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

Today I rise to speak on the Veterans'’ Affairs Legislation Amendment (Omnibus) Bill 2018. This bill is designed to streamline several internal processes which will assist both the Department of Veterans' Affairs and individual veterans in accessing entitlements. Of course, Labor is always supportive of improvements which make it easier for veterans to interact with the department, and of changes which improve the timeliness of claims. When it comes to delivering public services and public goods, we need to constantly look at how we can improve the experience of those we seek to serve. When I talk with veterans around this country, what I hear is that many veterans, especially those who have been clients of the Department of Veterans' Affairs for some time, are very happy with the service that is provided. But it's clear that, for some of the veterans trying to put in a claim or be part of the new system, it is not always easy. They find it difficult at times. Anything that we can do to make this process easier for them is critically important.

The need to focus on continuous improvement has been highlighted by a recent report by the Australian National Audit Office: Efficiency of veterans service delivery by the Department of Veterans’ Affairs. This report, released in June, highlighted a number of concerns about the Department of Veterans Affairs' processing times. The report found that veterans are still facing, in some cases, excessive wait times and inefficient service from the department. In addition, the report determined that, while the majority of services is delivered within time frames, a minority of claims still takes an excessively long period to process, due to inefficient handling by the department. I really want to be clear: the report found that it is not the veterans' or the advocates' errors in not providing information; the report found that systems within the department could be improved to reduce the wait time for veterans.

The ANAO report observed that one claim was effectively lost for 183 days between its registration and its assignment to the relevant processing area, and it wasn't detected by the department. This means that for six months the claim wasn't processed and for six months a veteran waited for a response to their application for support, and the application wasn't even being assessed. Sadly, this wasn't picked up by government processes or by the department, meaning that the ANAO had not recognised that it had not been reviewed and did not know how long it would have taken for this to be noticed. There was another case highlighted by the ANAO which detailed a situation where a claim took an extra 148 days longer to process because of inactivity in the department.

These are issues we need to seek to address. I recognise the work by the department to address some of these issues and the effort that is going into ensuring they are addressed. But we must not take our eye off the ball. Our veterans absolutely deserve world-class care and support. Continuous improvement is critical. The parliament, the government and the department must continue to focus on continuous improvement to ensure that every veteran is able to get their claim processed in a timely manner and that there are not hold-ups as a result of inefficient or ineffective systems within the department.

This bill is a small step but a step towards improving the experience of veterans. Schedule 1 of this bill is designed to enable the Chief of the Defence Force to make a claim for liability on behalf of current serving ADF members where they have given their consent. Currently, a person affected by injury or disease must make a claim; however, in some circumstances, a claim can be made by another person on their behalf. This amendment will provide another avenue for claiming, which may streamline the claims process and, in some instances, potentially facilitate earlier acceptance of liability.

In addition, schedule 1 has the potential to be beneficial to veterans seeking services some time after injury or disease, with a claim having been established at the time of injury or disease. Labor certainly supports this, with the caveat that obviously the consent of the veteran for the CDF to make a claim on their behalf is very important. We have certainly been assured that this is the case. I can see circumstances, particularly in the area of catastrophic injury, where this could facilitate a speedy claims process in which an ADF member is able to get very timely acceptance of their claim.

The second schedule would align the information-obtaining powers under the Safety Rehabilitation and Compensation Act with the Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Act, enabling the Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Commission to request information from third parties and impose penalties if it is delayed. This is important because, under these changes, if the commission requires information from, for example, a bank which a client can no longer access, this provision would enable the commission to request this information directly from the bank. Labor is supportive of this measure because we believe it will improve the timeliness of claims. Often, if a client, a veteran, cannot get information from the relevant third party, then their claim is held up. Of course, that is not the fault of the veteran and it is not the fault of the Department of Veterans' Affairs but it has an impact nonetheless. So anything which, as I said, improves or streamlines the claims process—that is not a detriment to the veteran, that can ensure that a claim is either accepted or that incapacity payments or other such payments can be assessed in a timely manner—is critically important.

The final schedule in this bill will ensure that lump sum determinations made by the Department of Social Services will apply as exempt lump sums for income tests for DVA income support clients, where the determination is consistent with DVA legislation and policies. As a good example, this looks at such payments that veterans may receive under the new National Redress Scheme or under drought assistance payments. Currently, if a new lump sum payment like drought assistance comes online and the Department of Social Services lodges an instrument to exempt it from income testing, the Department of Veterans' Affairs is required to implement a separate yet identical instrument to the parliament to exempt the lump sum payment from income testing for DVA clients. This change makes sense and ensures that there are no administrative errors that would lead to Department of Veterans' Affairs clients not being exempt. This will automatically connect that exemption to the Department of Veterans' Affairs and will mean that only one instrument will need to be lodged—by the Department of Social Services. The Department of Veterans' Affairs will be able to make exemptions where appropriate, but veterans will not have to wait for DVA to lodge an instrument to gain the benefit of an exemption.

I think it's important to recognise the point that I just made—that this will not exclude the Department of Veterans' Affairs from making its own exemptions. There could well be circumstances that are unique to veterans when it comes to lump sum payments, and those lump sum payments should rightly be exempt from income support payments such as the service pension. Therefore it is important that the Department of Veterans' Affairs still have the ability to introduce an instrument that would make those exemptions; this just makes sense when it comes to more general exemptions that are applicable to both the Department of Social Services and the Department of Veterans' Affairs. This is a pretty logical change and it probably doesn't have much practical effect except to perhaps reduce the need to introduce an identical instrument into the parliament and probably to alleviate any confusion—not that there have been any examples of that confusion, but there may be in the future. Given that those changes are pretty logical, we support the bill.

We do think that we must continually be working to send a clear message to our veterans that we value their service and that we are on their side. Anything that seeks to improve the processes within the Department of Veterans' Affairs, even if they be small and practical processes, is an important part of sending the message: we value the service that you've given to the country and we continue to value it. That is an important message that the parliament can give and indeed the community can give when it comes to valuing our veterans, and that is partly why Labor, from opposition—though we understand the government has some intent to do this—wants to see the signing of a military covenant if elected. We envisage that a covenant would formalise and make explicit that promise that I was talking about, a promise that's long been implicit—the commitment that we will look after those who are serving or have served and their loved ones. Our serving men and women deserve to know in no uncertain terms that we value their service and will look after them.

Labor has announced that we will work with the Australian Defence Force, the Department of Veterans' Affairs and ex-service organisations to develop relevant wording for the covenant, based on the United Kingdom model, that will be signed by the Chief of the Defence Force and the Prime Minister of the day. As I said, similar to the nature of the United Kingdom's Armed Forces Covenant, our military covenant will be accompanied by legislation which will ensure regular reporting to the parliament on how we are meeting our commitment to those who have served. The accompanying legislation is an important component as it introduces an accountability measure that is critical for this parliament and subsequent parliaments to have. It provides an opportunity to reflect on a regular basis on the range of services and supports available and whether we are meeting expectations but also, importantly, to identify emerging issues for our veterans community that may not have been present or may not have been as critical five, 10 or 20 years ago. While a covenant won't address all the issues, it will act as a guiding principle, and accompanying legislation will add, as I said, to the important accountability measure. Members of the ex-service community have been calling for a covenant for some time, and they have that support from Labor.

As I said at the beginning, we do support this bill. Any steps to ensure that veterans have a smooth and streamlined process, where they get the support they need and when they need it, is critical to ensuring that we send the message, 'We value your service, we continue to value your service and we will continue to support you in the years to come.' I commend the bill to the House.

Bert Van Manen (Forde, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It is with great pleasure that I rise to speak today on the Veterans' Affairs Legislation Amendment (Omnibus) Bill 2018. As I think the member for Kingston has rightly pointed out, all of us in this House have great regard and deep admiration for the service of our veterans to this country over more than the past 100 years.

I would like to take this opportunity also to commend my colleague, the Minister for Veterans' Affairs, Darren Chester, for the work that he's continuing to undertake to ensure that our veterans, and their relationships with the Department of Veterans' Affairs, are the best they could be. This will ensure that our veterans get the services, support and, importantly, the access to the compensation they so rightly deserve.

In my local electorate of Forde I have a great number of ex-service organisations which provide tremendous support and assistance to the veteran and ex-service community. It's important that they do so, because these people do need support. Every year across the nation, at services for both Anzac Day and Remembrance Day—and at other events—we see their service to our country marked. I would like to acknowledge the work of the Beenleigh RSL, the Greenbank RSL and North Gold Coast RSL Sub-Branch for the time and effort that they give to engage with and support our local veteran and ex-service communities. The work that they do to support people, sometimes in very difficult circumstances, cannot be underestimated, and I want to commend them for their work. There are people like Alan Hendy, who has for many years been a veterans' advocate at the Beenleigh RSL in particular. He is a regular correspondent to me, and is always more than happy to share with me the issues that they are having with the department on various matters. I appreciate the fact that he takes the time to represent his community to me so that I have the opportunity to represent their concerns to my colleagues here.

As we recognise our veterans' service, the importance of this bill is that it's aimed at improving the outcomes not only for our veterans and ex-service men and women but also those serving today. It's designed to ensure that essential services are available to them when they need them most. The proposed reforms seek to achieve several things, with the focus on streamlining the claims process and providing veterans with certainty about their entitlements.

At present, a serving member who sustains an injury or illness in service may make a claim with the Department of Veterans' Affairs. This bill contains three schedules which introduce several new initiatives to improve the efficiency of the claims process, making it simpler and easier—to truly make a difference to the lives of our veterans and their families. It also aims to increase the availability of information to the Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Commission in order to make a determination on claims, streamlining the DSS and DVA approaches to exempting certain payments from the income test.

This bill makes it easier for incidents and injuries to be reported to the Department of Veterans' Affairs at the time of the injury by enabling the Chief of the Defence Force to make a claim for compensation on behalf of the serving member, improving the information the DVA holds and enhancing the ability to analyse future trends and conditions in service to further streamline the claims process.

I know from the discussions I have had with Alan and others at my local RSL organisations that this particular issue is one of the great causes of angst and concern for veterans, in that if they have suffered an injury or illness during their service the transfer of those records from the military to the DVA has not been efficient or timely. If they are chasing around for records it can actually take a significant period of time, and that delays the capacity of the veteran to receive the compensation or support that is rightly due to them. This provision, importantly, helps the department address time-sensitive cases involving serious injury or disease, where the CDF can step in and exercise their power to lodge a claim on behalf of a member who has a reduced capacity to do so themselves.

As I've just outlined, one of the obstacles in determining claims has been establishing that the contributing incident actually happened, especially where a claim is first lodged many years after an injury. There's already in place a system for the DVA to seek records from Defence, but, as I've just said, this can take time and can be very frustrating for the veteran involved. I see this as one of the most important aspects of this bill, in that the transfer of records will occur in a much more timely and efficient manner, so that if a veteran does have to make a claim, or an ex-service person does have to make a claim in future, DVA should already have those records. Because those records are created at the time of the incident or the illness, they'll have much more clarity, and it will be much easier for DVA to make a quick decision to ensure that the support and/or compensation that is due to the veteran is paid in a timely manner. The amendments will also improve the DVA's ability to request information, enabling claims to be determined in the quickest possible time. It's important to note that the privacy rights of individual DVA clients will not be impacted or altered by this measure.

The last schedule of the bill will amend the Veterans' Entitlements Act 1986 to allow certain exempt lump sum determinations made by the secretary of the Department of Social Services to apply to DVA income support clients when applying the income test. Currently, the commission often implements separate yet identical exempt lump sum determinations for payments that have already been exempted under the Social Security Act by the secretary of the Department of Social Services. Currently some lump sums received by people on Commonwealth income support payments are exempt from the income test for income support payments. The Veterans' Entitlements Act and the Social Security Act have identical provisions allowing for these exemptions. Again, this is a commonsense measure which simplifies the ability of the department to make these exemptions or recognise exemptions that are already in place without having to make a separate determination. This, again, is designed to make the process easier for veterans, which is what we should always be looking to do. It will mean that the DVA can rely on an exemption made under the Social Security Act, rather than having to make their own separate identical determination. The current practice of redrafting and registering identical lump sum exemptions is an unnecessary regulatory burden on the DVA that this bill seeks to remove.

I know all in this place support and recognise the service of our veterans. The value of this bill is that it goes a little bit further towards ensuring that our veterans get the support and services they need. With DVA undertaking reforms to improve the efficiency of claims for veterans and their families, it's important that across this chamber we support their work with the amendments to the law necessary to make a real difference to the lives of thousands of Australian veterans and ex-service men and women. I believe this bill provides some important changes that better support the DVA to ensure that, in a timely and efficient manner, they take care of and provide support to our veterans and ex-service men and women.

In concluding my remarks, I want again to thank those men and women who have served our country so wonderfully over so many years. I commend the bill to the House.

Rob Mitchell (McEwen, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to speak about the Veterans' Affairs Legislation Amendment (Omnibus) Bill 2018, which proposes three schedules that will assist DVA internally in giving veterans their entitlements. We are talking about the men and women who have put on Defence Force uniforms to protect our nation—people who have been prepared to put their lives on the line for this country for our benefit, so that we can have the freedoms and the lifestyle that we enjoy. So I think it is more than critical for us to ensure that we give them the support and help that they need and that we welcome them back to society and give them every opportunity to get back into everyday society and have a fulfilling life after they have returned.

In McEwen, we're no strangers to veterans. We have a very strong sense of military history through places like Puckapunyal, Light Horse Memorial Park and the wonderful Vietnam Veterans Commemorative Walk, which a group of veterans got together with us to build. It is a magnificent structure and it's a magnificent place for Vietnam veterans. The key part of it is that it was built by veterans for veterans and their families. It doesn't matter what day of the week or what time of day you go past; there is always someone there looking at the 62,100 names that are on the DigiGlass walls. Many of those veterans returned to our area to spend the rest of their life. There are some 5,800 veterans in McEwen alone. They are out there working in all different facets of our community. Whether it be in the CFA or whether it be in shops, farming or whatever, they are out there contributing very strongly to our community. In seeking the support and services that they deserve, they shouldn't be put through a lengthy and complicated claims process. We should be making it easier for veterans and their families to access what they need, rather than making them jump through hoops and rather than duplicating red tape.

That is why we on this side of the chamber support this bill. It makes changes to streamline the claims process and removes some of the red tape that veterans currently face. The bill doesn't fix every issue in the claims process—not by a long shot—but we're pleased to see measures being taken to improve outcomes for currently serving members, veterans and their families.

I particularly want to note the member for Kingston's dedication and hard work over her time as shadow minister in supporting veterans, particularly in facing the challenges of a government in chaos. She has had to deal with three different ministers this year. I know that's a problem, because veterans themselves tell me that when they've tried to contact the minister they find suddenly the minister's changed and everything seems to have been forgotten. It's not right and it's not fair.

Schedule 1 of the bill will help facilitate earlier acceptance of liability by allowing the CDF, the Chief of the Defence Force, to make a claim for liability for any serving ADF member who has consented to the CDF doing that on their behalf. What does that mean? It means that the person affected by the service injury or disease will no longer be the only person in a position to make that claim, particularly if they're incapacitated or have other issues.

Schedule 2 of the bill would align the powers of the Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Commission to obtain the information they need to process claims from an array of departments under the Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 1988. The commission can already require information from the Department of Defence and DVA and the CDF, but these proposed changes would mean that the MRCC could require information from any Commonwealth, state or territory department—say, from the Australian Taxation Office or Centrelink or Medicare. Again, this is an example of the critical streamlining improvements that this bill proposes for veterans' claim processes.

The third schedule of the bill would make sure that the lump sum determinations made by the secretary of DSS will apply as exempt lump sums from the income test that applies to DVA income support clients—so, like lump sum payments under the National Redress Scheme or drought assistance, for example. As it stands, the commission implements separate yet identical lump sum determinations for payments that have already been exempted by the DSS. At the moment, this places more burdens on DVA which could easily be removed by improving consistency between the departments—between DSS and DVA income support. So DVA will still be able to make the exemptions where appropriate, but it's a necessary measure in removing some of the bureaucratic hurdles that have arisen where DSS has already granted an exemption. This will mean that veterans won't have to wait for DVA to make an instrument in order to gain benefit from the lump sum exemptions. We strongly support preventing unnecessary delays with the creation of additional instruments in order to improve access to integral services for our veterans and their families.

There are many things that we have seen with veterans, and I think you've just got to spend time with them to realise just what great people they are. I think about people who we see across our community. At the moment, we are currently dealing with Matthew Blunt, a disabled veteran who is in the Invictus Games, who is getting absolutely screwed over by the RACV not paying out on an insurance claim. Matthew is dealing with trying to be the best that he can as an athlete and trying to be the best that he can as a person—he's dealing with these issues—and the RACV have flatly rejected to support this bloke by doing the right thing and fixing his house when it should be done. This complicates things. This puts pressure on people. Matthew hasn't got a kitchen or a lounge room in his house because the ceiling has fallen down; yet the RACV refuses to support him.

I think of people like Ian Goss, a Nashos vet, who got together with a few mates who wanted to have the Nashos be part of the whole Anzac experience. Through the work of Ian, the local Nashos are getting together and keeping veterans in our community engaged—going out there, talking to them, helping them, bringing them in and giving them opportunities. Through the work of Gossie, Sunbury now has a dawn service—a very moving and powerful ceremony that has been run by Nashos for the wider community and is one of the great drawcards that we have locally.

We have people like Keith Murphy. Sadly for Keith, he's going to be moved into the seat of Nicholls, and he accepts that he's not going to get the great support that he has now. But hopefully Drummie will look after him. Keith's a top bloke. Keith's the kind of bloke who goes out and garnishes support; where we find veterans' graves in disrepair, Keith goes out and gets the businesses and the people behind to help. They help because the Commonwealth graves guidelines are, frankly, rubbish. For people who died from injuries, if you can't 100 per cent say that that happened during the war, you can't get a Commonwealth war grave. These are people who had come back with injuries.

I think of Private Herbert Speirs, whose grave we did last week. Private Speirs was on the Western Front in the First World War. He was buried under rubble for three days. When he came back from war, he suffered with lung and stomach issues. He can't get a Commonwealth war grave. But the good people of Seymour—the people you'd better look after, because we love them—got together gardening services, engravers, the RSL and my great friend the padre, Don Kaus, and we rededicated that grave to give Private Speirs a grave that befits someone who served his country.

Of course the Vietnam veterans, the Mitchell sub-branch of the Vietnam Veterans Association of Australia—I don't know what you say about the Rosses and Hanks of the world—are all great people who built the magnificent Vietnam Veterans Commemorative Walk. It is the place, as I said, where veterans go, where their families go and where they can be together and have a commemoration of the 62,100 people who went to Vietnam. But they're not finished. They're preparing now. We've got to do one for Korea. We've got to do one for our Middle East veterans. These guys are bringing our younger Middle East veterans, who we are seeing more and more in our community, who have been disengaged, together to help.

One thing I'm very proud of is my friend Des Callaghan. He is now the vice-president of RSL Victoria. Des was a local councillor, but he's one of the first on the phone. When you ring him and say, 'Mate, I've just spoken to a veteran; they're having a lot of problems,' Des is on the phone straightaway. He's into it. He gets in there and he helps them. He delivers.

These are just a handful of the people that we get the pleasure of dealing with. Doug Bishop in Sunbury is secretary of the RAR Association. Doug has introduced me to a lot of people and given a lot of support for working with veterans to help them.

I know that these people are going to welcome this bill if it makes it easier for veterans to get the support they need where they need it and when they need it. That's the important thing.

As I said, this doesn't go a long way to fixing everything, but it is a good, positive step forward. And that's why when we look—I mentioned the member for Kingston for her absolute dedication to our veterans—at the policies Labor is putting forward, one is a clear agreement between government and the military, not lip-service but a clear agreement that says: 'You served for us. We will be there to help you.' It's not lip-service. It's not wrapping ourselves in the flag. It's standing there and saying, 'When you have to go and have a cup of tea with someone, when they need the help and the support, the government will be there because you were there for Australia.'

I'm always proud to support our veterans, and I'm proud to stand with Labor, who will always support measures that improve the processes for veterans and their families. We can never forget their families. For that reason, I support this bill, and I want to see more being done to give back to those who sacrificed so much for our nation and have come back and suffered. We as a collective have a responsibility to look after them and to make sure that we repay them for what they've done for us.

Damian Drum (Murray, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I acknowledge the previous speaker for the work that he's been doing in that Seymour-Puckapunyal area through his parliamentary term, because of the enormity of the role that that area plays within our veterans community but also in our current serving community as well. Everybody who has been in the service at one stage or other would have spent some time at Puckapunyal, and anybody who has had anything to do with Vietnam would have taken the time to go off the Hume Highway and visit the amazing wall that has been built in the last few years. It's fantastic asset to the Vietnam veterans and their legacy.

I think I must have been about seven or eight when my cousin stood on the railway station at Euroa and headed off to Vietnam. I thought, when I saw the wall there, I'd go and find his name. I looked through the Army and the hundreds and hundreds of people who were in the Army and I couldn't find him, so I thought he must have been in the Air Force. I went and had a look at the Air Force, and I couldn't see his name there. I went to the Navy. I still couldn't find this John Drum anywhere. It wasn't until I actually got on the phone and said, 'Mate, they've left your name off the Vietnam wall,' that he said to me that he served in Malaysia, so he actually was in a different conflict altogether. If you talk to any of the Vietnam veterans, they know exactly where that wall is. They have all been there, they have taken their families there and they are incredibly proud of the way that community has acknowledged them.

This bill puts the veterans at the top of the list. We're looking at ways we can make it easier for them to show the commitment the government has to helping them with their needs later in life. This bill has been designed to help improve the outcomes not only for serving Australian Defence Force members but also for veterans and their families and will ensure that the essential services are available to veterans when they need them. The bill will extend claim avenues to include the Chief of the Defence Force. It's also going to resolve veterans' claims more quickly by strengthening the ability of the Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Commission to obtain information from third parties where applicable and by expediting lump sum exemptions for veterans by simplifying DVA and Department of Human Services processes.

Schedule 1 of the bill amends the Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 2004 to enable the Chief of the Defence Force to make a claim for liability on behalf of a current serving Australian Defence Force member, where the member suffers a service injury or disease and agrees to the Chief of the Defence Force or his delegate making the claim. This amendment will provide an alternative way a claim for a liability may be made. At the moment, there is an obstacle to establishing the claim that a contributing incident actually happened as part of a claimant's ADF service, especially where a claim is first lodged many years after the injury. This measure is aimed at making it easier for incidents and injuries to be reported to DVA at the time of the injury. Receiving claims for conditions and injuries at the time of the injury will improve both the information DVA holds and its ability to analyse future trends and future needs in the conditions and service to follow, streamlining the claims process at a later date. Veterans will benefit by having future claims for diseases and conditions that manifest well after the service and those claims are going to be more easily accepted.

Schedule 2 of the bill will enable the Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Commission to obtain information in determining a claim for compensation under the Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation (Defence-related Claims) Act 1988. Veterans can be adversely affected when information critical to their claim is not provided by third parties. These provisions in this bill are going to enable these veterans and their families to have easier access to that third-party data and that will also likely help with these compensation claims. DVA can currently request information from a third party using powers under the Veterans' Entitlements Act 1988 and the Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 2004. They can do that now to assist with gathering material to determine claims. But these powers are going to be particularly useful when requesting information from third parties, potentially banks, where the claimant does not have easy access to that information. The privacy rights of individual DVA clients will not be impacted or altered in any way by this measure—that's also a very important part. This change is going to hopefully streamline the claims process, providing veterans with certainty about their entitlements much more quickly.

Schedule 3 is going to improve administrative practices in the Department of Veterans' Affairs concerning income support clients and the exempting of certain lump sum payments from the income test. Currently, some lump sums received by people on Commonwealth income support payments are exempted from the income test for income support payments. The Veterans' Entitlements Act 1986 and the Social Security Act 1991 have identical provisions allowing for these exemptions. So, currently, for a lump sum to be exempt a determination has to be made by both departments separately in respect of these same exemptions. This amendment will streamline the administrative process, which means DVA can rely on the exemptions made under the Social Security Act rather than having to make a separate identical determination. The current practice of redrafting and registering identical lump-sum-exemption determinations is an unnecessary regulatory burden on DVA, and it is just good common-sense that we would have one test cater for both processes. This amendment is also likely to remove any risk that a gap in time would exist between the two areas.

Last week I had the opportunity to visit Afghanistan. It was an amazing experience to be thrown into the Australian Defence Force Parliamentary Program. It certainly was an eye-opener for myself and Justine Keay, who was also on that trip. When I was in the state parliament many years ago—well, not that many years ago—I had a term as Minister for Veterans' Affairs. The role of the state Minister for Veterans' Affairs is relatively narrow: effectively, we look after the memorial services and the memorials, and we also look after the commemorative events. Everything else within the DVA portfolio rests with the federal government.

But, in this state role, I was able to work closely with the RSL in looking at some of the projects they were desperate to fund. We were able to partner with the RSL to build a special facility for veterans struggling in the medium to short term—anywhere from two or three weeks when they would need to come to Melbourne to escape their current environment. That might mean coming as an individual, coming to the city and into the apartments we built. We built those in the Richmond area, near the banks of the Yarra River, to enable these returned soldiers—these veterans—to receive the treatment they needed. We even built one apartment that was able to cater for an entire family in the event that a veteran would best be served in this recovery period by having their family with them.

It gave me and those in the RSL a great insight into the types of different services that all our veterans require from time to time. No one veteran is the same. People often refer to all of our veterans in one category, but there couldn't be anything further from the truth; and it's irrespective of where they served. For instance, many of our Vietnam veterans who went overseas came back and didn't miss a beat. They didn't miss a day of work and haven't had an issue with their relationships. And we have people who have had their whole lives turned upside down by their experiences in Vietnam. The trauma that they've brought home with them, the trauma that they experienced in Vietnam, has impacted on nearly every aspect of their lives. And we have everywhere between those two extremes.

We must be very cognisant of the fact that there is no specific military veteran who can actually be pigeonholed into one category of having any type of issue: PTSD, depression or anxiety. Everybody is entirely different, every case is totally different and every case needs to be treated for those different variations. That is why, effectively, this bill is going to create that opportunity for these claims to be less impactful and to be processed in a quicker manner.

I also want to touch quickly on what I was able to experience last week. Many of our amazing currently serving members of the ADF are married, with family back home. I don't know why I'm saying this, but I was staggered by the calibre of the troops. Never before have I been put into a cohort of such intelligent, respectful, humble, well-trained and great-conditioned people who were able to have such incredible strength and resilience. The heat at the airbase where we stayed in the Middle East is around 40 to 42 degrees each day. When we mentioned how hot it was, they said, 'No, at the moment it's quite nice.' Two months ago, it was in the low fifties and their shoes were starting to stick to the roads as they were doing their daily drills. Their ability to be so disciplined and their ability to apply themselves to given tasks was quite staggering, and yet they were amazingly open and humble troops.

They certainly have an enormous role over there on our behalf and we need to be incredibly respectful of them. It gives me, and it should give everybody in the House, the sense that we are doing our role to make it easier for them, because they're doing their role for us now over there. When they come back and they need help, we should be able to look them in the eye and say, 'We're doing everything we can to put in place a process that will give you the support and the resources you need so that you can live the rest of your life to the absolute maximum of your capabilities.' As I said earlier, all those abilities are going to be completely different.

We should look after our veterans for no other reason than their ability to consume all of the acronyms that they do. When you spend any time in the ADF, you learn a different language. They have acronym after acronym. It's a different language that people in the defence forces understand. Each of the forces is a little bit different in relation to their acronyms. The Navy is different to the Air Force, which is different to the Army. The first thing you realise is that they all speak a different language and, the sooner you understand the acronym soup that they serve up each day, the easier you will understand what everyone is saying about you!

I also want to touch on a dear friend of mine, Barry Gracey. Barry is President of the Pozieres Remembrance Association. He is trying to push the impact that Pozieres had on our society and on our war history. We tend to commemorate the Western Front by Villers-Bretonneux and the Sir John Monash Centre that we built over there, which is fantastic, but at Pozieres we lost over 7,000 young Australians. Four thousand of them were so badly blown up that we weren't able to retrieve their bodies to put into the war graves; they still lie in the fields of Pozieres. I think 23 July should be well and truly established as Pozieres Day here in Australia. We need to look after the township of Pozieres the best way we can.

Cathy O'Toole (Herbert, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I am both honoured and proud to stand in this place to represent the largest garrison city in the nation. I represent the brave men and women who give or have given selflessly of their lives to ensure that we live in one of the greatest democracies in the world. I also pay my respect to their families, who make great sacrifices whilst their loved ones are serving either at home or overseas.

I have spoken on every piece of veterans legislation that has been raised in this place since I was elected in 2016. In my first speech in this place, I made a commitment to the ADF members, veterans and their families in my electorate that I would stand up and fight for them in this place at every possible opportunity because they deserve no less. ADF members sign up to serve our country and they fight for us and for our freedom. It is my job to be the someone fighting in their corner and supporting them. I have made no secret about the fact that I am honoured and proud to represent the largest garrison city in this country, as I have said many times. I take my support for the defence communities beyond the confines of veterans bills in Canberra. I am continuously working in my electorate of Herbert with serving personnel, veterans and their families.

We have collectively formed a highly active and successful collaborative relationship. This ensures that my voice in Canberra is articulating the right message—that is, the message that reflects their needs. That is why I created the Townsville Defence Community Reference Group, the first of its kind in Australia. The reference group includes currently serving and ex-serving personnel, veterans, ESOs, family representatives and other relevant stakeholders. This approach enables me to determine what they want. This is their opportunity to make a valuable contribution to policy development rather than simply be told what the government wants to tell them.

My work with the reference group has significantly supported the formation and work of Operation Compass. Operation Compass is the name given to the veterans and families suicide prevention trial funded by the Northern Queensland Primary Health Network. I would like to take the time to congratulate Operation Compass and the team, the Northern Queensland PHN and the steering committee for the amazing work that they have been doing in Townsville to address veteran suicide prevention. I particularly want to acknowledge the hard work of retired Colonel Ray Martin, the project manager; Therese Cotter, Northern Queensland PHN regional manager; retired Lieutenant General John Caligari, the chair of the steering committee; and Padre Brooks, the padre at Lavarack Barracks; and the other many hardworking members of the steering committee. Operation Compass is achieving national recognition as one of the outstanding 12 suicide trials across the nation. The Operation Compass team have gone above and beyond the norm of their work of identifying suicide prevention strategies. The Operation Compass team, in collaboration with the steering committee, have a vision of 'going beyond keeping the black dog away'. They want to keep it out of the house and out of Townsville.

Last week Operation Compass awarded their first small grants to 10 community organisations that will provide support for veterans and families to reduce suicide. These are 10 fantastic local organisations, all with new and innovative ideas and strategies to support veterans young and old, male and female, and their families. The work of Operation Compass does not stop there. During the Christmas period, in order to acknowledge that this is a very tough time for some, they are launching the campaign, Check Your Mate. It is an excellent initiative, especially in the Christmas period, when many people are feeling isolated and lonely.

The Christmas season is also a difficult time for the men and women who are serving overseas and for their families. It must be very difficult to be away from your family and loved ones at this time of year. That is why last week I launched my annual deployed soldiers appeal. This is an opportunity for the wider Townsville community to donate non-perishable items that can be packaged up and sent to the men and women who are serving overseas. Although this might be a small token, it is nonetheless a token that lets our deployed ADF members know that the people of Townsville are thinking of them and thank them for their service. It is important that we recognise and value the commitment of those men and women deployed overseas. Whilst we are lucky enough to be at home with our families on Christmas Day, eating prawns and turkey and opening presents, we are able to do so freely and without fear because of their commitment.

Representing our ADF personnel is not about a one-day-a-year job. It is about every day. Those in this place must think about their impact on veterans beyond a bill that may be titled 'veterans' or 'Defence'. Bills and policies regarding health and education also have an impact on our ADF communities because they are embedded in our broader communities. ADF members make a significant social and economic contribution to the electorate of Herbert. Their children go to preschool, school, TAFE and/or university. They and their families use our health services.

I wonder if this LNP government even thinks about that when they are making policy. It appears that this government has no understanding about how the Medicare freeze has meant that doctors are unable to afford to see veterans without a co-payment and, as a result, veterans are either choosing not to see a doctor or specialist or are being turned away. They have no understanding of the impact of cutting funding to schools or the individual attention and support a child may need when his or her mother or father is away on tour in Afghanistan, for example. Reducing teachers, teacher aides and other supports is not the answer to helping these children, or any other children for that matter. It's about making sure that every bill is considered in the context of the impact on our ADF and veteran community. We must ensure that our veterans and their families have the support that they require as they transition from Defence into civilian life.

So once again I rise to speak on the Veterans' Affairs Legislation Amendment (Omnibus) Bill 2018 on behalf of the ex-serving personnel and veterans in the Herbert electorate. This bill has three schedules designed to internally streamline processes that will assist both the DVA and veterans to access entitlements. The issues within the Department of Veterans' Affairs are often discussed in the veteran and ex-serving communities. They have been discussed at large in Townsville. I'm happy to support any legislation that assists our veterans in this process.

Generally speaking, the feedback we receive is that once veterans have their claims approved they are happy with the level of service they are provided. However, the frustration and issues of major concern appear to stem from the early stages of the claim process. Overwhelmingly, the complaints made by veterans and families about the Department of Veterans' Affairs tend to relate to the lengthy, complicated and sometimes adversarial claims process. Two of the schedules seek to make changes that will assist in streamlining the claims process, and it is for this reason that I fully support this bill. While they won't address all of the issues in the claims process, I support any changes that will improve outcomes for current serving members, veterans and their families.

Schedule 1 will enable the Chief of the Defence Force to make a claim for liability for a current serving Australian Defence Force member where they have consented for the Chief of the Defence Force to make the claim on their behalf. As it stands, generally the person affected by the service injury or disease must make the claim. However, in certain limited circumstances a claim may be made by another person on their behalf. This change will provide another avenue for claiming that may streamline the claims process and in some instances will help facilitate an earlier acceptance of liability.

Schedule 2 would align the powers of the Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Commission to obtain information under the Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation (Defence-related Claims) Act 1988, commonly known as DRCA. Currently the MRCC can require information only from the Department of Defence, the Department of Veterans' Affairs and the CDF. These changes would enable the MRCC to require information from any Commonwealth, state or territory departments and authorities. This includes agencies such as the ATO, Centrelink or Medicare. These powers already exist for claims made under the Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 2004. By way of an example, under these changes, if the MRCC requires information from a bank that the client can no longer access on their own, this provision enables the MRCC to request it directly from the bank and also to impose a penalty if the bank fails to comply. Both of these schedules seek to streamline processes and improve the claims process broadly and the process of obtaining information for DRCA clients. It is for this reason that I am supportive of these measures.

The final schedule would ensure that lump sum determinations made by the secretary of the Department of Social Services will apply as exempt lump sums from the income test that applies to DVA income support clients, where appropriate. For example, this could include payments like lump sums received under the National Redress Scheme or drought assistance. Currently the Repatriation Commission often implements separate yet identical exempt lump sum determinations for payments that have already been exempted by DSS. This places an unnecessary additional burden on DVA, which could be removed by allowing exempt lump sum determinations made by DSS to apply to DVA income support clients where the exemption is consistent. DVA will still be able to make exemptions where appropriate, but this will smooth those instances where the DSS has already determined it is appropriate to make an exemption. This schedule will streamline the process for making lump sum exemptions and will ensure that impacted veterans won't have to wait for DVA to make an instrument in order to gain the benefit of the exemption.

This bill seeks to streamline the claims process, make it easier for the MRCC to obtain information for DRCA clients, and prevent unnecessary delays with the creation of additional instruments. I will always support measures that seek to improve processes for veterans and their families. I will always support any policy or bill that is in the best interests of our ADF communities. This bill supports our veterans, and that is why I am happy to stand here in this place and support this bill, especially on behalf of the veterans, ex-serving personnel and their families in the electorate of Herbert in Townsville.

Nola Marino (Forrest, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I am very pleased to support this bill, the Veterans' Affairs Legislation Amendment (Omnibus) Bill 2018, because of the additional support it provides to veterans and their families. It was George Washington who said, 'The willingness with which our young people are likely to serve in any war, no matter how justified, shall be directly proportional to how they perceive the veterans of earlier wars and how they were treated and appreciated by their nation.' I see this bill as a key part of continuing the respect we have for our veterans and those in the defence forces.

Since its inception, and following all the wars and conflicts we've fought in, Australia has developed a world-leading system of looking after those who serve this nation. This veterans' affairs legislation bill further demonstrates the commitment this government has provided over the last five years. It continues with measures that we introduced earlier this year in several previous bills, all designed to improve outcomes for serving and returned Australian Defence Force members, veterans and their families and to ensure that essential services and supports are available to veterans when they need them. It's really important that veterans are able to access the services and entitlements that they need when they need them, and that's what the measures in this bill are streamlining and assisting with.

I have a very personal interest in returned service people and veterans. My mother was a war widow, and my family, particularly my sisters and my mother, lived their lives with the result of having lost a father and a husband. Having seen so many people in my electorate return from serving Australia overseas in its many conflicts, and having grown up without a father, I well understand what we, as a nation, ask and expect of those who serve in our Australian Defence Force services. I also understand very directly, from the wonderful RSLs and those who work in the veterans community in the south-west of Western Australia, what they need from us, as a parliament, as a government and as a community, in understanding what they and their families have often sacrificed in the work they do for us, serving wherever we ask them to.

Sometimes, as we know, veterans have difficulties when making an initial claim. A lot of the streamlining that we've done will assist them. This bill amends the relevant act to allow the Chief of Defence Force to make a claim for liability on behalf of a current serving Defence Force member. While it may seem to some a small administrative change, it actually provides an alternative way for the claim to be made. To some, this is a very important move. The process will also have a significant impact in reducing the time it takes to have claims for liability accepted by DVA. This is something that I've heard about repeatedly in my time as a member of parliament. It makes a huge difference to veterans and their families, to their mental, physical and emotional health and wellbeing, that their claim is processed effectively and efficiently and that their claim is respected. That is one of the things this government is determined about: that the claims made certainly will be respected. It eases that mental, physical and emotional burden on veterans and their families. Here is a simple example: if DVA accepts a knee injury at the time of the injury via a claim from the CDF, then it could accept the osteoarthritis of the knee in the future. That will be easier under what we see in this bill. DVA will be able to use the additional claim data at the point of injury to better inform its decisions—in other words, streamlining it and understanding the actual nature and the progression of the claim. It's streamlining and simplifying the claims process.

Another change will enable the Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Commission, the MRCC, to obtain information to determine the claim for compensation under the Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation Defence-related Claims) Act. It sounds technical, but this is yet another change that demonstrates our government's commitment to veterans' welfare and that their welfare is firmly at the centre of all the decisions we're making. We've seen some wonderful decisions around mental health service provisions. I'm very proud of those.

Sometimes, though, through no fault of their own, veterans can be adversely affected when the information that's really needed and critical to their claims is not provided by third parties. These provisions will provide veterans and their families with easier access to information that is relevant to those claims. It will require Commonwealth, state or territory departments, authorities, current and former treatment providers or any other parties to provide information on the request of the commission. Again, this is to make it much more streamlined.

Members in this place have, in my view, a duty to inform themselves about what circumstances our Defence Force members are working in, be it in Australia or overseas, and what we expect from them. One of the major ways they can do that is to take part in the Australian Defence Force Parliamentary Program. It has two components: not only does it encourage, allow and facilitate members of parliament to take part in a number of Defence Force programs; it is actually a reciprocal program where members of the Defence Force are encouraged to come into this place and work with members on all sides of the parliament to understand how the parliament works and the work of the members of parliament themselves. And we can get a real insight into what they're doing and what their job requires. It gives us direct information. I've been on a number of these deployments, and I get the best information from the people on the ground doing the job. Some of that I've been able to pass back to successive ministers and shadow ministers. It's really important because—nobody will be surprised by this—our Defence Force members are very direct in their comments and very honest and open. This program, which was developed in around 2000 to 2001, gives them the opportunity to have direct access to members of parliament in their area of work on the ground. Whether it's Afghanistan, whether it was Timor or whether it was Operation Resolute or Operation Astute, with so many of these deployments and operations members of parliament have actually been on the ground with our Defence Force members.

So, when we look at matters to do with veterans and their families, it makes it far more real for members of parliament to understand not only what the Defence Force members have been through during their term of deployment or what they've done in their time in Defence; equally, when we meet our Defence Force members we talk about what effect their deployment and work is having on their families. I can remember when I was in Afghanistan in 2011, some of the members I met at the time were on their fifth deployment. I know that there are those who are spending extended time away. And I know they understand very well exactly what it is that they're taking on when they join Defence. Some of the extended programs and operations that members are involved in now can involve nine months away from their families and Australia at any given time. This in itself is something that we are very well aware of and need to be, as members of parliament, in understanding why the measures involved in this bill are so important.

One of the last changes in this bill goes to administrative issues with the Department of Veterans' Affairs. We've invested significant funding into DVA as a government. We need DVA to work better for veterans and their families. We've amended relevant legislation to ensure that payments to veterans are streamlined, as much as possible, while ensuring that there are the appropriate levels of compliance that are expected of us in this place. This will affect income support clients and exempt certain lump sum payments from the income tests. That will allow certain exempt lump sum determinations made by DSS to apply to income support clients where this is consistent with DVA's legislation and policy. The practical effect of these changes for veterans is a simple lessening of red tape and bureaucratic delays in the processing of their payments. I can't think of anything better than the mental health support and services that our government has and will continue to provide, in a lifetime sense, for veterans.

I quoted George Washington when I started this speech and how a country, and a great country like Australia, looks after its veterans. I talked about the fact that we have a world-leading system for this. In this centenary year of the end of the Great War in 1918, we should take great pride in the system of support for veterans we have in this country—from government support through DVA to organisations like the RSL, Legacy, Soldier On and so many other community based organisations.

The years have marched on since our first conflicts, and we've had often to look further at our government's response to the needs of veterans and their families. I'm very proud of how our government has done that, particularly since 2013. We've come a long way from the days of the Vietnam vets and how they were received when they came back to Australia, and how some of their resources were dealt with in not getting to them when they needed to. We are now dealing, though, with a much younger cohort of veterans, from far more recent deployments, who have very different needs. We need to continue to work in this space so that we're meeting the needs of not only our more mature aged veterans but also those who need a different form of assistance.

I'm immensely proud. I've met so many Defence Force members, both as part of the Defence Force program, those who have come into our parliament, and those I've met through RSLs and the community. I am incredibly proud of what they do for our nation. But I also understand the great price and sacrifice that is made by many of them, and their families, and the over-100,000 men and women of the Defence Force who have lost their lives in the various conflicts. I understand very directly, through my own family, the lifetime of loss and what that means. I also really want to acknowledge Legacy and the work they've done over the years, especially for the families of Defence Force members. And my sisters—this was really important to my family. Equally, I want to acknowledge the Red Cross and the Salvation Army, who also provided much assistance in the earlier years.

In reflecting on what George Washington had to say, I think, if George were alive now, we in this country could look him in the eye with great pride. I see the measures in this bill adding to the services and supports that we provide as a nation to the veterans that we respect so much. In finishing, I want to thank every member, past, present, and future, of our Australian Defence Force for what they do for this nation and reassure them that they have the utmost respect of the members of this parliament.

Gai Brodtmann (Canberra, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Cyber Security and Defence) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I also want to associate myself with the words of the previous member in commending and thanking the Australian Defence Force for past and present service and also the families, who play a vitally important role in providing them with support, often in very stressful circumstances. I would also like to thank the member for her acknowledgement of Vietnam veterans. My late father was a Vietnam veteran, and my late mother-in-law said that she got a different man back from the war. That was a story that was all too common in Australia, and the community generally didn't understand what those veterans were facing. So I also thank the member for those comments about Vietnam veterans and associate myself with the comments that she made about the ADF. Thank you.

The veterans community usually tells us that they are generally happy with the level of service provided by the Department of Veterans' Affairs, but, when issues do arise, the overwhelming reason for complaints relates to the lengthy, complicated and oftentimes adversarial complaints process. The Veterans' Affairs Legislation Amendment (Omnibus) Bill 2018 will provide significant benefits to veterans, and it is for this reason that Labor supports the amendments in the bill. The proposed changes outlined in the bill streamline the claims process, make it easier for the Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Commission to obtain information on behalf of DRCA clients, and prevent unnecessary delays with the creation of additional instruments. The changes improve processes for veterans and their families, and Labor offers its support to this bill.

Our veterans know that Labor stands by them and their families. This point couldn't be made any clearer than by looking at the policies announced by Labor's shadow minister for veterans' affairs, the member for Kingston. The member for Kingston announced Labor's commitment to veterans with a comprehensive veterans employment policy, a family engagement and support strategy and, most recently, Australia's first military covenant. A Labor government will put in place a formal agreement, a military covenant to ensure that the nation's armed forces are fully supported during and after their service, and will legislate regular reporting to parliament on how Australia is supporting military personnel. The covenant recognises the immense commitment our armed forces make to serve their country and it formalises our nation's commitment to look after those who have sacrificed so much for our nation. The covenant will be similar to the United Kingdom's armed forces covenant, a principles document that promises that those who serve or have served in the armed forces, and their families, will be treated fairly. Labor will work with the Australian Defence Force, the DVA and ex-service organisations to draft the relevant wording of a military covenant and associated legislation. A Labor government would also introduce legislation requiring future governments to report annually to parliament on how they are meeting their responsibilities to support our serving and ex-service personnel.

Australians who serve in our armed forces can require specialised health and social services assistance, and the covenant will make sure those needs don't slip through the cracks. While we acknowledge a bipartisan commitment to giving the best possible support to our serving and ex-service personnel, this covenant will formalise that commitment. Those who put their lives on hold to serve their country deserve to know in no uncertain terms that we acknowledge the sacrifice they and their families have made in service to our nation and that we are committed to being there for them now and committed to being there for them into the future.

Labor's commitment to those who serve and have served is rock solid, and we will state this commitment as a core value and a core principle. Australia has a proud military history and, as such, we have an obligation to all of those who have served in the name of our nation and in the name of the freedoms that we enjoy today.

The unemployment and underemployment of veterans is a serious issue. It's a significant issue, requiring immediate attention. Veterans' unemployment has been cited as sitting at 30 per cent—30 per cent—and, for those who did not medically discharge, there is an estimated 11.2 per cent unemployment rate, which is more than double the national rate. This is simply unacceptable.

That's why the member for Kingston's comprehensive veterans employment policy will provide greater support to our Defence personnel as they transition to civilian life. It focuses on helping businesses to train veterans. It focuses on a new veterans' employment service and on expanding access to additional education and civilian training. Translating the experience of veterans—which is a unique experience in the military—to civilian life would seem quite obvious, given the level of training that our military personnel, our ADF personnel, have. They are highly trained. Yet, for some reason, that's just not translating into civilian life.

Australian businesses are open to employing veterans, but some employers have talked about some short-term skill gaps that they sometimes see as acting as a barrier to employing a veteran who would otherwise be a suitable applicant. Labor's policy includes a $5,000 training grant to businesses to help veterans gain the skills and experience they need to move from that military life into civilian life, taking advantage of all of the fabulous training they have had in the ADF and boosting that with this $5,000 grant to help those veterans gain those skills to make that translation. It also includes establishing an employment and transition service for veterans to provide individualised, tailored support to help with the transition over a longer period of time. Access to this support will be provided for up to five years, following a period of intensive support during the first 12 months from transition advisers. The transition advisers will understand the unique skills and experiences of our ADF personnel and how best to translate those skills for civilian employers.

During my consultations with ADF members, including those serving, veterans and reservists, I've repeatedly heard about the barrier between skills gained within Defence and how those skills translate to civilian life. Labor's veterans employment policy addresses this. The policy will ensure that our veterans receive recognition of prior skills and experience within civilian professional organisations and institutions. So it's that translation of the learning and experience that they've had in the military into that sort of professional, civilian environment. It will ensure that states and territories will expand the Queensland initiative of translating the rank and length of service of ADF personnel to a tertiary entrance score. It's quite extraordinary that, in 2018, this actually hasn't happened, but then that's why this policy is so significant in so many different ways. It will also ensure that peak professional bodies will help identify current ADF training that meets professional civilian standards and will work to ensure that this is recognised. Also the policy will ensure that Defence will establish a temporary security clearance for veterans to use as they apply for civilian work, providing greater incentive to prospective employers.

These targeted measures will strengthen the quality and number of career opportunities for our veterans to ensure that their many skills and their experience lead to meaningful employment. When our men and women undertake to serve their country, we make a commitment to them and their family to support them after their time in the ADF—so we support them during their time in the ADF, but we also make that commitment after their time in the ADF. Preparing and working with those leaving the Defence Force to move into meaningful employment is a key element of successful transition from the ADF—from the military to civilian life.

We all know that ADF families play a pivotal, vital role in supporting our currently serving ADF men and women, and veterans, which is why it is important that we ensure that the families have the support they need to address the unique challenges of military life. These men, women and children are the unsung heroes of our defence forces. Greater support for our military families is greater support for our serving and ex-service personnel. A family engagement and support strategy is one of the key recommendations from the National Mental Health Commission's review of services available to veterans and current serving members of the Australian Defence Force in relation to the prevention of self-harm and suicide. The review highlighted that there is currently a lack of emphasis on the critical role that families play in the lives of current and former serving members. Families play an especially unique role within military life and service, themselves making many sacrifices in terms of career and in terms of the fact that they are constantly moving around. Our ADF personnel and veterans look to their families for support while in service, in transition and in civilian life.

There's no doubt that families also play a critical role in providing support to those who are serving at the moment and the ex-service personnel, particularly those suffering from mental health issues. Labor's commitment to developing a family engagement and support strategy would be co-designed with Defence and veteran families and communities to focus on known stress points for families, including transition for Defence members into civilian life. There are many stress points. I've got many girlfriends who married into the Army and they are extraordinary. Young women—we were all young women once—in their 20s, in the early days of marriage, were moving around every two years. They were just starting their careers and they were moving all over the country to support their husbands and, through that support, our nation—doing extraordinary work, including unpacking in record time. It's always an inspiration to see how quickly service personnel, particularly their partners, can unpack. So there are so many stress points—I'm not just talking about the moving around and unpacking—in their lives and this will be acknowledged in the strategy.

Families can be the greatest support when dealing with life-changing events that can occur throughout and after military service. I've seen this myself with the Veterans and Families Maker Program, run by Tharwa Valley Forge, which is in my electorate. I visited there recently. Tharwa Valley Forge is a bladesmithing school located in Tharwa, in the most southern part of the electorate, and it's run by Karim Haddad. Karim successfully applied for and received a $58,000 grant from DVA's Veteran and Community Grants program. The funding was used to provide 16 2½-day programs where 64 participants nominated their preference for knife making, Japanese knife making, blacksmithing, leather work or longbow making.

The programs used the funding within 12 weeks and there are still more than 100 veterans and their families on the waiting list. It's been a hugely popular program with veterans and their families as well. Some of the veterans I met there were transitioning out or had recently transitioned out and were with their family members because they wanted them to be part of their journey. They wanted to engage the family as part of the transitioning journey.

Karim has opened a crowdfunding campaign to get the ball rolling and to show the government that there is a greater need here. We know there's a greater need. Labor knows there is a greater need among our veterans for programs like these. Karim's program appears to have a niche application, with many veterans saying that they had found few other programs that allow them to participant alongside their partners and children. I again congratulate Karim on this fabulous initiative. The program is proving incredibly popular, with a waiting list of 100 people.

While we acknowledge the important and valuable contribution of all of our ADF veterans and their families, I would like to acknowledge the Invictus Games that are currently underway in Sydney—in particular, the participants from the 16 other countries. I want to take this opportunity to extend my support to three veterans from my community here in Canberra who are competing in the Invictus Games. I phoned them last week. Each of the competitors was asked, 'What will winning look like for you at these Games?' I will share their answers with you now. Tiffany White, who is competing at powerlifting and indoor rowing events, answered:

It will be walking away knowing I have done my best, had fun and found a new group of people I can call friends and family.

Squadron Leader Rob Saunders, who's competing in sailing, said:

Conquering my personal challenges while building mental strength and resilience through being part of a team that performs to its best.

Pilot Officer Jesse Costello, who's competing in athletics, indoor rowing and swimming events, responded:

First place would be grand but that is not the tone for how I define a win for me—not in this instance. For me, it will be crossing the finish line because I know what has gone into that moment.

These are really powerful words and very emotional words—just considering what journeys they've been through to get to those games.

Our ADF personnel put their lives on hold in service of our nation. They take risks, they make sacrifices and they commit their lives and wellbeing to the protection of this country, our way of life, our wellbeing and the nation's security. Upon their return, their scars sometimes are not visible. That is why it's vitally important that we provide our ADF personnel the highest standard of care and the greatest amount of support.

Luke Gosling (Solomon, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I first want to acknowledge all those who have spoken before me in this debate. As always, everyone is coming from a good place when it comes to doing more for our veterans community. Labor, of course, supports the Veterans' Affairs Legislation Amendment (Omnibus) Bill 2018, because it's a further step along the road to improving services for our defence personnel and veterans and, importantly, their families. I spoke earlier this year in support of the government's veteran-centric reforms. I'm obviously pleased to see that the government and the minister are committed to providing support to those who have served our country in its defence services.

I am also pleased to recognise the work of our shadow minister for veterans' affairs, the member for Kingston. I know she has been travelling the country a lot. She's been with me in Darwin, in my electorate of Solomon, where there's an important defence and veterans community. She has been working constructively with the government with the aim of improving the services that we provide and she is, to my mind, doing an excellent job.

As the minister said in his second reading speech, the Australian community has a clear expectation that veterans and their families will be looked after, and that's what we're all committed to achieving. This bill takes a further step towards meeting that expectation by amending the Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 2004, the Safety Rehabilitation and Compensation (Defence-related Claims) Act 1988 and the Veterans' Entitlements Act 1986. The bill has three schedules. They're all designed to streamline DVA processes internally, which will assist veterans in accessing their entitlements.

The issues within DVA are often discussed in the veterans and ex-service community. I continue to hear, almost on a daily basis, a lot of those concerns. Generally speaking, however, once veterans have their claims approved the feedback we receive is that they are happy with the level of service they have been provided. Quite a few members have talked about the crux of the issues with the department generally stemming from the early stages of the claims process. As much as we can, we need to reduce what is sometimes a lengthy, complicated and adversarial—although, hopefully, that is being reduced—claims process. Two of the bill's schedules seek to make changes which will assist in streamlining the claims process, and it is for this reason that Labor offer our support. While these amendments won't address all of the issues in the claims process, we are supportive of any changes that will improve outcomes for current serving members, veterans and their loved ones.

On-the-ground support for our veterans is absolutely vital. Whilst these bills are helpful, DVA can't do everything. There is an incredibly important role also for ex-service community organisations. There's a role for mainstream organisations—Health and others. There is also, as the member for Canberra noted, an important role for events like the Invictus Games. I want to congratulate all those who are involved with the Invictus Games. I again want to acknowledge the competitors from my electorate. We have Samantha Gould, Tom Foster and Sonya Newman. We are very proud of all of the competitors in the Invictus Games and we are proud of the organisers. Well done to Prince Harry for the initiative and for making the Invictus Games such a force for change. Good effort!

Well done also on his impending fatherhood. So congratulations to Prince Harry. Unlike some of our colleagues, I don't think he should be the Governor-General of Australia, but that's not being offensive to the prince. He has got plenty on his plate, so we'll have an Australian to do that.

It is impressive what the Invictus Games have done. I also understand why Australian Story this week, about the commandos and their journey with Invictus Games, used Prince Harry as part of that story, because it is a powerful example of how leadership can assist people in their long journey. I understand that the price paid by those who have served our nation can in some ways never be repaid, but through these measures we're talking about today and other measures that we're taking leadership on in our own communities we can give it a good crack.

Some of those Australian families that have paid the ultimate sacrifice in losing their loved ones gathered in my electorate a number of weeks ago. The families of the fallen get together every year in a different part of Australia to provide solidarity to each other. The 'families of the fallen' dinner, which was hosted at the 1st Brigade mess—I want to thank the brigadier for hosting that event—was attended by Sir Angus Houston, former Chief of the Defence Force. It was also attended by the current Chief of the Defence Force. I will just say quickly about Angus Houston: what an incredible Australian he is, with still a lot more to give to our nation. The new CDF has these issues of our service people, and veterans in particular, at the top of mind. It was great to see them both in Darwin, sitting down to have a meal in solidarity with the families that have lost their loved ones. I was very pleased, just this week, to introduce the minister, who is sitting here in the chamber now, to one of the families of the fallen. They very much appreciated the opportunity to have a yarn with the minister.

Around Australia, many of these new centres have been named for soldiers that we've lost overseas on operations, and there are some more in the pipeline. I recently visited the Jamie Larcombe Centre in Adelaide. I want to acknowledge the health professionals and other professionals who are working there, The Road Home, and all of those people who are giving that intense support to our veterans there. Because, whilst events like Invictus play an important role and raise awareness in the community, it's also important to have organisations like Soldier On that provide the wrap-around services. It's my hope that in the future there will be more centres that particularly tap in to the needs of contemporary veterans. There are quite exciting proposals out about more centres and facilities where the correct or very much welcomed wrap-around health and allied health services will be provided to our veterans. I wish those organisations all the best in their advocacy.

In the Northern Territory, and in my electorate of Solomon, we have a need for such a centre. That's what I've committed to. Like other places around Australia, we've lost one of our sons as well from the Top End. That was Scott Palmer. Scott Palmer was killed in the same helicopter crash that injured so badly Garry Robinson and others. When we build that centre, Scott Palmer's name will be attached, with Ray and Pam's blessing of course. It's the hope that that acknowledgement is made of that young man, that fine Territorian, who was killed in the service of our country.

That will be a great facility. It will be a health, wellbeing and transition facility to help the people that are serving our country and our community, and their families. The reason I say their community is that we acknowledge the work of our first responders. We acknowledge the work of those working for those agencies that provide safety, security and response in our community and, of course, those members of the ADF who go overseas in our name. They will work closely with other stakeholders like the Primary Health Networks with the support of the RSL.

Veterans Australia NT provide a great source of support to members in need and to their families. Veterans Australia NT were formally called the Vietnam Veterans Association of Australia NT. They dropped the name 'Vietnam' not because they didn't want to provide services to Vietnam veterans anymore—of course they still do—but because they wanted to reach out to contemporary veterans and make sure there were no barriers to contemporary veterans seeking services from that organisation. I've been a proud member of Veterans Australia NT for many, many years. It was just this week that one of the members contacted me and said: 'Luke, can you help out? There's a Vietnam veteran in one of our aged-care facilities who is not in a good way.' This veteran didn't believe that his mate in this seniors' home was being provided the level of care that he deserved. That's what it's all about.

As well as our responses as legislators in this place, as well as our role as members of parliament, I think all of us have an important role to build awareness in our community of the sacrifices that are made in our name, because it does not come without cost. We look forward to providing better on-the-ground services to our veterans in the Top End. They are important to us. It's important that they're acknowledged in every way, whenever we can.

In closing, I want to acknowledge one of our veterans who recently passed, and that is Len Allen. I want to pass our condolences to the family of Len Allen—to Vickie and the children. His duty is done. Len's duty is done. We want to acknowledge Len, 1201694 Corporal Leonard William 'Len' Allen, who passed away on Friday, 5 October. He was a truly respected soldier. He served with the 5th Battalion in the Royal Australian Regiment in South Vietnam between February 1969 and March 1970. He was mentioned in dispatches for his actions in contact with enemy forces. Len served with many other units in his career, but he finally retired as a sergeant in Darwin. Len is survived by his wife, Vickie, and three adult sons. For those in the Top End or around Australia who knew Len, a funeral service will be held for Len at Darwin Funeral Services this Friday, 19 October, at 10.30. Len Allen's duty is done. Lest we forget.

Darren Chester (Gippsland, National Party, Minister for Veterans' Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

On behalf of the government, I associate myself with the comments by the member for Solomon and extend our condolences to Vickie and the family of Len Allen. And to the member for Solomon, himself a service veteran: I thank you for your service.

I'd like to thank all members who contributed to the debate on this bill and acknowledge the continued tradition of bipartisan support for the veteran community demonstrated by the opposition. The bill is designed to improve outcomes for serving Defence Force members, veterans and their families and will ensure that essential services are available to veterans when they're needed. This bill demonstrates the commitment this government made in 2016-17 to put veterans first, and continues measures we introduced earlier this year under the Veterans' Affairs Legislation Amendment (Veteran-centric Reforms No.1) Act 2018 and the Veterans' Affairs Legislation Amendment (Veteran-centric Reforms No.2) Act 2018.

As the Minister for Veterans' Affairs, I recognise that the Australian community has a clear expectation that veterans and their families are well looked after. This bill will extend claim avenues to include the Chief of Defence Force; it will resolve veterans' claims more quickly by strengthening the ability of the Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Commission to obtain information from third parties; and it will expedite lump sum exemptions for veterans by simplifying the processes of DVA and the Department of Human Services.

Schedule 1 of the bill would amend the Military Rehabilitation And Compensation Act 2004 to enable the Chief of the Defence Force to make a claim for liability on behalf of a current serving Australian Defence Force member where the member suffers a service injury or disease and agrees to the Chief of the Defence Force or his delegate making the claim. The veterans will benefit from having their future claims for related diseases and conditions that manifest after the service more easily accepted. DVA will be able to use the additional claim data at the point of injury to better inform decisions around trends in injuries and the onset of other conditions. This may inform later policy on simplifying and streamlining the claims process.

Schedule 2 of the bill would enable the Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Commission to obtain information in determining a claim for compensation under the Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation (Defence-related Claims) Act 1988, or DRCA. Veterans can be adversely affected when information critical to their claim is not provided by third parties. These provisions will provide veterans and their families with easier access to information relevant to their compensation claims. The provisions will require Commonwealth, state or territory departments, authorities and third parties to provide information to the commission. This will ensure that the commission has access to all the information necessary to make decisions on claims. The amendments would bring the DRCA in line with the Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Act of 2004 and the Veterans' Entitlements Act 1986.

Schedule 3 would improve administrative practices in the Department of Veterans' Affairs concerning income support clients and the exempting of certain lump sum payments from the income test. The amendments to the VEA Act 1986 would allow certain exempt lump sum determinations made by the secretary for social services to apply to income support clients where the determination is consistent with Department of Veterans Affairs' legislation and policy. Under the new arrangements, DSS will advise DVA of the determination, which will be applied to DVA income support clients without the requirement to register an additional instrument. The Repatriation Commission will retain a discretion to make a determination to specify an exempt lump sum where they may wish to, and the amendment will not change the current exclusions of the determination as it applies to companies, trusts and primary production. Each amendment of these will mean better outcomes for veterans and families. I commend the bill.

Question agreed to.

Bill read a second time.

Message from the Governor-General recommending appropriation announced.