Skip to main content
  • 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.
  • 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.
    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.

Support for families of Jayforce, Grapple, and Mururoa Veterans

We may be able to provide counselling if you're the family of a Jayforce, Grapple, or Mururoa veteran.

These support options are in addition to what's provided to the families of those with Qualifying Service.

{{ controlText }}

Who can get this

You may be able to get support if you’re related to a veteran of:

  • Jayforce
  • Operation Grapple
  • Mururoa.

You must be their:

  • spouse 
  • partner, or
  • child

Qualifying service explained
What you can get

Psychological counselling

We may be able to provide funding to access psychological counselling for the family of these veterans.

Family includes:

  • children, including whāngai, adopted children, stepchildren and grandchildren raised as the service person's children
  • spouse or partner, including ex-spouse or ex-partner.

Genetic counselling and testing

Genetic counselling and genetic testing may also be available to children of these veterans.

The child must be:

  • the natural-born child of the person who served, and
  • conceived after returning from this service.

Explanation of genetic counselling

Genetic counselling is offered by a specialist genetic counsellor trained to help people understand the risks and implications of a genetic disorder in a family. 

It helps you to make informed choices about whether genetic testing could be helpful, what testing could involve, how the results and their implications can be interpreted, and the management of potential genetic risks. Whether counselling leads to genetic testing or not is something we encourage you to discuss with the counsellor.

We will not cover the cost of genetic testing alone, but we will cover this cost if testing is recommended as a result of counselling.
How to apply

Psychological counselling

To apply for psychological counselling, contact us.

Contact us

Genetic counselling

Most genetic counselling is provided through Te Whatu Ora Health New Zealand. Some private providers exist, but they are generally limited to the major centres. 

We can help you and your GP access services, first through Te Whatu Ora, or through a private provider if you can't access it through the public system. 

As a first step, you will need to prove you are eligible to have the counselling funded by providing us with proof that you are related to a veteran from a nuclear deployment.

Completing and submitting the Genetic Services for Children of Viet Nam Jayforce Grapple Mururoa Veterans form will begin the process for you.

Genetic Services for Children of Viet Nam Jayforce Grapple Mururoa Veterans application form [PDF, 493 KB]

If you live overseas

You can still access genetic counselling.

You will need to call us so we can talk you through the process.

Contact us
Support for nuclear veterans themselves

Genetic counselling and, if necessary, genetic testing may be funded for eligible nuclear veterans as part of an overall treatment package for a service-related condition. This would be arranged through their case managers.
Find out more

Last Modified: 16 April 2024
Print