Veterans’ Legislation Reform Consultation Pathway commences

The Government has announced the commencement of public consultation on a Pathway to simplify veteran compensation and rehabilitation legislation.

It’s the next step in responding to the recommendations of the Interim Report by the Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide.

The Pathway for consultation anticipates:

• New claims under existing schemes will cease after a transition period, from which point all new veteran claims will be dealt with under an improved Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Act (MRCA) as the sole ongoing Act. The MRCA currently services the majority of claims.

• All benefits under existing schemes will continue unaffected, with only new claims or claims relating to deteriorated conditions to instead be covered by the single ongoing Act.

The consultation process will inform the way forward for the Government to simplify veterans’ legislation.

More information on the proposed Pathway, and the opportunity to provide feedback, can be found on the Veterans’ Legislation Reform Consultation Pathway page of the DVA website.

Written submissions close on 12 May 2023.

UPDATE: The public consultation on a pathway to simplify veteran compensation and rehabilitation legislation is going digital, with community members now invited to participate in webinar sessions. For more information, see the legislation consultation webinar article on Latest News.