Our Planning Environment

In responding to our environment, we must consider these critical influences on planning:

The Community We Serve

• the increasing age of the veteran community
• the need for better awareness of entitlements and informed access to community services
• the need for training and development of third party providers, advocates and advisers representing the veteran community
• the increased and diverse needs of ageing veterans and recognition that many are not comfortable with all forms of electronic communication
• the inclusion of members of the Defence Force community and the needs of younger client groups

The Government's Policies

• announced policies for Veterans' Affairs, including continued support for the retention of DVA as a separate agency
• the Electronic Transactions Act 1999 and Government Online Strategy
• closer co-operation between DVA and the Department of Defence
• increased involvement of the private sector and non-government organisations
• market testing whether services should be delivered by the public service
• improved service delivery, particularly in rural and remote areas
• ongoing commitment to continuous improvement processes and reducing Departmental costs
• developments in the Australian health system
• government policies regarding Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander veterans

External Stakeholders

• provision of consistent services and improved availability of services
• the raised public awareness of veteran issues
• the formation of strong working relationships with providers
• Department of Defence interests

Global Changes

• the rate and scale of technological change
• the drive to identify and match Best Practice Standards of service and process