Appendix A
Compensation Mechanisms Available to Female Vietnam Veterans
This appendix provides information about groups which are not covered by the VEA, and the compensation mechanisms which may be available to them.
The following groups of civilians who served in or visited Vietnam are not eligible for benefits under the VEA:
- members of the medical and surgical teams of the South East Asia Treaty Organisation (SEATO) Aid Program,
- members of the Australian Forces Overseas Fund,
- official entertainers,
- persons employed in the hospital rebuilding project,
- Australian Embassy staff,
- Australians working as civilians for the US Army,
- Qantas pilots,
- war correspondents for Australian newspapers, and
- merchant seamen who sailed ships chartered by the Government for transport of supplies to Vietnam.
Under their terms of employment, those engaged by the Commonwealth to work in Vietnam were covered under Commonwealth Government Employees' Compensation legislation then in force. This legislation has been superseded by the Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 1988, and is currently administered through Comcare by the Department of Employment, Workplace Relations and Small Business.
If civilian veterans have questions about whether they may be covered for workers compensation under arrangements for Commonwealth government employees, they should write to:
The Chief Executive Officer
Comcare
GPO Box 211
Canberra ACT 2601If civilian veteran employment in Vietnam did not occur under the auspices of the Commonwealth government, veterans would need to contact the organisation they worked for to obtain details of the relevant compensation arrangements.
The Department of Veterans' Affairs provides compensation for veterans of the Australian forces and their eligible dependants for injury, disease or death due to war service. To qualify for benefits under the VEA a person must have been a member of the forces, have continuous full-time service and have been allotted for duty in an operational area.
Representatives of approved philanthropic organisations who provided medical and welfare services to the Australian Forces in Vietnam, and persons employed by the Commonwealth who were attached to the Australian Defence Force are considered to be members of the Defence Forces who were rendering continuous full-time service. Generally speaking, these personnel served in Army uniform, had Army service numbers and were subject to Army discipline. Members of the Australian Red Cross who served with the Army in Vietnam are included in this category.
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