Good morning Chair and Senators.
The recent Federal Budget provided significant investment of $14.6 billion to enable the Department of Veterans’ Affairs (DVA) to support more than 357,000 veteran and families of veterans through compensation, treatment, rehabilitation and other support services, as well as national commemoration activities.
More than $770 million in additional funding was allocated to continue the implementation of the Government’s response to the Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide.
As I outlined last Estimates, veterans and families of veterans will see significant improvements to the way they are supported from 1 July, with the delivery of two critical reforms responding to recommendations from the Royal Commission.
In just a few weeks, the Veterans’ Entitlements, Treatment and Support (Simplification and Harmonisation) Act 2025—the VETS Act—will come into effect and simplify and harmonise the legislation for veterans and veteran families’ entitlements.
From 1 July, the enhanced Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 2004 (MRCA) will be the single ongoing Act and make accessing support quicker and simpler for veterans and families of veterans.
All new rehabilitation and compensation claims made from this date will be assessed under the MRCA.
Claims already on hand at this date will continue to be assessed under current arrangements.
From 1 July, we’re also standing up the new Veteran and Family Wellbeing Agency, which will strengthen connection and access to wellbeing supports.
The Agency will focus on prevention, early intervention, and supporting veterans through their ongoing transition journey from military to civilian life.
It will commence with foundational capability with a digital focus and scale operations over time.
The establishment phase will prioritise support for those currently in the process of transitioning from service.
In regards to claims, the Department continues to experience strong growth in lodgements, including more complex claims involving multiple conditions.
At the end of April 2026, DVA had 99,517 claims on hand.
Of these claims, 69% (69,092) were with an officer for processing and 31% (30,425) were waiting to be allocated. Of these 31%, 93% are for Permanent Impairment claims, which are where Initial Liability has been determined, meaning a veteran is able to access treatment and income maintenance compensation while waiting for their condition to stabilise following all reasonable rehabilitative treatment.
The Department continues to prioritise Initial Liability (IL) decision making, while also progressing other claim types.
In April 2026, 96.5% of IL claims were allocated to an officer for processing within 14 days. This compares to 2022–23 when a MRCA IL claim would remain unallocated for an average of 332 days.
For claims received within the last 12 months, the average Time Taken To Process for MRCA IL was 138 days.
In the 2024–25 financial year, the Department was able to finalise over 6,600 claims aged 800 plus days. Claims aged over 800 plus days now make up just 0.58% of DVA’s active caseload, down from 3.6% of the active caseload in December 2024.
DRCA Permanent Impairment claims are up by 52.2% this financial year to date compared to 2024–25. This increase was anticipated in the lead up to commencement of the VETS Act as veterans seek to test their claims against the DRCA legislative framework before it sunsets on 30 June 2026.
As announced last estimates, new staff are joining Client Benefits Division to increase claims processing capacity. Nearly 30 of these have commenced with a further 20 nearing final stages of recruitment.
Recently onboarded staff have commenced the outbound call strategy to update veterans waiting on PI determinations on the status of their claim.
- Following the Government’s investments in the Mid-Year Economic Fiscal Outlook (MYEFO) and as I outlined at last Estimates, the Department is strengthening its commitment to the lifetime health and wellbeing of veterans and serving members.
- We’re moving beyond a system focused primarily on injury and compensation to one that prioritises early treatment, rehabilitation and prevention. This has commenced already with a new pilot program to refer current and former Australian Defence Force (ADF) members for treatment relating to tinnitus.
Since March 2026, more than 4,500 veterans have been referred to Hearing Australia for evidence-based treatment, with over 650 already attending an initial appointment.
In line with efforts to improve access to treatment for all veterans, the Budget allocated $169.7 million over five years—and $58.8 million per year ongoing—to increase fees for allied health providers delivering treatment to Veteran Card holders from 1 July 2027. This responds to concerns raised by many veterans, and indeed by Committee members, and a recommendation of the Royal Commission that fees for allied health services for veterans should be increased.
For example, a standard physiotherapy face-to-face consultation will increase from $75.10 to $110, while a psychology in room consultation of more than 50 minutes will rise from $163.40 to $260.
Importantly, this funding will improve health care access and expand treatment choices for veterans.
Alongside this increase in allied health provider fees, Veteran Card holders will have a $5,000 annual limit to spend on allied health services based on their individual treatment preferences, starting on 1 July 2027.
Current usage of allied health services indicates around 1 in every 10 Veteran Card Holders use more than $5,000 in a year.
- This initiative will ensure veterans benefit from greater accountability for treatment effectiveness while addressing instances of overservicing in the current system.
For example, we are aware of cases in which billing to the department indicates veterans have received almost daily treatment from multiple allied health professionals.
This is not consistent with the way allied health treatment is typically delivered across the broader community, including for people with acute or chronic health needs, and in some cases reflects sharp practices being driven by a small number of providers.
Under the new arrangements, the existing referral requirements—known as the Treatment Cycle—will also be removed, resulting in less administration.
I want to assure veterans that if their care needs exceed the $5,000 amount, DVA will have the flexibility to fund additional services where there is a demonstrated clinical need.
Consultation on this process will commence in August. This will involve a public submission process, virtual town halls, and direct engagement with ESOs and peak provider organisations.
We have created a dedicated webpage for veterans and providers to stay up to date with this measure to try and allay concerns and misapprehensions about how allied health services will continue to be accessed after 1 July 2027.
Other initiatives in the Budget included $29.8 million over 3 years for DVA, the Australian Bureau of Statistics and the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare to establish the National Veterans’ Data Asset.
These and other initiatives already outlined underscore the significant progress we have made in implementing the Government’s response to the Royal Commission.
By the end of this year, two thirds of the Royal Commission’s 122 recommendations are expected to be implemented or progressing.
Senators would be aware that DVA received $137.3 million over three years in MYEFO to strengthen essential ICT, digital and data systems, including MyService and targeted AI-enabled improvements.
These investments are already improving productivity through tools such as CLIKChat and Copilot, reducing time spent on routine tasks.
They are also supporting faster, simpler claims pathways, including streamlining processing for over 150 conditions under Presumptive Liability, which will commence on 1 July 2026.
In conjunction with RSL Queensland, a pilot using AI to assist delegates with claims decisions has already had 19 participants with 44 claims. Early results indicate massive efficiency in time taken to assess Initial Liability claims. As stated earlier at previous hearings, this pilot is voluntary on the part of veteran participants with an evaluation to be made public when finalised.
Following the advocacy funding announced in MYEFO, we have been working closely with the Institute of Veterans’ Advocacy to support free, properly trained and ethical advocacy services, including providing training to advocates on the new VETS Act.
Since my last update, the Department’s Provider Integrity Division has also worked quickly to lift our provider integrity capability across detection, assessment, treatment and measurement.
All integrity measures are veteran centric and put veterans and their families first, while ensuring providers meet our standards when delivering services funded by DVA.
Finally, I’d like to acknowledge the work of the Department in delivering solemn services in Türkiye, France, Thailand, and Malaysia on Anzac Day this year. DVA also supported the service in Isurava, Papua New Guinea.
The commemorative services were a fitting tribute to the service and sacrifice of those who have served our nation, past and present.
DVA is now preparing for a commemorative event in October to mark 25 years since the commencement of Australian service in Afghanistan.
Thank you. I look forward to your questions.