National Travel Assistance brochure

You may qualify for assistance if you:

• Have a Community Services Card and travel more than 80 km to a specialist appointment
• Are under 18 years old, have a Community Services Card and travel more than 25 km to a specialist appointment
• Attend six or more specialist visits in six months and travel more than 50 km
• Are required to travel over 350 km for adults or more than 80 km for children, to a specialist appointment
• You live on the West Coast but have to travel to another part of the country for treatment

Please note: Not everyone qualifies for full assistance. Your first visit for hospital care may not qualify but if you have return visits you will be eligible if you meet the above criteria. Please discuss your circumstances with the National Travel Assistance Coordinator to see what help is available.

Register and get a copy of the claim form by contacting a National Travel Assistance Coordinator:

Greymouth: 03 769 7400 , or 022 011-4945

Buller: 03 788 9262

Please register well before your appointment – it can take some time to complete registration.

All national travel assistance claims – reimbursement of expenses – are processed by the Ministry of Health.

The Ministry of Health do not yet have an electronic system for claiming at present.  Claims must be submitted on the NTA claim form which has been signed and stamped by the Hospital / treatment facility attended. This would be accompanied by any receipts and verification of your bank account if this is your first claim.

The claims can be posted to the Wellington address provided on the form, alternatively they can be handed to the Travel assistance coordinator, who will assist with the claim and send the completed claim to the Ministry.

Detailed information is available on the Ministry of Health website.

The Ministry of Health are currently working on improving the travel assistance scheme including easier access to registration and claiming.

If you are at Te Nīkau, Grey Hospital & Health Centre and need treatment at another hospital as part of your care, West Coast DHB will arrange free transport. You may have to organise your own transport back to the West Coast.

Please discuss this with the Nurse in Charge or Social Worker before you leave the Greymouth facility. You may also be eligible for travel and accommodation depending on the distance from home to the health facility. 

If you ask to transfer to another health facility, you will have to pay the transport costs.

St John Health Shuttle Service

St John volunteers run two rural shuttles on weekdays, from Hokitika to Greymouth return.

West Coast Health Shuttle Service

For more information or to make a booking please call 0800 009 865 between 9am and 3pm.

This service is free. Please consider donating to St John to help cover costs.

Buller Health Transport & Shuttle Service

Red Cross offers a shuttle service for patients travelling Westport to Greymouth or Greymouth to Westport.

Find out more about Buller Health Shuttle and transport Services

Public parking is available near the entrances from High Street and Water Walk Road.  Please do not park on the Te Nīkau, Grey Hospital & Health Centre grounds if you are likely to stay longer than four hours.  Do not park in the mobility car parks unless you have a mobility parking permit.

Public Transport is not available in Greymouth , however a Taxi service is available.  Contact 03 768 7078 to make a booking.  Greymouth Taxis also runs a shuttle service to and from Hokitika Airport.  To make a booking contact the Greymouth Taxi office: 03 768 7078

For maps showing you locations of car parks click here.

Shuttle services are available to and from Te Nīkau, Grey Hospital & Health Centre (Please see some info a little higher up on this page).  For further information about shuttle services and parking, click here.