With inflation at an incredible 30-year high, many families and individuals are feeling the strain, particularly from rising food prices and mortgage interest rates.
We want to take this opportunity to remind our members that financial help may be available for you, your spouse and children up to the age of 18. (Your children over 19 can join the Society as independent members to access all the same benefits.)
How we can help you and your family
There are many ways the NZ Firefighters Welfare Society can support you and your family
For example, right now scholarship applications are open to support a family’s education costs. There is $500 available per region, per age group (5-8 years, 9-12 years, 13-16 years) and it’s easy to apply.
We simply ask your child to provide some form of artwork, or an essay (depending on their age) outlining who inspires them and what they want to do when they leave school. The scholarship benefit is available every year, with the current year’s applications closing on 9 January 2023. Find out more about the scholarship benefit and how to apply, here.
Welfare Support Benefits
There are 17 membership benefits available under the Society’s Welfare Support umbrella, as well as access to a host of retail Member Discounts.
Welfare support includes:
- Financial assistance with a first pair of corrective lenses or contact lenses (up to $250 per claim)
- Up to $800 for a first pair of hearing aids
- A funeral contribution of between $1,000-$3,000
- Temporary home help due to injury or illness of up to $300
- Reimbursement for counselling sessions, of up to $500 per year
- Payment of $100 on the birth of a child
- Ambulance transport costs, of up to $500 per year (for areas outside of Wellington’s Free Ambulance)
- Plus 10 more unique benefits.
Your membership covers you, your spouse and your children
Remember, as a member of the NZ Firefighters Welfare Society, these benefits are available to you, your spouse and your children up to and including the age of 18. See all the Welfare Support Benefits here.
Retail discounts for members
In addition to 17 Welfare Support benefits, we currently have 20 discount partners offering deals and retail discounts to members.
Our current discount partners are: Accor Hotels, Noel Leeming, Dulux, Guthrie Bowron, Colourplus, Placemakers, AVIS, Hirepool, Mortgage Link/Insurance Link, HRV, OPSM, Zoom Pharmacy, Frontline Law, DUX Financial Services, Torpedo7, OfficeMax, Ideal Electrical Suppliers, Saunders & Co Lawyers, Bridgestone and Specsavers.
You can access all the discounts through the NZ Firefighters Welfare Society App, available on Google Play or the App Store.
Watch the video clip to hear a first-hand account of the membership benefits.
We are firefighters helping firefighters and their families
As well as Welfare Support and the Member Discounts above all else, we would like to remind you our ethos remains firefighters helping firefighters and their families. If you or your family need help, or your colleagues need support, please reach out to us. Our friendly team is only a phone call away and we can be contacted on 0800 65 34 73 or office@firefighters.org.nz.
