were summed up in the Memorandum of Understanding.
If you are a current client of Veterans’ Affairs and served in Vietnam and you have previously been diagnosed with one of the new Prescribed Conditions, Veterans’ Affairs will get in touch with you to discuss the ex gratia payment.
If you served in Vietnam and have been diagnosed with one of the Prescribed Conditions, you should contact us to discuss how to apply for the ex gratia payment.
All New Zealand veterans with qualifying service are supported by the 2014 Veterans’ Support Act.
You are welcome to contact us to find out how to claim for other entitlements.
You can also register for the free Annual Medical Assessment which is available to New Zealand Vietnam veterans.
There is no action that a New Zealand Vietnam veteran can take to have a new condition added to the list.
The list of Prescribed Conditions is based on a review undertaken by a body in the United States (the National institute of Sciences) of international research and databases that deal with the association between herbicides, such as Agent Orange, and particular health conditions.
From time to time, this review will result in the adding of new conditions — as has happened now with the addition of monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance (MGUS) and hypertension.
The priority for handling all applications received by VA is to process those received from living veterans first. As such, VA will deal with all applications in the following order of priority:
- Terminal illness
- Mental health
- Financial hardship
- All other applications including new ex gratia payment applications
To find out more, contact us.
The MoU itself is not being reviewed. The only area to be reviewed is that which applies to section 6 of the MoU ie ex gratia payments – and the specific issue relates to setting up a process, acceptable to all parties, for adopting new Schedule 1 ex gratia conditions in New Zealand.
The MOU includes:
- an acknowledgement and apology to all Vietnam veterans
- a comprehensive range of measures for addressing short and medium-term health and welfare issues for Vietnam veterans and, where appropriate, their immediate families
- a Welcome Home Ceremony for Vietnam veterans incorporating aspects of Whakanoa
- clarification of the current and proposed future entitlements for Vietnam veterans and certain entitlements for all veterans
- a review and rewrite of the substantive legislation, the War Pensions Act, for all veterans
- a review of the delivery of services to all veterans, including options for the future placement, responsibilities and resourcing of Veterans' Affairs.
There are now five specified illnesses on the list of Prescribed Conditions that also appear on the list of Conclusively Presumed Conditions (also known as the Presumptive List) and these are the conditions that VA may automatically accept as being related to Qualifying Service.
The specified illnesses that appear on both the Presumptive List and the list of Prescribed Conditions are hypertension, sarcoma, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, chloracne and chronic lymphocytic leukaemia, including hairy-cell leukaemia and other chronic b-cell leukaemias.
If you are a Vietnam veteran who has been diagnosed with one of the new Prescribed Conditions, and you are a current client, we will get in touch with you about the ex gratia payment.
Other conditions on the Presumptive List, that do not appear on the list of Prescribed Conditions, do not qualify for the ex gratia payment.
The MOU accepts as a Prescribed Condition any condition which appears on the United States Institute of Sciences list of conditions for which they consider there is “sufficient evidence of association” with Agent Orange.
Under the MoU, New Zealand Vietnam veterans with those conditions then automatically qualify for an ex gratia payment.
The Government has agreed there should be some work done with representatives of Vietnam veterans to develop a process for managing any other conditions which may appear on this list in the future.
Vietnam veterans who served in Vietnam during the period 29 May 1964 to 31 December 1972 and have been diagnosed with one of the Prescribed Conditions, are eligible for an ex gratia payment under the terms of the MOU.
Veterans who served in Vietnam outside this period including members of The Civilian Surgical Team at Qui Nhon Provincial State Hospital in Vietnam, have Qualifying Operational Service and are eligible for support under the Veterans’ Support Act 2014.
Information for spouses
If you are the surviving spouse or partner of someone who had qualifying operational service in Vietnam, you may qualify for an ex gratia payment of NZD$25,000 if:
- your spouse or partner has died from one of the following Prescribed Conditions:
- Soft tissue sarcoma
- Non-Hodgkin lymphoma
- Hodgkin’s disease
- Chloracne
- Chronic lymphocytic leukaemia – including hairy-cell leukaemia and other chronic b-cell leukaemia
- Monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance (MGUS)
- Hypertension
and
- Your spouse or partner did not receive an ex gratia payment for any of these conditions.
Special note
If your veteran partner died with either of the new conditions between 1 November 2018 and 29 November 2021 (the date the Minister for Veterans made the statement on the new conditions), the payment will be at the veteran rate of $40,000.
We recognise that hypertension isn’t often a cause of death but we know that it can lead to early death from illnesses such as stroke and heart disease. MGUS would also not typically cause death. However, it can be related to other blood cancers that could have contributed to the veteran’s death.
If your veteran partner had been diagnosed with hypertension or MGUS and you believe it caused the veteran’s death, or contributed to it through another condition, you can make an application for an ex gratia payment.
Send us the following information:
- Your full name
- Postal and email address, and phone number
- The veteran’s full name and date of birth
- A copy of the full death certificate showing cause of death
- Consent in writing from the executor of the estate for VA to obtain the veteran’s medical records
- A copy of the Letters of Administration/Probate/Will
- Marriage certificate or proof of relationship at time of death
- Bank account details for payment
You can send it:
- by email to veterans@nzdf.mil.nz
- or by post to Veterans Affairs, PO Box 5146, Wellington 6140.