V V C S - Veterans and Veterans Families Counselling Service: Index Page

About V V C S
History of the V V C S
A new name for the V V C S
Who can use the V V C S
What services V V C S provides
What is the Veterans Line?
Group programs
Outreach Program
National Newsletters
Referrals to V V C S
Brochures
Crisis Assistance Time Out Program
Contact details
Feedback and Complaints

About V V C S

The V V C S – Veterans and Veterans Families Counselling Service provides counselling and group programs to Australian veterans and peacekeepers and their families. It is a specialised, free and confidential Australia-wide service.

V V C S staff are professionally qualified psychologists or social workers with experience in working with veterans and peacekeepers and their families. They can provide a wide range of programs and treatments for war and service-related mental health conditions including post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

History of the V V C S

The first V V C S - Veterans and Veterans Families Counselling Service opened in Adelaide in January 1982. Since this time V V C S has grown and now has offices in 15 locations across Australia.

You can find out more about the history of the V V C S here.

A new name for the V V C S

In April 2007, the Vietnam Veterans Counselling Service was renamed the V V C S – Veterans and Veterans Families Counselling Service.

Further information on the new name of the V V C S is available here.

Who can use the V V C S?

The following people can use V V C S:

Australian veterans of all conflicts and peace operations
partners, and dependent children (under 26 years of age) of veterans with issues arising from the veteran’s service and war widows/widowers
ex-partners, within five years of separation
all sons and daughters of Vietnam veterans, regardless of age, with psychological, emotional and social needs arising from the impact of their parent’s operational or warlike service.
ex-service personnel with a mental health condition as a DVA-accepted disability, and
current serving members of the ADF who have been formally referred by the ADF under the Strategic Alliance (Memorandum Of Understanding) Fee for Service Arrangement.

DVA entitlement is not required to access services.

If you have any questions about your eligibility to access V V C S services contact your nearest office.

What services V V C S provides

V V C S provides:

individual, couple and family counselling
after-hours telephone crisis counselling (Veterans Line)
group programs including lifestyle management programs
referral to other services
information and education.

In a friendly and safe setting, counsellors help people address problems in their lives with the aim of finding effective solutions for an improved health and wellbeing. V V C S counsellors are available to help, whether or not the problems are obviously war-related.

You can find out more about VVCS services here

What is the Veterans Line?

The after-hours crisis service provides telephone counselling services to help all veterans, peacekeepers and their families cope with crisis situations outside office hours.
Phone: 1800 011 046

Group Programs

Group programs provide a variety of educative and therapeutic groups to enhance the quality of life for veterans and their families.

V V C S groups have been positively received by both veterans and their families. Groups may be provided to address a range of issues and are goal-directed and time-limited.

Group programs cover areas such as:

Health and wellbeing (stress and anger management, alcohol management, assertiveness and self-esteem skills)
Relationships
Lifestyles
transitioning form the Defence force into a civilian life, and
many more

You can find out more about the programs available throughout Australia here.

Outreach Program

Veterans who aren’t close to a VVCS centre can access VVCS services via the Outreach Program.

VVCS engages contract counsellors on a fee-for-service basis to provide counselling services to eligible clients in rural, remote and outer-metropolitan areas across Australia. Qualified Social Workers and Psychologists can find out more about the process of becoming a V V C S Outreach Program Provider here.

National Newsletters

National Newsletter Edition 1 (1.4 Mb)

Referrals to V V C S

Veterans, peacekeepers and members of their families can refer themselves.
Medical practitioners, other health and welfare workers, the Australian Defence Force and ex-service organisations may refer by telephone, letter or recommend self-referral.
Rural veterans, family members and health service providers can use the toll free telephone number 1800 011 046 to contact the V V C S.

Brochures

The following brochures are available

Veterans Brochure | Younger Veterans Brochure | Partners, wives & widows | Sons & Daughters I VVCS Brochure | Stepping Out

Crisis Assistance Time Out Program

How to assist veterans in a crisis; crisis information pact; crisis assistance program assessment protocols; veteran information kit; and what's new. You can find out more about the program here.

Contact details

Veterans' line - 1800 011 046 (Nationally)

Contact details for V V C S Offices throughout Australia are available here.

Feedback and Complaints

We welcome and value your feedback as it assists us in improving the standards and quality of the service.

If you have a complaint about our service you should:

Step 1	Contact your local VVCS centre on toll free 1800 011 046 and ask to talk to the Director
Step 2	If you are not satisfied with the response, ask to be referred to the VVCS National Manager on toll free 1800 011 046
Step 3	If you are still not satisfied with the response, you can contact the Health Complaints Unit at your state/territory Department of Health
	OR
	contact the Commonwealth Ombudsman on 1300 362 072 or via the internet address www.ombudsman.gov.au