Independence Allowance
Independence Allowance is a regular payment to compensate you for the lasting effect a permanent impairment may have on you and your family.
You may be able to get Independence Allowance if you:
- have Qualifying Operational Service after 31 March 1974 outside of Viet Nam
- have a condition related to your Qualifying Operational Service that causes you to have at least a 5% whole-person impairment which is likely to have caused permanent impairment, and:
- that condition first happened before 1 April 2002.
Qualifying Operational Service explained
If you served before 1 April 1974 or in Viet Nam you may be able to get a different type of compensation.
Independence Allowance is paid as either:
- a regular payment
- a yearly lump sum.
As a regular payment it is paid:
- every two weeks within NZ
- every four weeks outside of NZ.
- Complete the Veteran Support form.
- Get your doctor to fill out the medical sections of the form.
- Send the application form and any supporting information to us.
Download the Veteran Support form [PDF, 444 KB]
We recommend you also apply to ACC as well as us. If we're unable to accept your claim, you may qualify for ACC's Independence Allowance.
We may top up your ACC Independence Allowance if you also qualify for our Independence Allowance. This also requires for the ACC Independence Allowance to be paying less than what we can do.
After you apply we'll:
- contact you to confirm we've received your application
- start the decision-making process
- keep you informed on the status 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 policy.