TV Interview - Sky News Australia, Newsday with Kieran Gilbert

E&OE 
TELEVISION INTERVIEW 
SKY NEWS, NEWSDAY WITH KIERAN GILBERT

WEDNESDAY, 1 JULY 2026
 
SUBJECTS: New simpler veteran entitlement system; Veteran and Family Wellbeing Agency; allied health payments for veterans

KIERAN GILBERT, HOST: It is July first, a number of programs coming into force today, including a new veterans support service. The Minister is Matt Keogh who joins me now, the Minister for Veterans’ Affairs and Defence Personnel. Thanks for your time. Can you explain to our viewers, those who are interested, obviously we have many veterans as well who watch the program. What is the new service?

MATT KEOGH, MINISTER FOR VETERANS’ AFFAIRS AND DEFENCE PERSONNEL: So, so the new agency that we've set up is the Veteran and Family Wellbeing Agency and what it's really focused on is connecting our veterans and families to the whole myriad of services that are out there to support veterans, whether they're government provided or state government, but also all those ex service organisations that are out there supporting veterans. The Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide identified the need to have an agency like this that provides that point of connection because there's great services there. People don't know where to start, they don't know how to access them.

GILBERT: So, this is basically a one stop shop, essentially. A veteran can go and say, look I need this and they'll say well go to the Department of Veterans Affairs or go to Soldier On or they can help divert people to where they need to be. Is that basically it?

KEOGH: So, for a lot of people it can be self-led. There's a website, there's a portal. You can do searches of your own area of different services you might be looking for and you can connect. There's also the telephone service for those who might have more complex needs and that the Agency itself can then provide that referral on and connect people to where they need to go. Builds on what we've done with Veterans’ and Families’ Hubs, which are in those locations where you've got the highest concentrations of veterans around the country, where people can go in and access a service there or be connected to another appropriate service. This means you've got that virtually across the country through the website and the telephone support service.

GILBERT: And so is it all a virtual service? Is that what this is?

KEOGH: So, yeah, it's online or it's on the phone for people to access. and it'll also be over time then funding other services as well and particularly with a focus around supporting veterans when they're transitioning from full time Defence service back into civilian life.

GLIBERT: Also today you're streamlining some of the approach through the Department. What's happening on that front?

KEOGH: That's right. So we've had in Australia for some time now three different legislative schemes for supporting veterans with healthcare, rehab, compensation. And some veterans, depending on when they served or what sort of service they did, were covered by all three schemes. Very complicated, offsetting involved, didn't know what they'd be entitled to. The legislation we introduced and passed a year or so ago now comes into effect today. And it means that there's only one scheme going forward. It's an enhanced scheme. It means that it's harmonised across what was there before. It's a lot simpler for veterans to use, easier for DVA to process claims, which means we can do that work more quickly for veterans. And there's some things where there's enhancements as well. But importantly, for any veteran that's already getting DVA benefits, no one goes backwards. They keep getting what they already get. They don't need to go and do anything. But there are some things that they'll actually see an improvement in because of these changes we're making.

GILBERT: I know the backlog of claims has gone as well, after you ramped up the staffing level. So that's good news. The government has been under pressure, though. I had the Shadow Minister on the program earlier. He wants you to scrap a $5,000 limit on allied health, physiotherapy, other supports. Would you consider that? Because apparently there are many veterans who are worried about this cap that you're putting in place of $5,000 for allied health support.

KEOGH: It has been troubling, the way in which some people in the opposition have been sort of creating a bit of fear by not being very clear about what we're really doing here. The first thing to understand is this is a change that doesn't kick in until one July 2027, so more than a year, or a year away today. And what we're doing, crucially, is making it easier for veterans to access allied health by increasing the fees that DVA pays to allied health providers. It's the biggest increase in 20 years. Allied health providers have been saying, we're going to stop supporting veterans unless you increase these fees. So, we don't want to see that happen at all. That's why we're making those increase in fees. But also we're getting rid of what the previous government had, which was a treatment cycle where a veteran had to keep going back every 12 sessions to get a new referral. Had to go to a GP every 12 sessions. Getting rid of that makes it easier for the veterans. The median use of allied health services by veterans, $1,900. The vast majority don't get anywhere near the $5,000 allocation in a year. But we know some will. Some have more complex needs. And we'll have a process where they can be approved for that to go above that $5,000 in advance so that they don't have any gap in service delivery. And we're going to work with the veteran community to make sure that that system works properly for them.

GILBERT: Yeah, you don't want to, at a time when you're trying to reduce red tape for veterans, you don't want to add another layer of red tape, do you?

KEOGH: That's right. So, we're removing that treatment cycle, which was red tape for veterans every 12 sessions they were accessing an allied health provider. We've gotten rid of that. They get the $5,000 allocation, which means for the vast majority of veterans, this is way easier. But for those who might go over that $5,000, we will have a process. So, if they've got a clinical need, they'll still get access to services.

GILBERT: And that process, won't be, you'll commit to that not being too onerous? Because that's part of the thing, I guess, you're trying to overcome with all these reforms?

KEOGH: That's right. We don't want it to be too onerous. We’ll work with the veteran community to make sure it works seamlessly. They'll be able to see their spend on the online portal, MyService, that DVA operates. So they'll know where they're at and we'll make sure they can access what they need if they need that. But I think it's also important for …

GILBERT: Do you think the opposition's overstating it when they're saying scrap the cap?

KEOGH: I think they're talking a lot about the cap. They're not talking about the work we're going to do with the veteran community to make sure those who have a genuine need still get it. And I think also, a lot of people don't appreciate allied health doesn't mean GPs, it doesn't mean psychiatrists, it doesn't mean hearing, it doesn't mean dental. We're talking about exercise physiology, we're talking about OTs, speech pathology, dietitians. We are talking about psychology, but not Open Arms. People will continue to be able to access Open Arms whenever they need to do that. And we'll make sure there's a seamless process so there's no gap in service where veterans need to get that service.

GILBERT: We appreciate your time. It's a big day on that front today. Veterans' Affairs Minister Matt Keogh talk to you soon.

KEOGH: Great to be with 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