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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.
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    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.
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    There are two types of financial contributions available from the Commemorative Fund.
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    The NZ Defence Force's Personnel Archives and Medals team ​administer medals and hold most New Zealand military service records.
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    We may be able to provide support when someone who had Qualifying Service dies.
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    Learning more about your family's military history is a great way to honour their service.
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    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.
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    Veterans' Affairs New Zealand was established to support New Zealand veterans.
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    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.

Clear communication pays off for Veterans’ Affairs

Veterans’ Affairs has been recognised for its focus on better communication by being named as a finalist in the Plain English Trust annual awards. 

The awards highlight excellence in the use of plain English and in raising the bar for clear communication. 

The refreshed Veterans’ Affairs website was one of three finalists in the Best Plain English Website— Public Sector category. 

“We are delighted to have had our website named a finalist in this year’s Plain English awards,” Head of Veterans’ Affairs Bernadine Mackenzie said. 

“It signals to us that we’re getting it right in communicating better with our veterans, which is a number one priority for us”. 

The new website is designed to make it easy for New Zealand Defence Force veterans and their whānau to find out about the support Veterans’ Affairs can provide, and how to access it. 

Veterans’ Affairs worked closely with the veteran community as the new website came together. 

“They were fantastic user-testers for us”, Bernadine said. “We learned a lot from listening to their feedback. Together, we came up with better language, a much less bureaucratic tone, and an easy-to-follow structure.” 

The Veterans’ Affairs website has been refreshed in recent months and now includes clearer and more useful information, including an online ‘check your eligibility’ tool. 

“The new website is user-friendly and accessible—exactly what we were all aiming for. We know we’ve got more to do, and being named a finalist for this award is a great motivator for us all,” Bernadine said.

Date

16 November 2018

Last Modified: 13 June 2019
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