Radio Interview - ABC Goulburn Murray

E&OE ABC

GOULBURN MURRAY
BREAKFAST WITH JO PINTZ

THURSDAY, 25 JUNE 2026

SUBJECTS: New, simpler veterans entitlement system; Veteran and Family Wellbeing Agency; Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide

JO PRINTZ, HOST: A new Veteran and Family Wellbeing Agency will start operating on July first as the federal government introduces a new streamlined system for veterans to navigate when it comes to Defence service pensions and compensation claims. The ABC’s Andrew Mangelsdorf spoke with the Minister for Veterans’ Affairs and Defence Personnel Matt Keogh about this.

MATT KEOGH, MINISTER FOR VETERANS’ AFFAIRS AND DEFENCE PERSONNEL: So, from the first of July we've got two big changes coming through. One is a change to the legislation that supports veterans making claims and getting access to payments. And the other is starting a new Veteran and Family Wellbeing agency. So, the legislative changes is about making it simpler for veterans to be able to make claim with DVA and get access to the support they need. And the new Veterans Wellbeing Agency is about those broader wellbeing supports, connecting veterans to whether they're government services or other services that they may need to provide them with a broader suite of supports.

ANDREW MANGELSDORF, REPORTER: What's the purpose of these changes being brought in?

KEOGH: One of the things that we inherited, and it's been around for many, many decades now, is that there's been three different pieces of legislation that have supported our veteran community. And I know in the area where your listeners are, there's over 6,000 veterans. And some of those veterans would have claims under one scheme, some would have it under another scheme. Some veterans would have a claim under all three schemes. Incredibly complex to navigate, very difficult for people to know what they were entitled to. This led to stress in the veteran community. The Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide said that this contributed to suicidality in the veteran community and said the government needed to simplify that. And that's what we've spent the last few years doing in consulting broadly with veterans and experts across the country and then changing the law so that we now are going to have one scheme going forward for all veteran claims. It's simpler for people to know what they're entitled to. It's easier for the Department of Veterans Affairs to process claims, which means they can be processed more quickly. Importantly, any veterans who's already receiving benefits doesn't go backwards. They keep getting what they're already getting. They don't need to do anything. It'll all happen automatically. But for new claims going forward, they'll be under a single scheme. Much simpler for everyone to use.

MANGELSDORF: These changes, it sounds like there's quite a lot of simplification happening here. Is that going to be a lot of work to bring this about and will veterans need to assist the government in any of this?

KEOGH: So, certainly there's been a lot of work in introducing these changes. The law was actually changed back in early 2025. It doesn't start until the first of July this year, so, that's next week. And the reason for that time between when the law changed and when it starts to have effect was to make sure that we could change the computer systems in DVA, train advocates around the country that support our veterans in making claims, training staff, so everything's ready to go from the first of July.

MANGELSDORF: Taking us to the Veterans Wellbeing Agency you mentioned and that's being established. So, that's coming into place, that's starting up, from the start of July as well?

KEOGH: That's correct. So, the Veteran and Family Wellbeing Agency is about providing a connection to those broader supports. Veterans are often, you know, sort of troubled by there's all these different things that might be able to help them. But how do I navigate a way through? How do I know the right place to go? And for some of the veterans in your community, you know, they've had the advantage of being able to use the Tim Fisher Veteran and Families Hub in Wodonga, for example, which is a place that veterans can go, families can go and be connected to services and support and know where the right place is. This agency will be available nationally. It'll have a website and a phone line that people can access when they are trying to find what's the right service, is there something to help them? It'll be focusing though, in particular on supporting those people who are transitioning from full time Defence service to civilian life. We know that can be an at-risk cohort. There can be gaps between what support they're getting from Defence and what they're able to get from the Department of Veterans affairs, for example. So, this agency will help them in navigating that, making sure that they're connected to services that they need to support them in that transition journey in particular.

MANGELSDORF: You said these are some of the biggest changes that have been made in quite a long time to Veterans affairs, to these services. What's the significance of that?

KEOGH: Well, I think the real significance is what we have done in making the changes to the law that start on the first of July is that this has not been a piecemeal approach to, you know, tacking on a change here or adding a different element or support there. It's been a holistic approach of looking at all of the schemes that are there. How do we move from, make this simpler, how do we make this easier for veterans to navigate? We've adopted the foundation of the Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Act, which is a scheme that's been in place since 2004. So, it's a 21st century scheme as the basis of the single ongoing scheme. Closing out 20th century schemes, continuing to provide support to people who are already getting it, but making sure that we've looked at this holistically. So, for example, there was a payment available to some veterans under the Veterans Entitlements Act from 1986. And the 1986 act in itself was a sort of a bringing together, a smushing together almost, of about 80 years or about 60 years’ worth of legislation that had preceded it. There was a payment there that wasn't available under the MRCA. We've made sure that that's replicated in the MRCA going forward, so that we've got that parity across an old system into the new, simpler system. I think the important thing for veterans to know is if they're already receiving benefits from DVA, they'll continue to get exactly what they were receiving before nobody goes backwards. For any new claims coming forward from the first of July, they will fall under the single ongoing scheme. No one has to do anything, though, in the meantime, everything will flow automatically in terms of what people are already getting. And there's a raft of materials on the DVA website that give examples of different types of veterans and how they would be impacted with these changes if they're bringing a new claim so they can understand exactly how this system works and it's all set out clearly there online. 

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