Mental health treatment
We may be able to help if you're experiencing mental health concerns related to your Qualifying Service.
If there's an immediate risk of harm to yourself or others ring the police—111.
If you want to talk about your current situation with someone, get in touch with one of our partners.
Support organisations you can talk to
You can get this if:
- you have Qualifying Service, and
- you have a mental health concern related to the Qualifying Service.
If you're receiving one of the following for your mental health concern, we already consider it to be linked to your Qualifying Service:
While your application is being processed, you'll get up to four initial sessions of counselling.
You may be able to get:
- a visit to your doctors to determine the best way forward
- funding for medicine you have been prescribed to treat the mental health concern, as long as it's subsidised by PHARMAC.
After the initial counselling sessions, your treatment provider will let us know if they believe more sessions are needed. We'll then work with them on whether we're able to fund these sessions.
It may be best to refer you to Te Whatu Ora (the public health system) for ongoing support.
If you're experiencing a mental health concern and need treatment, the main thing is that you get the help you need.
If you are in urgent need of treatment, we may pay or contribute to the treatment costs before we have finished considering your application if a delay in treatment would have an adverse effect on you.
If you're currently a client of Veterans' Affairs
Contact your Case Manager. They'll help you with the next steps.
If you're not yet a client of Veterans' Affairs
Contact us and ask to speak with the duty Case Manager.
The fastest way to get in touch with us is by giving us a call:
- 0800 483 8372 from within New Zealand
- 1800 483 837 from within Australia
- +64 4 495 2070 from the rest of the world.
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.