Veterans' Affairs
Election Commitments
Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training — extension of program
| 2007‑08 | 2008‑09 | 2009‑10 | 2010‑11 | 2011‑12 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Department of Veterans' Affairs | - | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.3 |
The Government will provide an additional $1.0 million over four years to extend the Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training program and related suicide prevention programs for the veteran community. The Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training program aims to increase the capacity of veterans to recognise and respond to members of their community at risk of suicide. The measure will provide for more information and training sessions for rural and remote areas, and an expansion of the range of suicide prevention and awareness programs offered by qualified professional trainers to veterans and their families.
This measure delivers on the Government's election commitment.
Ballarat Ex‑Prisoners of War Memorial
| 2007‑08 | 2008‑09 | 2009‑10 | 2010‑11 | 2011‑12 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Department of Veterans' Affairs | .. | .. | .. | .. | - |
The Government will provide $0.2 million over four years to the Ballarat City Council to assist with the maintenance of the Australian Ex‑Prisoners of War Memorial. The Government will also declare the Ballarat Memorial a national memorial.
This measure delivers on the Government's election commitment.
Bereavement payment for single veterans
| 2007‑08 | 2008‑09 | 2009‑10 | 2010‑11 | 2011‑12 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Department of Veterans' Affairs | - | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 |
The Government will extend the Bereavement Payment to the estates of deceased single Totally and Permanently Incapacitated and Extreme Disablement Adjustment veterans who die without sufficient assets to pay for the cost of a funeral, at an estimated cost of $0.4 million over four years.
The Bereavement Payment will equate to six times the fortnightly payment the veteran was receiving at the time of their death and will be exempt from income tax.
This measure delivers on the Government's election commitment.
Graythwaite Estate — securing the future of the Estate
| 2007‑08 | 2008‑09 | 2009‑10 | 2010‑11 | 2011‑12 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Department of Veterans' Affairs | 0.1 | 5.1 | 5.0 | 10.0 | - |
The Government will provide $20.2 million over four years to secure the future of the Graythwaite Estate in North Sydney, as part of a proposed arrangement with the Returned and Services League. The Graythwaite Estate was originally bequeathed to the Crown (New South Wales Government) by Sir Thomas Dibbs in 1915 for the convalescent care of World War I veterans.
The Graythwaite Estate is currently the subject of New South Wales Supreme Court proceedings in which the NSW Government, the current trust holder, has sought to have the trust's terms set aside. On 12 November 2007 the Commonwealth joined as a defendant before the Court with an offer to assume ownership of the Estate. Subject to an order of the New South Wales Supreme Court altering the terms of the bequest, funding of $20.0 million will be provided in grants to the Returned and Services League for additional aged care facilities in other locations. This will ensure that the spirit of the original bequest is maintained, while the ownership of the Estate would reside with the Commonwealth. This funding includes (an amount) of $0.2 million over two years has been provided for essential maintenance on the main estate building.
This measure delivers on the Government's election commitment.
Income Support Supplement — extend eligibility
| 2007‑08 | 2008‑09 | 2009‑10 | 2010‑11 | 2011‑12 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Department of Veterans' Affairs | 0.4 | 5.3 | 4.9 | 5.1 | 4.7 |
| Related capital ($m) | |||||
| Department of Veterans' Affairs | 0.1 | - | - | - | - |
The Government will extend eligibility for the Income Support Supplement to all War Widow and War Widower pension recipients without children, regardless of age, at an estimated cost of $20.5 million over five years. Previously these War Widow(er)s were only eligible when they reached the qualifying age for Income Support Supplement. This measure will commence from 1 July 2008 and will benefit approximately 1,000 War Widows and War Widowers each year.
This measure includes capital funding of $0.1 million in 2007‑08 to upgrade related computer systems.
This measure delivers on the Government's election commitment.
Mental Health — support to the Australian Defence Force members and veterans
| 2007‑08 | 2008‑09 | 2009‑10 | 2010‑11 | 2011‑12 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Department of Veterans' Affairs | 0.4 | 0.7 | 0.7 | 0.4 | - |
| Department of Defence | - | - | - | - | - |
| Total | 0.4 | 0.7 | 0.7 | 0.4 | - |
The Government will provide $3.8 million over four years (including $1.6 million to be met from within existing resourcing of the Department of Defence) to introduce a package of nine strategic mental health initiatives to improve access to mental health services for current and former Australian Defence Force members and active reserve personnel.
The package will be implemented as a partnership between the Department of Defence, the Department of Veterans' Affairs and the Australian Centre for Post‑traumatic Mental Health.
This initiative will be integrated across the four stages of an Australian Defence Force member's career lifecycle: recruitment, service, transition or discharge, and rehabilitation and resettlement into civilian life. The package aims to enhance psychological resilience among serving members, ensure successful transition into civilian life and provide effective rehabilitation and support.
This measure delivers on the Government's election commitment.
Mental Health Workers — increased training
| 2007‑08 | 2008‑09 | 2009‑10 | 2010‑11 | 2011‑12 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Department of Veterans' Affairs | 0.3 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.2 | - |
The Government will provide $1.5 million over four years to provide training and workshops for community mental health workers who treat veterans. This proposal will help improve practitioners' ability to identify and treat service‑related mental health problems. This will result in earlier and more effective treatment of such problems.
This measure delivers on the Government's election commitment.
Support Development of 'Operation Life'
| 2007‑08 | 2008‑09 | 2009‑10 | 2010‑11 | 2011‑12 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Department of Veterans' Affairs | - | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | - |
The Government will provide $3.0 million over three years to extend the Operation Life initiative and bring forward some activities into 2008‑09. Operation Life provides a range of suicide awareness workshops and services to the veteran community, contributing to improved resilience and health of veterans and their families, increased awareness of mental health problems and timely access to effective services. This measure will establish an online demonstration counselling service for the ex‑service community, web‑based suicide awareness training packages and family intervention services for families affected by suicide.
This measure delivers on the Government's election commitment.
Veterans' ex‑service organisations — expansion of financial assistance
| 2007‑08 | 2008‑09 | 2009‑10 | 2010‑11 | 2011‑12 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Department of Veterans' Affairs | 5.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
The Government will provide $18.2 million over five years in increased financial assistance to ex‑service organisations to enable them to improve their capacity to provide timely, accurate and informed advice and assistance to their members.
The 2007‑08 funding ($5.0 million) will be used to help ex‑service organisations upgrade equipment and infrastructure. The ongoing funding of $1.0 million per annum from 2008‑09 will support further information and training for officials of ex‑service organisations.
The Government will establish a new consolidated assistance program for ex‑service organisations by combining this new funding with continued funding for the measure Ex‑Service Organisations — providing additional funding to explain the new Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Scheme announced in the 2004‑05 Mid‑Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook. Provision for the continuation of this measure has already been included in the forward estimates, at a cost of $9.2 million over four years.
This measure delivers on the Government's election commitment.
Veterans' ex‑service organisations — support for officials
| 2007‑08 | 2008‑09 | 2009‑10 | 2010‑11 | 2011‑12 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Department of Veterans' Affairs | - | 0.2 | - | - | - |
The Government will provide $0.2 million in 2008‑09 to establish a dedicated toll free number for officials of ex‑service organisations to contact expert claims assessors within the Department of Veterans' Affairs. Officials of ex‑service organisations often act on behalf of veterans in pursuing claims and help veterans to better understand their entitlements. This measure will mean easier and faster claims processing for veterans. The measure will also fund the development of options to provide ongoing support for these officials.
This measure delivers on the Government's election commitment.
Veterans' Special Claims Unit
| 2007‑08 | 2008‑09 | 2009‑10 | 2010‑11 | 2011‑12 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Department of Veterans' Affairs | 0.1 | 0.4 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 0.2 |
The Government will provide $1.2 million over five years to establish a Special Claims Unit in the Department of Veterans' Affairs. The Unit will help reduce the time taken to process income support and compensation claims of veterans and improve service delivery to the veteran community.
This measure delivers on the Government's election commitment.
War Widows' Pension — automatic granting to widow(er)s of Temporarily Totally Incapacitated Special Rate and Intermediate Rate Disability Pensioners
| 2007‑08 | 2008‑09 | 2009‑10 | 2010‑11 | 2011‑12 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Department of Veterans' Affairs | - | 0.7 | 1.5 | 2.3 | 3.2 |
The Government will extend the automatic granting of the War Widows' Pension to the widow(er)s of veterans who were in receipt of the Temporarily Totally Incapacitated Special Rate and Intermediate Rate of Disability Pension at the time of the veteran's death. The estimated cost of this measure is $7.7 million over four years.
This measure will bring these widow(er)s into line with arrangements that currently apply to the widow(er)s of Extreme Disablement Adjustment and Totally and Permanently Incapacitated disability pensioners.
This measure delivers on the Government's election commitment.
Other measures
Australian Defence Force — recognition of the service of the Australian Training Support Team in the United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor
| 2007‑08 | 2008‑09 | 2009‑10 | 2010‑11 | 2011‑12 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Department of Veterans' Affairs | - | - | - | - | - |
| Related revenue ($m) | |||||
| Australian Taxation Office | - | - | - | - | - |
| Related capital ($m) | |||||
| Department of Veterans' Affairs | - | - | - | - | - |
The Government will provide $4.0 million over five years (including $0.7 million in 2007‑08) to recognise the special service of the Australian Training Support Team in the operations of the United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor between 1 March 2001 and 25 July 2005. The measure will mean that around 200 Australian Defence Force personnel will have access to a range of income and health support measures provided under the Veterans' Entitlement Act 1986. It is estimated there will be a reduction in revenue of $1.6 million in 2007‑08 as affected personnel will become eligible for more concessional taxation treatment of income earned while on service. The measure includes $0.2 million in capital funding in 2007‑08 to upgrade related computer systems.
Provision for this funding has already been included in the forward estimates.
Repatriation Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme — minor new listings
| 2007‑08 | 2008‑09 | 2009‑10 | 2010‑11 | 2011‑12 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Department of Veterans' Affairs | 0.5 | 0.8 | 0.7 | 0.6 | 0.6 |
The Government will list 19 new drugs on the Repatriation Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme at an estimated cost of $3.3 million over five years. The minor new listings are medicines and dressings that have been listed at either no additional cost to the budget (because they replace existing listings or offer cheaper alternatives) or each have an estimated cost of less than $1.0 million per annum. New listings include:
- Lyrica® (pregabalin) for the treatment of neuropathic pain;
- Mepilex®, Mepilex® Border and Mepitel®, a range of wound dressings;
- Actonel® Combi (risedronate sodium and calcium carbonate) for the treatment of osteoporosis;
- Terbihexal® (terbinafine hydrochloride) for the treatment of ringworm; and
- Logicin Sinus® (pseudoephedrine hydrochloride) for the treatment of nasal congestion associated with cold or flu.
Veterans' health services — improved administration
| 2007‑08 | 2008‑09 | 2009‑10 | 2010‑11 | 2011‑12 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Department of Veterans' Affairs | - | - | - | - | - |
The Government will continue funding to improve the administration of veterans' health. This measure is aimed at reducing overpayments to health providers and improving debt recovery in veterans' health services. Provision for this measure has already been included in the forward estimates.
This measure will cost $4.8 million over four years to administer and is expected to result in $10.0 million in savings, delivering net savings of $5.2 million over four years.
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