Royal Commission - Families of Veterans Guild

Government’s Response to the Royal Commission’s Final Report

Caroline Kirche — Fri, 06 Dec 2024 02:18:18 +0000

A step forward, but more needs to be done

On Monday, 2 December 2024, the Australian Government released its response to the Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide’s Final Report. While the government has agreed to many of the Commission’s recommendations, including the establishment of a Veteran Wellbeing Agency within DVA, more needs to be done to address the specific needs of veteran families. You can read more about the gaps impacting the families of veterans in our CEO’s latest opinion piece.

Key takeaways from the Government’s Response:

Positive Steps: The government’s agreement to establish a Veteran Wellbeing Agency and an independent statutory body is a positive step towards improving veteran mental health and wellbeing.
Focus on Veterans: While the government’s response primarily focuses on veterans, the specific needs of veteran families have been largely overlooked.
The Role of Families: Families of veterans continue to face significant challenges, including systemic gaps in support and understanding.

What does this mean for veteran families?

While the Royal Commission’s findings have validated the experiences of many veteran families, significant challenges remain. The government’s response, while promising, does not fully address the unique needs of families.

Moving forward:

We are committed to advocating for the rights and wellbeing of veteran families. We will continue to work with the government and other stakeholders to ensure that the specific needs of families are addressed.

We encourage you to review the government’s response and share your thoughts with us. Your voice is important.

Join our community and stay informed about the latest updates.

Related to: veteran families, veteran suicide, mental health, Royal Commission, DVA, ADF, defence force, wellbeing, support, advocacy.

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Aged Care Bill 2024 update

Kelly Taylor — Tue, 26 Nov 2024 05:32:56 +0000

On 12 September 2024, the Federal Government introduced the Aged Care Bill 2024 to parliament. If passed and made law, the bill would have a start date of 1 July 2025. This summary is intended to help war widows and families of veterans who access or will likely access aged care services. The summary provides an overview of the key changes, and the impacts of these changes.

What’s the impact?

If passed, the bill will replace the numerous aged care laws currently in place and centralise the system into one piece of law. Importantly, the government have confirmed that no person who currently access aged care services will be left worse off, and they will be grand parented into the new system. This means that if you currently receive aged care services, or are assessed for needing aged care services before 1 July 2025, the quality of service and amounts you pay will stay the same or improve.

Additionally, the bill is ‘rights-based,’ meaning the rights of people receiving aged care services are defined, the obligations of aged care providers and workers are defined, and the penalties and enforcement of ensuring these obligations are met and rights upheld are administered by the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission.

Key changes

We know that a proportion of our members access the Commonwealth Home Support Program (CHSP) or Restorative Care, which both provide at home care and support with household tasks. The CHSP and Restorative Care will be combined to form the ‘Support at Home Program’ which centralises entitlements in one program, while also increasing the amount and type of entitlements provided. This change will not be fully implemented until 2027.
The lifetime contribution cap, meaning the maximum amount a person is expected to contribute to their care, is increasing from $80,000 to $130,000. This, like all other changes, does not impact people who are approved to receive aged care services before 1 July 2025.
People who receive aged care services and have entitlements through holding a DVA Gold or White Card will still be able to access those entitlements. The new bill does not limit or prevent DVA Gold or White Card holders from continuing to receive existing entitlements.

Why is this being done?

Aged care is one of the largest and fastest-growing areas of government spending, and the demand for aged care will keep increasing as the population ages. At the same time, both major political parties and the aged care sector agree that existing levels of funding have not been sufficient to deliver the quality-of-care Australians expect. Further, the government is seeking to address recommendations made by the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety.

DVA aged care experience survey

Are you, or a family member accessing home and residential aged care services? DVA has recently published a survey which seeks to understand the experiences one might have accessing both home and residential aged care services.

The Accessing Aged Care Support Services Survey seeks to understand your individual experience accessing Aged Care services and supports, how the Department of Veterans’ Affairs (DVA) can help, and ideas for improvement.

The results will help them better understand how clients make decisions, find information and the pain points they experience during the process. The survey can be completed by veterans and veteran family members or another person on their behalf and is voluntary and anonymous.

You can find the survey here on DVA’s website.

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Representing your views at the heart of the Royal Commission

Families of Veterans Guild — Mon, 30 May 2022 06:55:13 +0000

Recently, our CEO accepted an invitation to join the Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide Reference Group.

As a member of this group, we join partner organisations from around the veteran community, exploring the issues the Commission is examining and testing ideas. The Royal Commission wants to hear what you are thinking, they want your feedback.

Over the coming months we will be reaching out to get your views to help guide the Commission.

The Reference Group is seeking to meet Bi-Monthly. This month’s homework is to identify international veteran and family-based initiatives, programs, services and suicide monitoring and prevention approaches that may be of interest to the Royal Commission. We are aware of some but would also like to know what you are thinking. Please feel free to share your ideas below or send them to ceo@warwidowsnsw.com.au

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Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide – AWWNSW Statement

Families of Veterans Guild — Wed, 10 Nov 2021 07:52:59 +0000

Australian War Widows NSW (AWWNSW) recently made a written submission to the Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide.

Due to its experience, leadership, and network, AWWNSW has formed a view on several items raised by the Commissioners. The opinions expressed through and by AWWNSW below were formed through consultation with members, its broad community, Directors, and staff.

The opinions expressed through AWWNSW’s submission amplify the voices of veterans’ families and caregivers, ensuring those that are on the front line of veteran support are heard.

The matters the Commission is inquiring into are not new. They have affected the veteran community and in particular veterans’ families for generations. However, this is the first time that there will be a public conversation about it and a real chance to make the system better for those that come after.

In summary, AWWNSW submission concluded that:

Families and caregivers must be meaningfully engaged throughout a veterans’ Service journey and beyond.
Families and caregivers must be equipped with the support networks, tools, information, knowledge and support they need to care for themselves and their loved one.
Children of veterans impacted by Suicide or ill mental health under the age of 15 need immediate access to psychiatry, psychology and trauma recovery treatments.
There is a need for substantial investment into the veteran sector beyond access to health care.

The full submission can be read here.

That these matters are not affecting veterans and their families for the first time, they have been affecting them for generations.

If you would like to contribute your insights, ideas, experiences, or reflections to the Royal Commission please contact the AWW NSW CEO on 0421 161 334 or at guild@warwidowsnsw.com.au.

AWW NSW advocates for the needs of all women and families of veterans connected to Defence service. We provide a voice for our members and community to ensure their views are represented across all areas that impact upon them.

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