Two women, one young and one older, are looking at a tablet together in an office setting, smiling.

PENSIONS

  • If you are a Veteran or current/former ADF member, and have an injury or illness causally related to your ADF service, or you were discharged on medical grounds, you may be entitled to benefits you didn’t even know about.

    There are five Acts that provide compensation coverage for current and former members of the ADF. They are:

    • Defence Act 1903 (DA) 
    • Veterans’ Entitlements Act 1986 (VEA) 
    • Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 1988 (SRCA) 
    • Military Compensation Act 1994 (MCA) 
    • Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 2004 (MRCA)


    For further information on the VEA, SRCA & MRCA, go the Department of Veterans’ Affairs website at www.dva.gov.au.

  • Our Pensions Officers are available to assist you with submitting and updating Disability Pensions, War Widows Pensions, Service Pensions and other allowances provided by DVA. An appointment is preferred for pension interviews but simple queries may be able to be answered over the telephone or by dropping in.

    When you do speak with a Pensions Officer or Advocate face-to-face, you will need to have available the following documents and information. You may wish to begin gathering these even before you contact us. They are:

    • Proof of Identity (POI). The usual 100 points needed to open a bank account is satisfactory. 
    • Official numbers and cards. DVA number if issued; White or Gold treatment card; Medicare card; and copies of any previous correspondence with DVA. 
    • Military service documentation. An official Record of Service (including date of enlistment, date of discharge and the dates of any operational service) will have been issued you to you at some point; all military medical documentation associated with your injury/condition; all medical documentation associated with your injury/condition since discharge (if you are able to get them, Specialist reports can be very important to your case).

     All our pensions and welfare staff are unpaid volunteers. They have all served in the Australian Defence Force or have a spouse who has served, and are trained under the Training & Information Program (TIP), which is funded by the federal Department of Veterans Affairs.

     

    For further information please contact:

    The Vietnam Veteran’s Federation of Australia at http://www.vvfa.org.au/

    Or

    Veteran’s Support Services, RSL Defence Care at http://www.defencecare.org.au/services/services

  • Young veterans who leave Defence early in their career are particularly susceptible to mental illness and are twice as likely to die by suicide as young Australians in the general community. The transition from Defence to civilian life is the greatest point of risk for the mental health of veterans, as they do not have access to adequate support services once they leave Defence. These services include mental health, employment, social support, and legal support, among other services.
     
    The barriers to legal assistance and representation are compounded by the complexity in the legislation that governs veterans’ entitlements, which has been described as a ‘compensation system so complex that even George Orwell might have struggled to imagine its nightmarish details’ (Professor Matthew Groves, La Trobe University).
     
    The Veterans’ Advocacy Service at Legal Aid NSW assists current and former members of the Australian Defence Force and their dependants to obtain pensions, compensation and other entitlements administered by the Department of Veterans’ Affairs (DVA).
     
    If you think that you or a loved one would benefit from free legal advice and assistance from the Veterans’ Advocacy Service, please contact them by emailing  veterans@legalaid.nsw.gov.au