Amanda Rishworth (Kingston, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Veterans' Affairs) Share this | Hansard source

I am pleased to rise and speak on the Veterans' Affairs Legislation Amendment (Veteran-centric Reforms No. 2) Bill 2018. This bill contains several measures which will seek to improve the outcomes of those who have served in the Australian Defence Force and their loved ones. When an individual undertakes to serve their country, we in turn as a country make a commitment to them and their loved ones that we will support them post their time in the ADF. Labor will support the measures in this bill because it is a step towards recognising the obligation to care for those who have served our country.

In particular, Labor will support schedule 1, which recognises the importance of education and retraining post service, particularly for those whose service has had a greater impact on them. These changes will provide financial security to those who are on incapacity payments and are undertaking further study as part of their rehabilitation plan with the Department of Veterans' Affairs. Currently, payments reduce to 75 per cent after 45 weeks. This measure will maintain these payments at 100 per cent while a veteran is undertaking approved full-time study. This support will mean that these individuals can focus on their education, without worrying about finance. This is particularly important, I believe, when we consider that the veterans which this measure is likely to help are veterans who have had no choice but to leave the ADF due to illness or injury. Veterans tell me that the process of transition can be very jarring, and this is even more acute for those who have been medically discharged. This support will make a difference for those individuals and assist them to retrain and find meaningful employment post service.

I have to emphasise that finding and maintaining employment after a veteran leaves the ADF is important for so many reasons. Employment is not just about providing financial security; it is also about providing structure, a sense of purpose and belonging—all things that are very strong for serving members in the ADF but can disappear once a member is forced to leave. However, a number of veterans have told me that they don't immediately find a meaningful career post their time in the ADF. Best estimates cite that the total unemployment rate for veterans is approximately 30 per cent. It means that, of the 5,500 veterans who leave each year, 1,600 are without employment. In addition, another 19 per cent of veterans are underemployed in jobs beneath their capabilities and those who are employed experience an average drop of 30 per cent of their salaries.

Veterans do bring a huge range of skills and experience, but these figures show that these skills and experience are not always valued by civil society. Indeed, they are lost in translation. It is for this reason that Labor has committed to a $121 million veterans employment program if we are to be elected, a plan that has real money on the table to assist those coming out of the ADF move into meaningful civilian employment. This is not about charity. It is about ensuring that the wealth of skills and experience that a veteran has is not lost in translation into civilian life.

There are four elements of our employment program which will bring about changes that will help veterans move into meaningful employment. Firstly, we will provide eligible businesses with a training grant of up to $5,000 in order to help veterans gain the unique skills and experience they might need to fill a civilian post. While businesses say they're open to employing veterans, there can be a specific short-term skills gap or lack of specific civilian experience which can act as a barrier to employment for an otherwise suitable veteran applicant. For example, a veteran may be one unit shy of a certificate or fail to meet the minimum two years prior experience, meaning they won't get through the job and person tick and flick process and will be immediately discounted before going to interview. These $5,000 grants are designed to overcome this barrier. In addition, Labor will work with the industry advisory committee to develop and provide proper resources to a national campaign that will highlight the many benefits and transferrable skills of those leaving the ADF and encourage businesses to employ a veteran. This will be real resources and real money that will support the industry advisory committee to do this.

Secondly, we will establish an employment and transition service, which will provide greater individualised and tailored support to transitioning veterans over a longer period of time. This support will provide one-on-one support and advice to transitioning ADF personnel, including a comprehensive skills audit of skills obtained during their service, that will ensure appropriate civilian recognition is obtained. It will also address other barriers to successful transition and employment, such as secure housing and psychosocial support. Importantly, this service will continue to be available to those leaving the ADF for a period of five years. Speaking with veterans, I know that oftentimes individuals leave the ADF with a clear career plan or goal in mind, but it may not always work out. Therefore, we are proposing that the service provide proactive contact and support for the first 12 months and continues to be available over five years.

Thirdly, our plan will reduce the length of service required to access the higher levels of support in the career training assistance scheme. Our plan brings the qualifying period for extra education and training assistance down from the current requirement of 12 years of service to five years, and the top level of assistance down from 18 years to 15 years. In addition, we plan to increase the amount of funding available to individuals to allow greater flexibility in the way transitioning members use the funding, such as obtaining multiple qualifications to achieve their career goal.

Lastly, we will work with states and territories and peak industry bodies to identify opportunities for greater automatic recognition for many skills. For example, in Queensland the Queensland Tertiary Admissions Centre will recognise rank and length of service and automatically translate this into a university entrance rank, enabling a smoother process to access university for those leaving the ADF. This program enables those who perhaps hadn't considered further study before joining the forces, or entered the forces straight from school, an opportunity to engage in further study.

We believe the policy we are offering is very significant and certainly aligns itself with the change in schedule 1, which would provide greater financial security for those who may be undertaking study as part of their rehabilitation plan. But I must say that the policy that we've put on the table won't just be for those undertaking a rehabilitation plan; our employment policy will be open to every transitioning member of the ADF, and we believe this is a critically important piece of the puzzle. In terms of the schedule 1, which is in front of us today, I understand it is the intention that it will be available to those who are currently undertaking study as part of the rehabilitation plan, and it is expected to benefit approximately 150 people a year, providing them and their loved ones important financial security while they complete their study.

Schedule 2 of this bill will create a new suicide prevention pilot which will provide greater support to those who have been hospitalised after attempted suicide, have suicidal ideation or those that may have an increased risk of suicide because of mental health factors. I think the Senate inquiry that looked into this issue last year clearly identified that we must do more to assist those suffering poor mental health post their time in the ADF and those who have suicidal ideation. We must work to prevent suicide. We must work to prevent poor mental health. We must work to improve mental wellbeing in our ADF members.

We know from the recent Mental health prevalence and pathways to care report, which forms part of the Transition and Wellbeing Research Program, that just over 20 per cent of transitioning ADF members have experienced suicidal ideation, plans or attempts in the last 12 months. In addition, 28.9 per cent of those who had transitioned felt that their life was not worth living and 21.2 per cent had considered taking their own life. We view this in conjunction with the report by the Australia Institute of Health and Welfare which looked at the incidence of suicide in serving and ex-serving Australian Defence Force members. This report did find that ex-serving men, in particular—because that was the biggest sample size—have higher suicide rates than the general population. Of particular concern, the report identified that men who were no longer serving and were aged between 18 and 24 were twice as likely to die by suicide than men of the same age in the general population. In addition, men who were discharged involuntarily from the ADF were 2.4 times more likely to die than those who were discharged voluntarily. Those who were discharged for medical reasons were 3.6 times more likely to die by suicide than those who were discharged voluntarily. These statistics are deeply concerning. We need to do more to prevent these tragedies from occurring.

As a consequence, the government is undertaking a number of suicide prevention trials across Australia, and these have Labor's support. Two of these trials are being conducted by DVA and are a direct result of the recent Senate inquiry into suicide by veterans and ex-service personnel and a review of services available to veterans and members of the Australian Defence Force conducted by the Mental Health Commission. Labor is pleased to see the government implementing these recommendations from these important reports. The Senate inquiry, which Labor supported to establish, was particularly important in the process of enabling members of the ex-service community, veterans and their loved ones the opportunity to highlight issues they've experienced since leaving the ADF and how these have impacted on their health. The report made 24 recommendations in August. Since this time, Labor has been actively pursuing these recommendations with the government to ensure that they are implemented as soon as practical. We are pleased to see the latest suicide prevention pilot and encourage the government to maintain momentum to bring about the remaining reforms.

The Mental Health Commission also made a number of comments and recommendations in their review of services available to veterans and members of the Australian Defence Force. One of these involved implementing a better range of step-down services and support for veterans and current serving Defence personnel. The suicide prevention pilot aims to address this by providing services which take into account factors that may lead to suicide such as primary health, financial stress, housing and employment. It will provide intensive and assertive management services to support veterans after they've been discharged from hospital, which includes support to access other relevant government and non-government treatment services aiming to reduce the risk and improve outcomes of those involved. Labor is supportive of measures which seek to provide greater assistance to veterans, particularly those who are struggling post their time in the ADF. As such, we offer our full support to this measure.

Schedule 3 seeks to assist those who are recently widowed by providing them with additional time to make decisions about how they would like to receive compensation. It can be an extremely difficult and complicated time for individuals while they make a decision about their future after the death of a loved one. Currently, partners are given six months, and these changes will give them up to two years to make a decision on whether to receive compensation weekly or as a lump sum. We understand it was possible to extend the six-month deadline by applying to the Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Commission; however, that can be difficult, especially in a time of grief, and an extracomplicated process didn't seem necessary. This schedule will automatically set the decision period as two years. Should more time be required following this, there will still be the ability to apply to the commission. This issue has been raised by members of the ex-service community, and we are pleased to offer our support to this amendment.

Schedule 4 extends the eligibility of the Long Tan Bursary to grandchildren of Vietnam veterans. The Long Tan Bursary was established to help eligible children of Vietnam veterans meet the cost of post-secondary education. Named in honour of the Battle of Long Tan, arguably the best-known battle fought by Australians during the Vietnam War, the bursary provides 37 recipients with $12,000 per year over three years to assist them to cover costs such as enrolment, course fees and textbooks. There is no doubt that these bursaries provide valued assistance to those recipients, and this change will enable a wider group of individuals to access assistance. Previous recipients have expressed how much the bursary has meant to them, including a recent recipient who talked about how the assistance went beyond financial, saying:

This bursary meant a lot to me. It wasn't just the financial assistance but knowing someone cared and was sharing the journey.

While eligibility will be extended to grandchildren, children of Vietnam veterans continue to be prioritised. All other eligibility criteria still apply. Labor supports this measure, which recognises the sacrifice of our brave men in Vietnam and, importantly, that the effects of war are passed down through the generations. Regular research shows that children, grandchildren and partners of Vietnam veterans have also been affected by their service. This is an important acknowledgement that war affects not only veterans but also their children and grandchildren.

Schedule 5 makes a provision to ensure that a submariner who has served in a special submarine operation between 1 January 1978 and 31 December 1992 is deemed to have operational service for time served on a submarine during this period. This will simplify the support available to these individuals who served during the period and have a claim with the Department of Veterans' Affairs. We are supportive of this measure, which will formally recognise the service that these individuals undertook.

Schedule 6 is designed to simplify the process for veterans applying for compensation under the Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Act. Under this act a claim for compensation is distinct from a claim for liability. While it is claimed concurrently in many cases, sometimes a member will make a liability claim without seeking compensation. During the liability process a client undertakes a needs assessment. Sometimes during this process veterans will indicate that they are seeking compensation as well. Under these changes the statement will automatically be viewed as an application.

I'm supportive of any process which improves the experience of veterans and saves them additional paperwork; however, I would like it noted publicly that I have raised some concerns about the needs assessment and have given feedback to the department directly from advocates and veterans who feel the needs assessment currently undertaken is not adequately understood by veterans and will affect their rehabilitation and potentially their compensation process. Advocates have told me they've experienced circumstances where a veteran is filling out the needs assessment on the Department of Veterans' Affairs website and hasn't understood that this is directly linked to their claim. Many of our veterans, very proud people who have pushed through despite their injuries, haven't understood that, if they say—this is one of the examples I've been given—they're able to mow the lawn, that could affect how their injury rehabilitation is viewed and what support they will get. Of course, that veteran who can mow the lawn doesn't mention on the needs assessment that when they do it they then end up in bed for the next two days because of the pain they actually experience.

I have raised the deep concerns that advocates have raised around the veterans' understanding of that lifestyle assessment, which is up front and one of the first things that they do. It needs to be clearly identified that this is part of the rehabilitation process and that what they say could well affect their claim down the track, the ability to have the department seen as liable, and the support and services that they get. This is really important because advocates have told me that, often when they go through a second time on that needs assessment and actually question the veteran, they find out that their needs are much higher than what were immediately identified. The advocates tell me that the trouble is that they can't go back and amend it, and then it becomes incredibly adversarial with them saying, 'They did say that they could mow the lawn, but they end up in significant pain and actually do need assistance in the long term.'

I'm pleased that I've had an undertaking by the Department of Veterans' Affairs that they will look into this and seriously consider better identifying the context in which the needs assessment is made, ensuring that the veteran understands that this is part of their claims process and it is important that they properly reflect their limitations so that they can get the best support necessary. I really think this is critically important. In saying this, my concerns around the lifestyle assessment and the needs assessment will not stop Labor supporting this schedule, because we need to make sure that people understand that they can make a compensation claim at any time.

The issues with the claims process in the Department of Veterans' Affairs have been canvassed significantly through the Senate inquiry and, indeed, in the forums that I've been holding around Australia. Overwhelmingly, the feedback I've received is that the process for putting in claims can be lengthy and overly complicated. I do acknowledge that the Department of Veterans' Affairs is working to try to minimise that, but there is a long way to go. As such, Labor is supportive of this schedule, which will be a small step in improving the ability of the veteran to claim in an expeditious manner.

Finally, in conclusion, I think this bill is a step in the right direction to provide greater assistance for veterans and to smooth the process. For this reason, Labor do offer our support. As I said at the beginning, we as policymakers have an obligation to ensure that the policies and processes of government continue to support an individual, particularly one who has served our country. Therefore, I commend the bill to the House.

See this speech in context