Today we publish our submission in response to the Government’s consultation on the Veterans Legislation Reform. Our submission supports a number of key elements in the reform work, including the protection of entitlements currently being received by widows/ers and children of veterans. It also supports the move to the single Act model. However, this reform is only the first step in further reform required to make the veteran legislative framework fit for purpose today and tomorrow.
We see the harmonisation Bill and the ‘enhanced’ Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 2004 (MRCA) as the first step in a much larger project of system reform and simplification and would encourage both sides of politics, government, and its departments to not rest once this Bill is passed.
Our submission calls for more improvements to be made to the MRCA to improve conditions and entitlements for the families of veterans including:
- Include a definition of veteran family within the legislation
- Remove privacy barriers which prevent families from being meaningfully engaged
- Removal of inequity in the provision of funeral entitlements.
- Removal of inequity for bereaved families under the Acute Support Package.
- Extension of entitlements for children of veterans who have passed in or because of their service for lifetime mental health care.
- Adjust prescribed limits to domestic assistance provisions to allow greater flexibility in their application. Empowering veterans and families to be able to keep pace with the costs of services.
- Recognising veteran families and their role in the new legislative framework.
- Including veteran family engagement and a role for DVA in the provisions that govern Transition Support.
- Adjustments to the attendant care entitlements to reflect community understanding, expectation, and language.
- Adjustment to the wholly dependent partner provisions to reflect community understanding, expectation, and language; and
- Extending liability provisions to cover deaths in duty caused by disease which has been treated while the person is a member of the ADF and has passed as a result of that disease while in service.
Read our full submission HERE
