Royal commission report to examine ‘outdated’ system of veterans' support
An interim report from the Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide is expected to focus on the large backlog of compensation claims but veterans’ families say that is only part of the complex problem.
Broad themes that have come out of hearings around the country include the problems with the large backlog of claims the Department of Veterans Affairs is dealing with and the numerous recommendations from previous inquiries that have not been acted on.there was a clear link between the backlog of claims and suicide rates within the defence community.
“For us, it really comes down to the fact that the veterans system is outdated. It no longer meets the needs of those that it was set up to support.”In December, the department had 51,000 claims on hand and was processing 17,000 of them, the royal commission heard. The total number of claims had grown by nearly 50 per cent over two years to July 2021 and the department was unable to keep up.
Chief of the Defence Force Angus Campbell said during two days of evidence in Townsville in June that although Defence was “doing a great deal” it was still “not doing enough to reduce the incidents of suicide and suicidality”.Department of Veterans Affairs secretary Liz Cosson also acknowledged to the commission that the claims process and delays could harm the mental health of veterans.
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