Amanda Rishworth (Kingston, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Health) Share this | Hansard source

I rise today to support the Veterans' Affairs Legislation Amendment (Mental Health and Other Measures) Bill 2014. I believe we do in this country owe a huge deal of gratitude to our veterans and our ex-service men and women. It is so important that we recognise that we do have a duty to ensure that they are looked after in times of need. That is why I am very pleased to be supporting this piece of legislation.

This bill will support the expansion of mental health services for veterans and members of the Defence Force and, importantly, their families. The mental health measures in this bill will help build on existing support already available for veterans, members and their dependents. It will also improve access to mental health services for current and former members of the Australian Defence Force and their families. It is very, very important that we focus on mental health. It is not always our focus but it is so important that we do focus on the mental wellbeing of our veterans as well as their physical wellbeing. It is also important that we focus on their families.

We only have to turn the pages of history, back to conflicts of the past, where the physical and mental injuries of those who served were not recognised. We only have to look back at the Vietnam War to see the impact warfare had on those veterans' physical and mental health. However, there was not a good recognition of post-traumatic stress disorder or the debilitating effects of depression and anxiety. So many of those veterans did not get the support that they needed. This mistake made then not to support our veterans when they came back to Australia was one we should all be very concerned about. Importantly, we should make sure that this does not happen again.

The reality for many veterans at that time was that they did need help. They needed help getting back into their daily lives when they returned, but the assistance they needed was ignored and it was expected they would just come back and just get on with life. That was not to be the case for so many people. It is pleasing today that we do have a focus on mental health for our veterans and families. Unfortunately, it was too late for some of those veterans in past wars who suffered so many years with what were often very private conflicts.

Since 1999, more than 45,000 Australians have served overseas and put their lives at risk for this nation. In Afghanistan alone, 40 Defence personnel were killed and more than 260 wounded in action, many of them seriously. This does not recognise the figures of those who have come back but have had difficulty readjusting, that may be suffering from other physical injuries or symptoms as well as mental health symptoms.

I want to focus on the mental health impact. Speaking at this month's recent AMA national conference, Navy psychiatrist Commodore Duncan Wallace said that many personnel not only suffered physical injuries and ailments but had also developed mental disorders. He said research showed anxiety disorders were more common among ADF members than the broader community, with soldiers suffering depressive disorders at twice the rate of all Australians. This is why we have a duty to support our brave service men and women and their families every step of the way, to help them through these tough times, and to offer them better access to the services they need, and importantly, when they need it.

This legislation is an important step towards that. It offers improved support to veterans and their families. From 1 July 2014, access to treatment under non-liability healthcare arrangements will be expanded to include diagnosed conditions of alcohol disorder and substance use disorder, regardless of whether the condition is service related. The eligibility for treatment under non-liability healthcare arrangements for members of the Defence Force with peacetime service only will also be expanded by removing the current cut-off date of 7 April 1994. This means that all those with at least three years continuous full-time peacetime service will now be eligible for non-liability healthcare for PTSD, anxiety and depressive disorders, as well as alcohol and substance use disorders. Members who discharge before completing three years of continuous full-time service may also be eligible where discharge is on the grounds of invalidity or physical or mental incapacity to perform duties.

Veterans and members who have been unsuccessful in previous liability claims may be able to access mental health treatment under the expanded non-liability healthcare initiative. This means that treatment for mental health conditions of PTSD, anxiety and depressive disorders, and alcohol and substance use disorders will be available without the need for the condition to be accepted as related to the member's service. The financial impact of the measures dealing with non-liability health care is just $14.6 million over four years. This is an important investment that should be made. It is a good investment of the taxpayers' money.

This legislation also enhances the operation of the Veterans' Review Board as well as making minor improvements to Veterans' Affairs services and administration. Mental health services for veterans, members and their families will be further improved through the expansion of the client groups eligible for counselling through the Veterans and Veterans Families Counselling Service—a service founded by Vietnam veterans. Established in 1982 to provide counselling services to Vietnam veterans, this organisation has helped Australian veterans of all conflicts and peacekeeping operations; partners; ex-partners; and dependent children of veterans and peacekeepers with issues arising from the veterans' service, and sons and daughters, regardless of age, of Vietnam veterans with issues relating to their parents' service.

Services are provided by qualified psychologists or social workers who have experience working with veterans, peacekeepers and their families. Services include a wide range of treatments and programs for war and service-related mental health conditions.

This bill will now help even more current and former members who have completed peacetime service to access this vital service. This includes those from border protection services, those who have served in an Australian or overseas disaster zone, members involved in training accidents, those who were medically discharged and submariners. Access to counselling services from VVCS will also be extended to partners and their dependent children, up to the age of 26, of these newly eligible groups, and to the partners, dependent children aged up to 26, and parents of members killed in service related incidents. The financial impact of this measure is likely to be $6.4 million over four years. Once again, I think it is an incredibly good investment for taxpayers to be making.

It is important that this bill supports the veterans' families. The anxiety and stress that family members suffer is all too real. I had a brother who served in Afghanistan twice. I saw the anxiety it caused my mother; it became quite debilitating for her. She was constantly concerned, upset and worried about my brother while he was over there. It certainly became quite difficult for her to manage. It really has an impact on families when they send their sons and daughters overseas.

We need to make sure that families are well looked after on all occasions. This bill also amends the Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 2004 to expand the circumstances under which an eligible young person is taken to be wholly dependent on a member to include those for whom the member is liable to pay child support.

This legislation also makes a technical amendment to the end date for a period of service in an operational area, particularly the territories of Malaysia, Brunei, Singapore and the waters adjacent to those countries. These are common-sense measures that will support the lives of our veterans and their families.

As I said, we should be very proud of the contribution of our veterans and incredibly grateful for how they have helped protect our nation and its interests. I think it is important to say that Labor has always had a proud legacy of looking after veterans and serving ADF personnel. I was very pleased that when we were in government we funded an additional $26.4 million over four years to expand access to mental health services for current and former members of the ADF and their families. We expanded eligibility for treatment of certain mental health conditions on a non-liability basis.

Labor had dedicated staff from the Department of Veterans' Affairs as part of its On Base Advisory Service, which operates in more than 35 Defence bases around Australia. This is very important because stigma plays a critical role as a barrier for people getting help. Time and time again, we have seen that the stigma associated with mental health has a significant impact on people, whether they are in the ADF or the general community. Stigma stops people from accessing health. It is important that services and contact people are taken to where those people that need it are, because that will help break down some of those barriers.

We have to continue to address the issue of stigma. That is why it is so important that we continue talking about the issue of mental health in our defence forces and send a signal, by providing extra services, that we understand that mental health issues can be a by-product of serving in the defence forces and that there is nothing wrong or embarrassing about getting those issues dealt with. In fact, I think a person who addresses mental issues and speaks out is braver.

I am very pleased to be supporting this bill, as is Labor. This is an important step in ensuring that we are serving those who have served us. I commend the bill to the House.

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