Radio interview — ABC 702, Sydney, Live with Hamish MacDonald

SUBJECTS: Veteran compensation claims; Veteran and Family Wellbeing Agency; Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide

HAMISH MACDONALD, HOST: Big changes are being designed to make it easier for veterans of our armed services to get the help that they need. I would like to hear from you on this morning, maybe you're a veteran, maybe someone in your family is a veteran—if you've had difficulties navigating the system, 1300 222 702 is the number. The Federal Government says that from 1 July it will be much simpler to submit a claim and it will be processed faster. A new Veteran and Family Wellbeing Agency also begins operation. This is being done in response to recommendations from the Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide. The Minister for Veterans' Affairs is Matt Keogh. He's here in the studio this morning. A very good morning to you.

MATT KEOGH, MINISTER FOR VETERANS' AFFAIRS AND DEFENCE PERSONNEL: Good morning, Hamish. Great to be with you.

MACDONALD: A long time coming on this. What exactly changes, how will it make life easier?

KEOGH: So we've had three different systems supporting our veterans for a long time now, over 20 years. And one of those systems really goes back over a century, and depending on when you served and what sort of service you had when you were in the Defence Force, you may be covered by one of those three schemes, or indeed you may be covered by two or even all three of those schemes. And that makes it very complicated for people making a claim to DVA for healthcare, for compensation, for rehabilitation. What the Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide said was that this complexity was adding to the mental stress on our veteran community and their families, and was really adding to the suicidality that we were seeing in the community.  And so we have set about, over the last few years, consulting with the veteran community around how do we simplify that system. And so from 1 July we move to having one system going forward, so any new claims made after the first of July will be made under that single system. That means it will be easier for veterans to know what they're entitled to and it will also mean it's simpler, and therefore, quicker for DVA to process those claims.

MACDONALD: We learned during the Royal Commission that there was a backlog of more than 40,000 veteran compensation claims. What is that backlog today?

KEOGH: So all of those 42,000 claims that had not even been looked at by DVA when we came to government have now been processed, and over ‑‑

MACDONALD: Processed to completion, or what does that mean?

KEOGH: So they've had their initial liability assessed, which means those veterans can access healthcare, rehabilitation, they've also been assessed for compensation, if that's what they're entitled to for those claims.

MACDONALD: So there's no outstanding claims from that 42,000?

KEOGH: Those 42,000 are now all dealt with.

MACDONALD: And so is there an additional backlog that's grown?

KEOGH: So what we've got now is DVA has on the books at any one time around 70,000 claims in the process of being processed. What we've seen is we've added resources to DVA, improved the throughput of claims. We've actually seen more claims come in than before. Now that's a good thing, it means people have confidence in the system, but we've had to really work at processing that. Last financial year DVA processed something like 100,000 conditions. So a claim can have more than one condition that a veteran may be suffering. So that's been a huge workload. We've made a considerable increase in the number of staff in DVA, we've improved the IT systems to get through claims. Right now, if you put in a claim under what's called the MRCA, which is the main scheme that people use and will be the single ongoing scheme after the first of July, that's picked up within 14 days, it's assessed for whether it's got everything that's needed to make a decision, you know, in case there's another medical report that might be required, for example. Then it goes in through for processing, and on average that happens in about three to four months.

MACDONALD: So obviously one of the things that emerged during the Royal Commission was that the system itself, not just the complexity, but the process, the interaction was so challenging. And given the vulnerable nature of veterans in these situations, it was actually adding to the mental health toll. What's different about this new system you're implementing that reduces that. Because presumably you still have to come back to them and see, "We need more paperwork, we need you to fill out this form, we need another specialist to advise on this". Isn't that still going to be there?

KEOGH: So certainly people need to be able to put in the information that's needed to support their claim. Most people are now able to do that online and they do it themselves, they don't even need an advocate to support them, but we're also funding advocates to provide free service to veterans to support them with claims. Their job's made easier by only having one scheme instead of three. It was the interaction between the three schemes that really added to the complexity, because there were different tests under different schemes. Not only did you have different entitlements, things that you might be able to receive, but also the tests that were applied were quite different. So moving to one scheme makes it a lot easier to produce or get a report from a doctor to support a claim, for example. To look at the medical record through one lens instead of three different lenses. So that's really important simplification. The other thing we're doing from 1 July though is standing up a new Veterans and Families Wellbeing Agency. And that's looking at the more holistic approach to veteran wellbeing. DVA deals with a claim to assess your healthcare needs, whether that's physical health or mental health or both, and then making sure you get access to the healthcare you need and any compensation you may be entitled to. But looking at those broader wellbeing needs, being able to navigate services that are available to support veterans, assisting veterans when they transition out of full‑time Defence service into predominantly civilian life, making sure there's no gap between that support they got under Defence through to what they might receive through DVA, that's going to be an important part of what this new Wellbeing Agency does.

MACDONALD: You have implemented 32 of the 122 recommendations of that Royal Commission. What's happened to the rest?

KEOGH: So by the end of last year we'd implemented 32, including what the Royal Commission said was its most important, which was we legislated a new oversight body to oversee our implementation of those recommendations, and that was stood up in September last year. We're on track at the moment to have two‑thirds of the recommendations implemented by the end of this year, so we're working really hard on that. Some of that is also legislative changes that will enable us to do even more of the recommendations after that legislation's passed. So some of the recommendations need to be implemented before other recommendations can then be put in place, so this is a big important year for getting those things put in place.

MACDONALD: If the conversation with the Minister for Veterans' Affairs, Matt Keogh, is raising any issues for you, the number for Open Arms is 1800 011 046. You can also call Lifeline at any time on 13 11 14. A question from John on the text line, "What are you going to do about the explosion of private paid advocacy companies in this space?"

KEOGH: Yeah, this has been a real concern for us because we have seen some of these act in quite an unscrupulous way towards our veterans, charging large fees, charging percentage fees of the compensation that veterans obtain. Our clear message to …

MACDONALD: So, what, they come in, they say, "We'll take up this case for you on your behalf with the Department and you give us a cut"?

KEOGH: Worse than that. They're saying, "Oh, we'll be able to get your claim processed quicker" or "We'll get you more compensation". And that's just not correct. What people get as compensation is set out in the law and DVA processes claims according to urgent priority and the order in which they're lodged with the Department. Importantly what we do at our end is, we say, "Look, we have a register of advocates that are accredited and that will not charge you a fee." And we say to veterans, "Use those advocates." They're free for veterans to access. A lot of them are provided through organisations like the RSL, or Vietnam Veterans' Association. Some are volunteers, some are employed by those organisations, and DVA provides funding to those organisations to support that work. But we're …

MACDONALD: Can you ban these other operators from interacting …

KEOGH: So we're looking at that right now.

MACDONALD: … with the Department?

KEOGH: Yeah. So we're working on that right now. We had an inquiry in Parliament last year to look at the scope of that issue, we had a consultation paper out in the first part of this year looking at how we might do that. We're looking at having an organisation that's separate to Government that would sort of be, if you like, a quasi-regulator to make sure that people that are acting in an unscrupulous way, taking advantage of our veterans, are not able to operate in this space.

MACDONALD: It is 19 minutes past 9. Matt Keogh is here, the Minister for Veterans' Affairs and Defence Personnel. I wonder if you could offer your thoughts to our listeners on AUKUS. We are overwhelmed with the number of listeners here in Sydney that have serious questions, not just about the validity of this, whether it's the right choice for Australia, but whether we'll get anything in the end anyway. Why is it that your Government is so resolute in the trust that it's placing in Trump's America, in Keir Starmer's Britain to deliver this incredibly complex project?

KEOGH: I think, firstly, just the way you framed it there, Hamish, it's important to realise this is a partnership, a treaty level relationship between the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia. Who's in power at any one time is sort of irrelevant to that. These are long, ongoing …

MACDONALD: Well, it's not though, in that the President of the day, it won't be Trump, unless he sticks around, the President of the day under the act that's gone through Congress to support AUKUS, they will have sign‑off on whether we get the submarines.

KEOGH: Sure. And there's a whole range of processes as part of the arrangement, as part of that pathway towards Australia first obtaining the Virginia‑class submarines that we will operate, and then ultimately the AUKUS‑class of submarines that will be built here in Australia. This is a really important program for our Defence Force, for our national security, being able to operate in our region. We currently operate the Collins‑class submarines, they will get to end of life. We need to have submarines that replace those submarines. The deal that we have done gets us those Virginia‑class submarines to be able to operate as those Collins‑class submarines get to the end of their technical life, and then to carry us through to when we start bringing on the AUKUS‑class of submarines. And submarines are a really important capability for our Defence Force, they are the pointy end of the spear. And that's because they can operate at range away from Australia and not be detected. That's incredibly important. And the options that nuclear propelled submarines provide us in terms of, not just being able to operate at length away from Australia but being able to move quickly and to keep our people safe when they're operating, is incredibly important. The conventional diesel submarines, where you have to recharge a battery by running a diesel engine just at the surface of the water places our people in danger. This is better technology.

MACDONALD: Can you explain for listeners though that are looking at conflicts unfolding all over the world right now, seeing that drones seem to be the way of the game. I know AUKUS doesn't limit the use of drones, but it spends a huge amount of taxpayers' money on these nuclear‑powered submarines, when we can see that very small vessels, very small things in the sky can take out very large pieces of military hardware for relatively low cost.

KEOGH: Yeah, so as you pointed out, we don't just do one thing, we do all of the things that we need to do. And when we look at the cost of the submarine program, which is over a long period of time, as a proportion of what it delivers in terms of capability, it's a bargain. But also we'll be spending money on drones and all the other capabilities. And the thing about drones and asymmetric warfare, which is what drones represent, is that, yes, they are much cheaper, which means you can acquire them at scale by spending a lot less money. But it needs to be backed up by a whole range of other capability like submarines, like long‑range missiles, like the work we're doing in the cyber and the space domains as well. We need to be able to do all of those things. I mean I think people sometimes focus on conflicts in other regions and look at that technology, and that's really important. We're in a very different region and in a very different operating environment, as an island continent operating through oceans and waters to our east and west. We have one of the biggest areas of sovereign water that we have to be able to patrol, but also project from our land base.

MACDONALD: Matt Keogh, it's good talking to you. Thank you very much for dropping by.

KEOGH: Great to be with you, Hamish, thank you.

ENDS

Open Arms – Veterans & Families Counselling provides 24/7 free confidential crisis support for current and ex-serving ADF personnel and their families on 1800 011 046 or the Open Arms website. Safe Zone Support provides anonymous counselling on 1800 142 072. Defence All-Hours Support Line provides support for ADF personnel on 1800 628 036 or the Defence Health Portal. Defence Member and Family Helpline provides support for Defence families on 1800 624 608