Chapter 1 - Introduction
Your obligations
Fact sheets
Who this guide is for
This guide has been written for people who receive an income support payment from the Department of Veterans’ Affairs (DVA); for service pensioners, social security age pensioners (paid by DVA), war widows and widowers and their families and carers; for representatives of ex-service organisations; and for others who act on behalf of, help or advise income support pensioners.
Compact Disc (CD) and audio files
This guide is available on CD or as MP3 files for download, for people who have difficulty reading standard print. Please contact your nearest DVA office for a CD if you need one. To download the MP3 version of You & Your Pension, refer to the audio download page.
What this guide is about
The guide contains information about:
- pensions, services and benefits;
- health, personal finances and lifestyle issues; and
- your rights and obligations.
We hope that this guide will be a handy reference for you and your family. If you have any questions about your pension or your eligibility for other benefits or services, use this guide as a starting point.
Your obligations
As a person receiving a service pension, social security age pension (paid by DVA) or an income support supplement, you have a legal obligation to keep us informed of changes that may affect the amount of pension you receive.
The obligations apply equally to the partners, trustees and agents of service pensioners, social security age pensioners (paid by DVA) and income support supplement recipients.
We want to help you to understand what you need to tell us and what you don't. Many of you tell us more than you need to and we want to reduce any worry you have about fulfilling your obligations.
In each chapter you will find that your obligations have been clearly and simply explained. Remember, fulfilling your obligations within the specified time period helps to ensure that your pension is paid at the right rate.
Specified time period
The specified time period in which you must tell us of changes that may affect your pension is as follows:
- service pensioners and war widows and widowers receiving the income support supplement – within 14 days of the event (or 28 days if you live overseas or receive remote area allowance)unless otherwise stated
- social security age pensioners (paid by DVA) – within 14 days of the event (or 28 days if living overseas) in all circumstances unless otherwise stated. (See Chapter 5 - Your obligations).
The words we use
In this guide we use the following terms:
income support - the term ‘income support’ refers to those pensions and allowances which are paid subject to a means test
income support pension - the term ‘income support pension’ includes the service pension, the social security age pension (paid by DVA), and the income support supplement paid to many war widows and widowers
reduced rate pension - a ‘reduced rate pension’ is a pension paid at less than the maximum rate
partner - the term 'partner' refers to a person who is a member of a couple. It means the other member of the couple and includes spouse, de facto
veterans - includes mariners, members of Peacekeeping Forces and members of the Australian Defence Forces
war widows - the term 'war widows' includes widowers
war widow's pension - this term refers to the pension paid to war widows and widowers
Fact sheets
We have further information available in a series of fact sheets called DVA FACTS. These cover a range of DVA benefits and services and are available at any DVA office or on the internet, address www.dva.gov.au/factsheets/default.htm. Some of these fact sheets are referred to in this guide.
The fact sheets are presented as PDF and HTML files. Please use the PDF versions of the fact sheets for viewing and printing. The HTML versions of the fact sheets are not of the same formatting quality and have been provided to cater for visually impaired users who have software designed to read HTML text.
Look for this symbol:
| Fact Sheet: No. |
|---|
| Title (PDF format) |
| Title (HTML format) |
If
the guide does not answer your questions, ring us or write to us at
your nearest DVA office.
Who we are
The Department of Veterans’ Affairs (DVA) serves Australia's veteran and defence communities, their widows, widowers and dependants through programs of care, rehabilitation, compensation, income support, commemoration and defence support activities.
How to contact us
If you need more information or want to talk to us, there are a number of ways you can contact us.
Ring us, write to us or visit any of our offices.
Contact details are on the back cover of this book. We are listed under Veterans’ Affairs in the White Pages of your telephone directory.
| Fact Sheet: DVA 07 |
|---|
| Who to contact (PDF version) |
| Who to contact (HTML version) |
DVA State Office addresses with contact information are listed here.
If you need the addresses and telephone numbers of other DVA offices, we can send you a fact sheet which includes tips about when to phone to avoid busy times.
Oral advice
We make every effort to ensure that you are given accurate information, however, it is important that you seek written confirmation before making any major decisions based on oral advice. For instance, ask us to confirm in writing the effect on your pension of making or withdrawing a significant investment before making a decision. We want to improve the level of service you receive and make this request as an added safeguard for you.