After being left with a huge backlog in veterans’ financial assistance claims, the government is facing another $3.5 billion in payments.
The federal budget has taken a $1.8 billion hit as a huge backlog of claims for assistance from the nation’s defence veterans is finally cleared, and money flows to tens of thousands of people with multiple physical and mental health problems.
The health problems include tinnitus, hearing loss, post-traumatic stress disorder, degenerative back injuries, depression, alcohol and drug abuse and anxiety. Chalmers used his October 2022 budget to fund an extra 500 staff, supplementing that with money for an additional 141 public servants in this year’s budget.
The commission noted the recent improvement in claims assessment, which had cleared the huge backlog left by the Morrison government, was due in part to extra staff, but warned that demand from veterans would continue and require more resources.It said changes – including faster processing, expanded support for those who are medically discharged from the defence services, and ongoing funding so that people could access provisional medical treatment – were all needed.
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