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.
    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.
Home / News and events / Latest news and articles / Change to the list of Statements of Principles and accepted late-onset conditions, August 2023 /

Change to the list of Statements of Principles and accepted late-onset conditions, August 2023

Change to the list of Statements of Principles and accepted late-onset conditions, August 2023

The Statements of Principles (SOPs) are a tool to determine if an injury, illness or death is service-related.

On 24 August 2023, 46 replacement Statements of Principles, six new Statements of Principles, four revocations without replacement, and three minor amendment Statements of Principles came into force in New Zealand.

Statements of Principles

The Statements of Principles are for the following conditions:

Replacement SOPs

  • albinism
  • alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency
  • autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease
  • cervical spondylosis
  • chickenpox
  • chronic myeloid leukaemia
  • chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
  • decompression illness (Name has changed from decompression sickness)
  • Gaucher disease (Name has changed from Gaucher’s disease)
  • haemophilia
  • hereditary spherocytosis
  • Huntington disease (Name has changed from Huntington’s chorea)
  • Marfan syndrome
  • melioidosis
  • mitral valve prolapse
  • multiple osteochondromatosis
  • osteogenesis imperfecta
  • periodic limb movement disorder
  • shingles and postherpetic neuralgia (Name has changed from herpes zoster)
  • vascular neurocognitive disorder (Name has changed from vascular dementia)
  • von Willebrand disease (Name has changed from von Willebrand’s disease)
  • warts
  • Wilson disease (Name has changed from Wilson’s disease).

New SOPs

  • plantar fibromatosis
  • retinal burn
  • thoracolumbar spondylosis.

Revocations without replacement

  • lumbar spondylosis
  • thoracic spondylosis.

These two conditions are effectively combined in the new condition thoracolumbar spondylosis.

Minor amendment SOPs

  • external burn
  • restless legs syndrome (only the Balance of Probabilities version of the SOP).

Accepted late-onset conditions

Accepted late-onset conditions are conditions that could be accepted as being linked to specific exposure or events occurring during qualifying operational service.
 
They are applied to Scheme Two veterans only.
 
Their purpose is to ensure that families of veterans whose death was the result of a late-onset malignancy or other physical or mental disorder receive entitlements under the Veterans’ Support Act 2014.
 
The list of accepted late-onset conditions at Schedule 2A of the Veterans’ Support Regulations has been updated.

Name change

  • Decompression sickness has been renamed to decompression illness
  • Gaucher’s disease has been renamed to Gaucher disease
  • Huntington’s chorea has been renamed to Huntington disease
  • Herpes zoster has been renamed to shingles and postherpetic neuralgia
  • Vascular dementia has been renamed to vascular neurocognitive disorder
  • Von Willebrand’s disease has been renamed to von Willebrand disease
  • Wilson’s disease has been renamed to Wilson disease.

These changes align with name changes that have occurred through the adoption of the relevant revised SOPs for those conditions.

More information

The Statements of Principles (SOPs) are a tool to determine if an injury, illness or death is service-related.

More information on Statements of Principles

For more information on these amendments, you can read:

Date

23 August 2023

Tags
Last Modified: 24 August 2023
Print