This is part of the Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA) work to safeguard the integrity of the veteran rehabilitation system to make it easier for veterans and families to access care and compensation that supports their wellbeing.
It comes amid feedback from veterans that some unscrupulous medical clinics and health providers are exploiting the system and siphoning off millions of taxpayer dollars.
Mr Neumann said the Government’s significant investment in DVA since 2022 had meant claims decisions and funds are flowing more efficiently than they were under the previous government.
“Regrettably, bad actors are seeking to take advantage of improved Government service delivery, and we are scaling up DVA’s integrity and compliance efforts to match,” Mr Neumann said.
“The Albanese Government is investing more than $203 million to strengthen program integrity and veterans’ advocacy with the introduction of reforms to boost integrity and compliance efforts to combat fraud by providers and expand the support of professionalised free advocacy services for veterans and families of veterans.
“We will stop dodgy doctors and advocates taking advantage of veterans and those lodging fraudulent medical reports or claims for treatment, so our defence personnel, veterans and families receive the care and support they need and deserve.
“Consultation is now underway on strengthening protections for veterans engaging with the advocacy system to ensure they’re not exploited.”
Anyone interested can read the consultation paper and have their say at the following link: https://www.dva.gov.au/documents-and-publications/consultation-paper-veteran-advocacy-regulation-strengthening-protections-for-veterans
The new compliance push is part of a broader commitment to providing more effective and efficient support for veteran wellbeing.
DVA will now have a greater focus on early intervention and prevention, working closely with the Department of Defence to identify risks earlier and act sooner.
This includes using insights from claims decision-making to support Defence’s proactive approaches, and making it easier for veterans to access treatment and rehabilitation as early as possible to improve wellbeing outcomes.
The Albanese Government is investing $739.2 million to improve the provision of the treatment and rehabilitation for veterans to reduce the impact of injury on them and improve their lifetime wellbeing.
Mr Neumann said this reform was part of the Albanese Government’s response to the Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide, recognising that fostering wellbeing is one important protective factor against suicide.
“We are funding effective and innovative treatments for veterans, prescribed by registered medical practitioners.
“This includes options such as medicinal cannabis, for which we are releasing a new framework, as well as world leading treatments like MDMA for PTSD and psilocybin for treatment resistant depression, with appropriate safeguards in place to ensure safety and clinical oversight.
“At the same time, we are increasing GP fees to provide better support for medical practitioners treating veterans and ensure payments for reports are more consistent with fees in other equivalent jurisdictions and for other health professionals.
“This is something I advocated for when I was the Shadow Minister for Veterans’ Affairs and Defence Personnel, and I’m very pleased that the Government is now addressing this.”
