Responsibility for veteran navigation outside statutory entitlements (2019–present)
SPENCER JONES made this Official Information request to New Zealand Defence Force
Currently waiting for a response from New Zealand Defence Force, they must respond promptly and normally no later than (details and exceptions).
From: SPENCER JONES
Dear New Zealand Defence Force, Veterans’ Affairs New Zealand (VANZ)
(Chief Executive / Policy & Strategy)
Under the Official Information Act 1982, I request the following information held by Veterans’ Affairs New Zealand (VANZ):
Please provide any briefings, advice, internal correspondence, emails, reports, or risk assessments held by Veterans’ Affairs New Zealand since 1 January 2019 that:
discuss responsibility for assisting veterans to navigate non-statutory support (including charities, community organisations, or mainstream social services);
consider whether lack of structured signposting or navigation outside statutory entitlements poses a risk or disadvantage to veterans;
record decisions to prioritise (or not prioritise) development of navigation or referral mechanisms beyond statutory VANZ functions; or
address the relationship between VANZ, the Veterans’ Advisory Board, and other agencies in relation to veteran navigation and support outside entitlements.
This request does not seek a list or directory of charities. It seeks records that explain how responsibility for veteran navigation outside entitlements has been defined, allocated, or deferred, if any exist.
Kind regards,
Spencer Jones
Things to do with this request
- Add an annotation (to help the requester or others)
- Download a zip file of all correspondence (note: this contains the same information already available above).
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Context and purpose of this request
This Official Information Act request follows two earlier NZDF / Veterans’ Advisory Board requests (#33397 and #33398), which confirmed that no lists, directories, briefings, or internal records exist showing visibility of veteran charities, community-based support organisations, or navigation/signposting frameworks outside statutory entitlements.
Those responses established a clear factual position: while veteran wellbeing and recognition are discussed at a high level, no central mechanism appears to exist within Defence or its advisory structures to ensure that veterans can be effectively navigated to non-statutory or community-based support.
This request does not seek lists, directories, or inventories of services. It seeks to understand whether Veterans’ Affairs New Zealand, as the steward of veteran policy and entitlements, has:
• considered responsibility for veteran navigation outside statutory entitlements;
• assessed risks arising from lack of coordination or visibility of non-statutory support; or
• provided internal advice on whether such navigation should sit within VANZ, another agency, or nowhere at all.
The purpose of this request is to clarify where responsibility is understood to sit (if anywhere), and why the gap confirmed in earlier OIAs persists.
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