Source : Perth Now news
Veterans are preparing to lay down their medals to protest changes they claim will make it harder for injured service men and women to find care.
The Coalition of Veterans’ Voices will on Monday meet with federal parliamentarians to oppose treatment funding changes in the May budget.
The delegation, which includes highly decorated veterans, will begin the day by laying down their medals at Federation Mall in protest.
The group has three demands: to scrap a $5000 annual threshold for allied health services, allow veterans to choose their own assessment providers and overhaul a claims system it says is leaving veterans waiting too long.
“For years we have sat across the table from veterans and families who are exhausted from fighting battles they should never have had to fight after service,” army veteran Andy Cullen said.
“They are not asking for special treatment. They are simply asking Australia to honour the promise that if their service causes injury, their country will be there for them.”
The delegation will meet with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, Veterans’ Affairs Minister Matt Keogh and parliamentarians from all sides on Monday.
It falls within the week of the second anniversary of the Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide being handed to the governor-general.
At the heart of the protest is the $5000 annual threshold for allied health services included in the May federal budget, set to take effect from mid-2027.
It would impose a limit on the amount of funding veterans can access for services including rehabilitation and physiotherapy unless it is deemed clinically necessary.
The Department of Veterans Affairs claims the measure would address overservicing and comes amid a major uplift in overall spending on veterans’ access to allied health.
But critics claim that requiring veterans to undertake additional assessments could interrupt treatment and complicate recovery for people with complex injuries.
“For a veteran seeing a psychologist or counsellor fortnightly, $5000 can be reached relatively quickly,” veteran and advocate Craig Ball said.
“Veterans dealing with complex psychological or physical issues cannot simply put their recovery on hold while an administrative process determines whether their treatment should continue.”
The group is also demanding veterans be allowed to choose their own accredited assessment providers and for an independent inquiry into DVA claims processing.
National polling for Fair Care for Veterans in April found 46 per cent had little or no confidence the government adequately supports veterans.
Of 2000 respondents, 52 per cent said the government spends too little on veterans’ support and compensation, while only five per cent said too much
Veterans will lay down their medals at Federation Mall at 7am before holding a press conference at nearby Mural Hall at 9am.
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