Steve Georganas (Adelaide, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Veterans' Affairs and the Minister for Defence Personnel. How is the Albanese Labor government responding to the recommendations put forward by the commissioners in the Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide interim report?

Matt Keogh (Burt, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Veterans’ Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Adelaide for his question and his advocacy for the considerable veteran community in his seat of Adelaide. As I know that he knows, the Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide handed down its interim report in August. In the interests of transparency, we made that report public the same day. In September I was proud to deliver the Albanese government's formal response to the report, responding to each of the 13 recommendations from the royal commission. The government agrees with the royal commission that urgent and immediate action is required. One of the key recommendations of the royal commission is to remove the average staffing level cap at the Department of Veterans' Affairs. As a Labor government, we know the importance of secure work. That staffing cap has already been removed. Many of the recommendations go to eliminating the claims backlog at DVA. At the election, Labor committed to employing 500 additional staff for DVA, and I'm proud that more than 200 of those staff have now been employed.

The first Albanese Labor government budget also responded to these recommendations. In implementing the government's response to the royal commission, $233.9 million was put forward for engaging these additional staff. Also $87 million was allocated to modernise IT systems in DVA to improve claims processing. There was $24.3 million allocated to providing increased support to veterans who are having their claims processed and to improving modelling capabilities to manage the demand on DVA services. We've also committed $15.5 million to support DVA's continued engagement with the royal commission. The Albanese government also committed $9.5 million to developing a pathway for the simplification and harmonisation of veteran compensation and rehabilitation legislation. Work is currently underway on developing that pathway, which we will outline in the new year.

The royal commission interim report also goes to improving Defence and DVA's release of information to the loved ones of deceased family members. The Department of Defence and DVA are working with an independent consultant to work with ADF members, veterans, families and representative cohorts to co-design a trauma informed implementation of these recommendations. Work on these recommendations is on track for completion by March 2023. After years of reports, too many deaths, too many lives changed for the worse and endless discussion, we're actually getting on with the job. Our government is committed to the task of saving lives and ensuring a better future for our defence and veteran communities.