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PART C - AGENCY BUDGET STATEMENTS -DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS' AFFAIRS

SECTION 1 - DEPARTMENT OVERVIEW, APPROPRIATIONS AND BUDGET MEASURES SUMMARY

Department Overview
Appropriations
Non-appropriation Revenues
Special Appropriations
Departmental Equity Injections and Loans

DEPARTMENT OVERVIEW

The Department provides support to the Repatriation Commission and is responsible for advising the Commission on policies and programmes for repatriation beneficiaries and administering these policies. As well as supporting the Repatriation Commission, the Department administers legislation such as the Defence Service Homes Act 1918 under which housing assistance is provided and, under an agency agreement with the Department of Defence, the Military Compensation and Rehabilitation Service (MCRS). The incorporation of the MCRS into DVA brings together the administration of the existing veterans' and military compensation schemes.

The national office of the Department is located in Canberra with State offices in each major capital city and regional offices or Veterans' Affairs Network offices located in other metropolitan and rural centres. The Department is working to enhance service delivery to rural and remote veterans through the establishment of agency arrangements to deliver DVA information and services where the Department has no permanent local presence.

APPROPRIATIONS

The total appropriation for the Department in the 2003-04 Budget is $9,961,679,000. Total appropriations for the Department of Veterans' Affairs for 2003-04 by the five Government outcomes, by administered expenses, price of output appropriations and, where appropriate, administered capital and departmental equity injections and loans is presented in Table 1.1 overleaf.

Table 1.2.1 shows the comparison of estimated actual expenditure for 2002-03 and budget appropriations for 2003-04. Table 1.2.2 shows the comparison of additional estimates and estimated actual expenditure for 2002-03.

Table 1.1 - Department of Veterans' Affairs Appropriations

Go to table 1.1

Table 1.2.1 - Comparison of 2002-03 Estimated Actual and 2003-04 Budget Appropriations

Go to table 1.2.1

Table 1.2.2 - Comparison of Additional Estimates and Estimated Actual Expenditure for 2002-03

Go to table 1.2.2

Table 1.3 - Summary of Measures Disclosed in the 2003-04 Budget

Go to table 1.3

NON-APPROPRIATION REVENUES

Table 1.4 - Non-appropriation departmental and administered revenue (DVA, excluding DSHI)
	Estimated Revenue 2002-03 $'000	Budget Estimated Revenue 2003-04 $'000
departmental revenue
Departmental section 31 revenue	17,473	14,713
Interest	848	0
Resources received free of charge	330	338
Total non-appropriation departmental revenue	18,651	15,051
Appropriations
Total departmental revenue	18,651	15,051
Administered revenue
Miscellaneous	2,399	2,399
Abnormal and Extraordinary income - Federation Fund	2,000	0
Total non-appropriation administered revenue	4,399	2,399
Appropriations	0	0
Total administered revenue	4,399	2,399
Total estimated revenue	23,050	17,450

SPECIAL APPROPRIATIONS

Table 1.5 - Estimated Expenses from Special Appropriations
	Estimated Actual 2002-03	Budget Estimate 2003-04
Outcome 1 (see also Table 2.1.1)	$'000	$'000
Papua New Guinea (Members of the Forces Benefits) Act 1957
Papua New Guinea pensions	118	120

Veterans' Entitlements Act 1986
Disability pensions and allowances for veterans and their dependants	1,247,295	1,312,898

Pensions and allowances for war and defence widows and other dependants	1,371,853	1,445,070

Income Support pensions	2,796,696	2,815,632

Loss of earnings allowances	366	282

Funeral benefits	6,498	6,941

Telephone allowance	20,350	20,525

Recreation transport allowance	4,931	5,356

Payments to former Prisoners of War of the Japanese and their widows	1,000	150

Compensation (Japanese Internment) Act 2001
Payments to former detainees	100	0

Defence Service Homes Act 1918
Interest subsidy to be paid to Westpac	10,800	9,800

Total Outcome 1	5,460,007	5,616,774

Outcome 2 (see also Table 2.1.2)
Subsistence	6,980	7,285

Veterans' hospital and health services	2,560,644	2,780,806

Veterans' pharmaceutical services	424,474	455,091

Residential Care	644,448	682,978

Veterans' Home Care	67,508	76,073

Total Outcome 2	3,704,054	4,002,233

Total Estimated Expenses	9,164,061	9,619,007

**Table 1.6: Estimated Special Account Flows And Balances**
Estimate - 2003-04, Bold Figures Actual - 2002-03, Regular Figures
	Opening Balance	Receipts	Payments	Adjustments	Closing Balance
	2003-04 2002-03 $'000	2003-04 2002-03 $'000	2003-04 2002-03 $'000	2003-04 2002-03 $'000	2003-04 2002-03 $'000
Other Trust Monies - FMA s20 (A)	0	0	0	0	0

	697	0	697	0	0

Defence Service Homes Insurance Account - FMA s21 (Defence Service Homes Act 1980 s 40) (D)	59,413	28,060	26,930	0	60,543
	59,051	28,513	28,151	0	59,413

Australians at War Account - FMA s 20 (A)	689	20	700	0	9
	121	568	0	0	689

Federation Fund Account - FMA s20 (A)	0	0	0	0	0
	2,000	0	2,000	0	0

Total Special Accounts	60,102	28,080	27,630	0	60,552
	61,869	29,081	30,848	0	60,102

D = Departmental A = Administered

Defence Service Homes Insurance - Refer Table 2.1.1 at page 38

Other Trust Monies - Refer Table 2.2.1 at page 48

Australians at War Account - Refer Table 2.3.1 at page 56

Federation Fund Account - Refer Table 2.3.1 at page 56

DEPARTMENTAL EQUITY INJECTIONS AND LOANS

The Department of Veterans' Affairs will receive a departmental equity injection of $4.505m in 2003-04 as indicated in Table 1.1 (page 19) and Table 1.7 below.

Table 1.7 - Departmental equity injections
	Item	$'000
	2003-04 Budget Measures
	Nil	0
	Sub total	0

	Previous Budget Measures
	Managing health care information	4,445
	Reduce overpayments and improve debt recovery	60

	Sub total	4,505
	Total	4,505