Ambulance Membership questions

An Ambulance Membership in New Zealand is an annual subscription that covers the cost of emergency ambulance services provided by Hato Hone St John. Without a membership, each emergency ambulance callout would result in a part charge of $125. By becoming a member, you avoid this fee and gain peace of mind knowing you're covered in the event of a medical emergency.

The membership includes free emergency treatment and transport for life-threatening situations like heart attacks or strokes, as well as transport for accident-related injuries that are more than 24 hours old and not covered by ACC. It also gives you access to registered nurses and paramedics who can provide clinical support over the phone through Hato Hone St John’s 111 Clinical Hub.

However, it doesn’t cover non-emergency transport or services provided before you sign up. It also doesn’t apply in areas served by other providers, such as Wellington Free Ambulance.

The actual cost of an ambulance attendance is over $1,000 per call-out.

Hato Hone St John has experienced significant and sustained growth in demand for emergency ambulance services over the last decade.

Like many service providers, the organisation is also facing rising operational costs driven by inflation and the increased complexity of the service we provide.

The current Ambulance Membership fees have remained unchanged for almost six years (the last increase was in December 2019). The increase will help ensure the emergency ambulance service remains sustainable and able to meet growing demand.

Each plan is still less than a single emergency ambulance part charge of $125, so Hato Hone St John continues to offer great value to our members, particularly those who end up requiring an ambulance many times in a year.   

On 1 October 2025 Hato Hone St John will raise its ambulance membership fees as follows:

*Prices include GST

1 October 2025.

Given inflationary pressures and continued growth in demand for emergency ambulance services, Hato Hone St John has reviewed whether the ambulance membership fees are appropriate.

This was approached with care, noting the tough economic challenges many households are under. The organisation commissioned independent research to explore public perceptions, affordability, awareness, and attitudes toward ambulance memberships.

After analysing the research and undertaking modelling, Hato Hone St John determined that the increase in the annual subscription fees strikes the right balance and represents a reasonable and manageable step, whilst reflecting inflationary growth over the past six years since ambulance membership fees were last updated.

The actual cost of an ambulance attendance is over $1,000.

If you choose to renew these memberships prior to 1 October 2025, you can renew at the current rates. Visit stjohn.org.nz/Support-us/Join-Ambulance-Membership/ for more information.

Google can sometimes take a little while to update the information it shows in search results. So even though we've updated the price on our website, customers might still see the old rate on Google for a short time

Contracts with Hato Hone St John’s purchasers, Health New Zealand and ACC, fund most of the direct operating costs of the emergency ambulance service.

Ambulance membership fees, ambulance part charges, community donations, fundraising, and revenue from commercial activities also help to ensure we continue to deliver a safe and high-quality emergency ambulance service.

To ensure we continue to run a safe and sustainable emergency ambulance service, Hato Hone St Jonn is asking our purchasers (Health New Zealand and ACC) for additional funding in our next contract, beginning July 2026.

At the same time, ambulance membership fees are being adjusted to help us keep up with inflation and other operational costs. These charges only cover a small portion of the total cost of an ambulance callout.

Easy – just complete the form above and follow the payment links. Payment options include:

• Visa/Mastercard enabled debit/credit card
• Account2Account (a secure Internet Banking transfer service)

If you're a new member and prefer to pay over the phone, please call our Customer Services team on 0800 ST JOHN (0800 785 646).
If you're renewing your membership, there are other options available to you.

Online banking

Make a one-off payment from your online or telephone banking.

Account name: The Order of St John New Zealand
Account number: 12-3244-0023915-50
Please include these in the reference fields:

• Particulars: your membership number
• Code: principal member's surname
• Reference: member

Credit or debit card

You can renew over the phone by calling our Customer Services team on 0800 ST JOHN (0800 785 646). Please have your debit/credit card handy.

NZ Post

You can pay over the counter at NZ Post by cash or EFTPOS. Please take your renewal/expiry letter with you for them to scan the barcode.

Not necessarily. We assess all patients' needs and ensure the right level of care is provided.

If you phone for something urgent or potentially life-threatening, our emergency dispatchers will send an ambulance as soon as possible.

If you phone for something that's not urgent or life-threatening, a registered nurse or paramedic from our Clinical Hub may call you back and ask some questions so they can decide on the best care for you. This means you'll receive the proper care and advice you need and closer to home.

Ambulance Membership is a subscription for a service, not a donation. It includes GST so the Inland Revenue Department (IRD) does not regard it as tax deductible. However, donations of $5 or more made on top of your membership subscription are tax deductible and we'll send a tax receipt with your membership information.

Sadly, no. We cannot provide a service for a donation. Your donation is tax deductible, whereas the Ambulance Membership provides a service, and includes GST, as such, the IRD does not regard it as tax deductible.

No. However, residents of retirement villages, who are in independent living accommodation, can become members.

If you are in rest home level care or have an MSD accredited alarm (including a St John Medical alarm) your ambulance part charges may be paid by your service provider already, so you may not need a membership.

Our Customer Services team are happy to talk you through this and can be contacted on 0800 ST JOHN (0800 785 646).

Ambulance Membership covers you anywhere in New Zealand our ambulances operate. This is all over New Zealand except Wellington and the Wairarapa (these areas are covered by a different ambulance service).

Ambulance Membership covers emergency transport country-wide, excluding Wellington and the Wairarapa as we do not provide ambulance services in these areas. See Wellington Free Ambulance for more details about ambulances services in this region.

To be eligible for an Ambulance Membership you must be a citizen or permanent resident of New Zealand, or be eligible for free public healthcare in this country.

Our Medical Alarm customers are not eligible to join as the cost of emergency ambulance call out is already covered by the Medical Alarm service (whether as a result of an alarm activation or not).

Group or company membership is at our discretion on a case-by-case basis.

Non-emergent transport is not covered. If you would like transport to and from health appointments, please see our Waka Ora Health Shuttles.

Please contact us before you renew your membership, and we can sort this out for you. Call 0800 ST JOHN (0800 785 646) or visit the Contact Us page.

An Ambulance Membership covers the cost and use of an ambulance in a life-threatening medical emergency. To ensure our ambulances remain available in emergencies, you will need to arrange your own transport home from hospital or to your regular medical appointments.

Hato Hone St John may operate a Waka Ora Health Shuttle in your area, which may better suit these needs.