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.
    A-Z list of services and entitlements
    View all of the services and entitlements available to qualifying veterans and their family and whānau.
  • 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.
    Veteran Card
    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.
    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.

Your wish list for your retirement can come true — it just needs some planning

Force Financial Piggy + Text

“The financial experts can help you take care of things and give you the time to focus on things that are important to you.”

Derrick McMillan, Chief of Staff, Defence Health Directorate, HQ NZDF in Wellington enjoys spending time with his family and grandchildren on their lifestyle block and riding his motorbikes.

Derrick is looking forward to his retirement.

“I’ve had a busy and rewarding career with the NZDF, since joining the Army as a Private soldier. My career has taken me around the world and recently I returned from a three-year posting to Singapore. My operational deployments have included Cambodia, East Timor, Bosnia, and the Middle East, and I’ve also spent time in the Pacific, South East Asia, the UK, and the USA.”

It is these experiences that reinforced Derrick’s view that he needed to plan ahead.

“Some of the places I’ve been to, were perhaps were not in the best shape, but they made me think of what the future may look like for me and my family and to ensure that we are prepared financially.”

Derrick in a decorated Army uniform in front of a Māori kōwhaiwhai pattern

Derrick McMillan, Chief of Staff, Defence Health Directorate

His physical wellbeing goes hand-in-hand with his financial wellbeing. He completes a gym session after work each day.

“Dedicating time to my physical wellbeing is a no-brainer and so is allocating time to my financial wellbeing, so I was an early adopter of KiwiSaver.”

“When the NZDF launched the NZDF Savings Schemes, I saw the additional benefits which could boost my preparedness for retirement. I then switched to the NZDF KiwiSaver Scheme and also set up a FlexiSaver account to ensure we had a contingency fund, for whatever life throws at us.”

Having a career protecting and rebuilding nations, Derrick was keen to ensure that his family was also thinking of the future.

“My grandson Harry arrived just before the NZDF scheme started, so I signed him up on the day the scheme launched.”

“My recommendation to all veterans, especially the younger ones, is that if you are not saving for your future now, talk to the experts at the Force Financial Hub. Don’t put off having a conversation about your future because you have time on your side now, but that won’t be the case forever.”

The financial experts can help you take care of things and give you the time to focus on things that are important to you.

“I trust those experts to look after my savings and just check my account occasionally online and via the NZDF Savings Schemes’ app, which is great.”

“It is essential to save for our retirement. During my career, I’ve seen a significant change in society, especially now with people trying to get into their first homes, so saving for that is also important and is possible with NZDF.”

Learn more

Learn more about the NZDF Savings Scheme(external link)

Financial advice is available by contacting Become Wealth:

Date

16 November 2022

Tags
Last Modified: 29 November 2022
Print