Welcome to the Department of Veterans’ Affairs Corporate Plan 2006-2009. With this document, DVA moves from its annual Corporate Plan to a three-year planning cycle. This allows us to highlight some specific challenges for the department in the near future, and to set longer-term directions, providing a broader strategic framework within which our divisions and national lines of business can develop their annual operational plans.
Since the establishment of the Repatriation Department in 1918, this department has proudly served the Australian Government and the nation, working to meet the changing needs of those who serve Australia. Nearly 90 years later, we provide a range of entitlements and services to veterans, war widows, serving and former defence force members and their families. We must meet the needs of several generations, from veterans and war widows of the two world wars through to today’s serving and former members of the Australian Defence Force (ADF), many of whom have served in multiple deployments and are now facing very different health issues to their older counterparts. As we begin the life of this Corporate Plan, our responsibilities have again broadened, with the extension of entitlements to include eligible Australian Federal Police (AFP) personnel who have served overseas.
DVA has recognised the need for change to ensure that we are able to sustain our high quality services. In 2005-2006, we completed and implemented the findings of a Service Delivery Review. In 2006-2009, DVA must manage a number of significant challenges. The anticipated reduction in the number of veterans and war widows will accelerate as the World War II generation ages. Our financial resources will be reduced accordingly and DVA will have to become a smaller organisation. We must build our capability to work within resource constraints, while continuing to meet the expectations of our client groups and the broader community.
The Corporate Plan 2006-2009 outlines the strategic priorities for our Outcomes – the entitlements, services and support we provide to those who serve our nation. It also sets out our path to the future, as the department moves to the concept of oneDVA, a single, cohesive entity that offers the same quality service to veterans, serving and former members, police members and their families, regardless of their generation, their service or their location.
We need to invest in people, by developing and implementing a long-term workforce strategy that ensures we have staff with the right skills and in the right place to deliver high quality services.
We need to invest in information technology, by implementing the Cúram applications framework and integrating our systems to meet our current and future business needs.
We need to continue reviewing our processes, to seek further improvements in the way that we do business.
These are not short-term objectives. They require commitment from across DVA, at all levels of staff, to build the oneDVA ethos into our strategic business planning, from divisions right through to individual performance development and review agreements.
The reward will be an integrated and flexible agency able to sustain into the future the quality of service delivery that has been the hallmark of our history.
Mark Sullivan
SECRETARY
