Dementia | mate wareware · New Zealand
Dementia support in New Zealand
Find the next useful step when memory, care, money, safety or future planning is becoming harder. Start with the situation you are facing now, then use the official and specialist links only when you need them.
You can use this for yourself or with someone you trust. No account is required, and you do not enter diagnosis details here.
Start where you are
What is happening right now?
You do not need to read everything. Pick the situation that feels closest and come back to the rest later.
I’m worried about memory
Start with assessment rather than assuming dementia.
Go to this sectionI’m living with dementia
Find practical support for everyday life and changing needs.
Go to this sectionWe need more help at home
See how needs assessment and support planning fit together.
Go to this sectionCaring is getting hard
Find respite, carer support and someone to talk to.
Go to this sectionWe need to plan ahead
Sort out decision-making, future care and residential care pathways.
Go to this sectionMemory and thinking changes
Get changes checked without jumping to a diagnosis
Memory, language, judgement or thinking changes can have several causes. A health professional can look at what is happening, consider other explanations and arrange further assessment if needed.
After a diagnosis
A calm order when the paperwork can wait
A diagnosis can bring many websites at once. These steps help you see what may matter now and what can wait a little longer.
Step 1
Identify the main health contact
Know who to call about treatment, medication and follow-up questions.
Step 2
Connect with dementia support locally
Dementia NZ and Alzheimers NZ can help with practical questions and local services.
Step 3
Ask about a needs assessment
Focus on what is becoming difficult at home, not only the diagnosis label.
Step 4
Review extra costs or income support
Disability-related costs and income support are separate pathways from health care.
Step 5
Talk about future decision-making early
Enduring powers of attorney are easier to arrange while the person can still express their wishes.
Step 6
What can wait
You do not need every form, benefit and legal document sorted in the first week.
Support at home
Describe what is hard now, not only the diagnosis
A needs assessment is about daily function and safety. It can help identify the right level of support at home, respite or other care options as circumstances change.
Useful things to mention in an assessment
- Personal care or dressing is becoming difficult.
- Meals, housework or medication routines are harder to manage.
- There are concerns about getting lost, falls or being safe alone.
- The current carer or whānau arrangement is becoming unsustainable.
Needs can change over time. Ask for a fresh assessment if the current support plan no longer matches daily life.
When needs change
If things have changed since your last assessment
Dementia support is not fixed. A plan that worked six months ago may no longer fit. These changes are worth revisiting with a health professional or Needs Assessment Service.
- More help is needed with washing, dressing or meals
- Falls, wandering or safety concerns have increased
- The carer or whānau arrangement is no longer sustainable
- There has been a hospital stay or sudden health change
- The person is now living alone when that no longer feels safe
- Finances have changed or residential care is being considered
Ask for a fresh needs assessment rather than assuming the current support plan still fits.
Money and care support
Different supports solve different problems
Health support, respite, disability-related costs and income support are separate pathways. It can be worth checking more than one.
Disability Allowance
May help with regular ongoing costs caused by a health condition or disability. A person does not have to already receive a main benefit.
Useful next step: Ask Work and Income what medical confirmation and cost evidence they need for the expenses you want considered.
Supported Living Payment
May be relevant when a health condition severely restricts someone’s ability to work, or for some people providing full-time care.
Useful next step: Check which pathway applies to your situation. The carer rules are not the same in every relationship.
Carer Support Subsidy
Can help eligible full-time unpaid carers take a break or arrange relief care, including when caring for someone with dementia.
Useful next step: Ask about a needs assessment because access is connected to assessed support needs.
Help with residential care costs
If living at home is no longer workable, care needs are assessed first and financial help is considered separately.
Useful next step: Ask about the Residential Care Subsidy or other financial help after the care need and level have been assessed.
Caring for someone who is ill or disabled? Work and Income also has dedicated carer guidance. Check the carer rules.
Living day to day
Practical help matters as much as paperwork
MyEligible focuses on navigating support, but trusted dementia resources can also help with communication, routines, eating and safety in everyday life.
Communication
Ideas for communicating with someone whose memory, understanding or language is changing.
Self care and routines
Practical information for daily life when memory loss or dementia is affecting independence.
Eating well
Information for maintaining nutrition and making meals easier as needs change.
Getting lost or wandering
Safety planning for people who may become lost in the community and for those supporting them.
Supporting someone
Ask for help before caring reaches crisis point
Dementia affects the whole support network. If the person’s needs are increasing or the current arrangement is wearing people down, ask about respite, Carer Support and a fresh needs assessment rather than waiting for a breakdown.
Talk to someone who understands dementia
Specialist dementia organisations can help with local services, education, practical questions and support for whānau.
Alzheimers NZ 0800 004 001Planning ahead
Make future decisions easier while there is time
Planning is not about assuming the worst. It is about preserving the person’s choices, reducing uncertainty for whānau and making later decisions less rushed.
Enduring powers of attorney
Arrange trusted decision-makers while the person can still understand and communicate their choices. Property and personal care or welfare are separate matters.
Rights and dignity
A dementia diagnosis does not erase a person’s voice or rights. Keep the person involved in decisions for as long as possible and use supported decision-making where you can.
If residential care becomes necessary
Residential care is not the first or only option. If it becomes necessary, assessment determines the level of care and financial support is considered separately.
Culture and whānau
Dementia support should make room for cultural context
For Māori whānau, mate wareware can be understood through more than a clinical lens. Health and support conversations may also involve whānau, identity, spirituality and community.
NZ Medical Journal study. Use it as context, not as a substitute for local Māori health or whānau support.
Helping someone else?
GP practice staff, social workers, navigators and community workers can use this page to organise next steps with a person or whānau. Use the checklist below to copy a short handoff list. MyEligible does not provide case management or human follow-up.
Take this with you
Build a short next-step list
Tick what feels relevant now. Copy the list to share with whānau, a GP practice or a support worker. Nothing is saved or sent from this page.
Next on MyEligible
Keep the next step small
Source transparency
Official and specialist sources
Grouped by what you may need. Each entry explains who provides it and why it may be useful. · Last checked 9 September 2026
Understanding dementia
Getting assessed and arranging care
Financial support
- Disability AllowanceWork and Income · Official sourceHelp with ongoing health or disability-related costs.Visit source
- Supported Living PaymentWork and Income · Official sourceIncome support for some people who cannot work because of a health condition or disability.Visit source
- Help with residential care costsWork and Income · Official sourceFinancial support pathways that may apply after residential care needs are assessed.Visit source
Legal and practical planning
- Enduring power of attorneyNew Zealand Government · Official sourceHow to legally appoint someone to make decisions if you are unable to do so later.Visit source
- Residential careHealth New Zealand · Official sourceInformation about assessment, eligibility and financial support for long-term residential care.Visit source
Community help
- Find local dementia helpDementia New Zealand · Specialist supportLocal information, support, education and services for people living with dementia and whānau.Visit source
- Get supportAlzheimers New Zealand · Specialist supportPractical information and support for people living with dementia and their whānau.Visit source
- Safer WalkingLand Search and Rescue initiative · Community supportSafety planning for people who may become lost in the community.Visit source