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The Government’s proposed $5,000 cap on allied health care has caused great concern to veteran families and members of Families of Veterans Guild.  This proposal will result in 25,000 veterans, war widows and families being worse off, with critical, lifesaving care such as psychology and chronic pain management directly affected. 

The Government maintains that most veterans will be better off under this policy. What isn’t being said is that those with the highest care needs, already some of the most vulnerable in our community, will face additional barriers to accessing the care they rely on. The detail of what those barriers will look like, and how onerous they will be, remains unknown, as there has been no consultation on this policy and none is planned until August. For an already anxious community, that is a long time to wait for answers. 

There are several issues with this policy. It falls short of the commitment Government has made to veterans and their families. It also penalises veterans and widows for the over-charging practices of a small number of providers, rather than addressing those practices directly. And it offers little real benefit in exchange for a meaningful loss: higher provider fees are traded for strict limits on the number of sessions available. 

This policy will make allied health care harder to access; care that is intended to help veterans, their families and war widows manage mental health conditions and chronic pain. Census data shows veterans are four times more likely than the general population to live with a long-term health condition, including arthritis and mental illness. When these conditions go unmanaged, the pressure on veteran families increases further; veteran families are already twice as likely as the general population to experience a mental health condition, and veterans face a significantly higher risk of suicide than the broader community. 

Placing limits on the very services that help veterans manage the long-term effects of their service, and help war widows manage the trauma left behind, is difficult to reconcile with the gratitude we owe as a nation. It will also place a greater caring burden on families more broadly. Where allied health care is delayed, reduced, or made uncertain, it is families who will be left to fill the gap – 25,000 times over. 

Let’s call this policy out for what it is – a cost cutting measure. A policy genuinely focused on over-servicing would target the small number of providers responsible, not 25,000 vulnerable veterans and widows. 

We continue to advocate for this policy to be scrapped and are working through the detail closely. We want to acknowledge the Senators on the Defence, Foreign Affairs and Trade Committee who share these concerns and have stood with our community on this issue. 

You can help by writing to the Minister for Veterans’ Affairs, and to your local Federal Members of Parliament and Senators, to stand up for what is right. 

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The improved Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Act (MRCA) will recognise medical conditions which were previously accepted under the Defence Rehabilitation and Compensation Act (DRCA) and the Veteran Entitlement Act (VEA). There is no need for any veteran or widowed partner already in the system to re-establish any form of liability for accepted conditions or service-related deaths. 

New provisions make it easier for widows 

The new Act includes additions which we class as an absolute advocacy win for many in our community. From 1 July 2026, the definition of a service injury will change, removing the requirement to show that a medical event that occurs on duty, such as a heart attack or stroke, was a result of the member’s service. Making the claim pathway for such deaths simpler. 

Secondly, from 1 July 2026, serving members will be covered for the impacts of any unintended consequences of medical treatment provided while a member is in the ADF. This includes pre-existing conditions or preventative treatment where injuries or deaths arise from that treatment. This means that were a death of injury occurs as a result of medical treatment provided by Defence, the claims pathway is again simplified. 

Both changes are significant wins for the many widow partners who have experienced difficulties in establishing liability for deaths that have arisen because of a medical event on duty, or deaths that result from medical treatment. 

These were the very issues that we raised throughout the veteran’s legislation consultation and are very pleased to see them now included in the enhanced MRCA going forward. 

Enhancements to existing support 

From 1 July 2026, several additional changes made to the MRCA will have a positive impact on widowed partners and veteran families. These include: 

• Additional compensation payments available for the children of severely injured veterans. 

• Posthumous permanent impairment payments will be made available to widowed partners where claims were outstanding at the time of a veteran’s death. 

• The Repatriation Commission will be able to direct particularly vulnerable veterans to receive financial advice before receiving a lump sum permanent impairment payment. 

• All Gold Card holders will be eligible to claim a travel reimbursement amount of $0.68/km when a private vehicle is used for travel to approved treatment. An increase of $0.24/km from the VEA entitlement. Additionally, 50km round trip minimum distance requirements will also be removed ensuring that more veterans and their families can be reimbursed for travel costs relating to their service-related conditions. 

• VEA veterans having difficulties managing their domestic and personal care tasks due to service-related conditions will become eligible to apply for Household Services and Attendant Care for the first time. 

• Children of severely injured DRCA veterans will become eligible for the Education and Training Scheme. 

• Veteran funeral expenses for all service-related deaths occurring on or after 1 of July 2026 will be reimbursed up to a maximum of $14,990. 

• Partners of veterans who meet the requirements of a wholly dependent partner under the MRCA will be entitled to compensation and a Gold Card. 

• There will also be additional flexibility introduced allowing wholly dependent partner compensation payments to be turned into an age based lump-sum for claims made after 1 July 2026. 

We appreciate this is all very technical and there are a number of changes that are coming online from 1 July. 

We are pleased to see the movement and the greater support provided to the widowed partners and the veterans and their families already in the compensation system, however as many know we are keen to see a lot more veteran families included in the compensation system and will continue to advocate in that regard. We also continue to advocate for terminology change — Wholly Dependant Partner remains a terribly offensive choice of words to refer to widowed partners, many of whom are women. 

As the new Act comes into effect it’s really important that we keep the information flowing between DVA and our community, and are looking forward to hosting a series of webinars to help you all get across the information and the additional support that is coming online. 

While there is a lot of change coming into effect soon, a reminder: there are no changes to existing compensation payments or services, and you do not need to take any action to continue to receive payments and services from DVA. 

As always, we are here to help, please give us call. You can also always contact DVA directly to discuss your circumstances; they can be contacted on 1800 383 372 or you can email them at generalenquiries@dva.gov.au.

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