Informational only, not legal advice. Verify with official sources before relying on this.

Know Abroad

New ZealandNew Zealand

Health & Medical Emergencies

Last verified August 15, 2026

Written for U.S. passport holders

Emergency Numbers

  • Dial 111 for ambulance, police, or fire, a single unified number covering the whole country.
  • It's free to call, including from a mobile phone with no credit left; the operator asks which service you need and connects you.
  • For U.S. consular emergency assistance (a detained or hospitalized American, coordinating care, notifying family), call the State Department's Overseas Citizens Services from anywhere in the world: +1-888-407-4747 (from the U.S. or Canada) or +1-202-501-4444 (from overseas). This is separate from the local emergency number and won't dispatch an ambulance itself, but it's the number that gets the U.S. government involved.

Getting Treated as a Foreigner

  • New Zealand has an unusual, genuinely visitor-friendly system for accidents specifically: the Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC) provides no-fault injury cover to everyone in New Zealand, residents and visitors alike, for accidental injuries (not illness).
  • ACC can help cover treatment, rehabilitation, and related costs for a covered injury regardless of your nationality or who was at fault, though it doesn't cover illness, medical conditions unrelated to an accident, or getting you home, so travel insurance still fills real gaps.

The Gotcha

ACC is a real, distinctive advantage for visitors: if you're injured in an accident in New Zealand (a fall, a car crash, a sports injury), you're covered by the same no-fault national scheme that covers New Zealanders, not left entirely to your own insurance the way you would be almost everywhere else on this site. The catch is that ACC only covers accidental injury, not illness, so it's a real safety net with a specific, limited shape, not a substitute for travel insurance.

Sources

This page was drafted from the primary sources below. Rules change, so check the linked page directly before relying on any of this.