The landmark reform of the veteran entitlement acts “will have many benefits” for Nashos, according to Minister for Veterans’ Affairs Matt Keogh.
It promises to create a new pathway to the Gold Card for some Nashos and better access to incapacity payments, measured against more lenient criteria.
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- In short: Veterans’ minister Matt Keogh believes the reform of the veteran entitlement acts will offer many benefits for Nashos
- The act will provide a new pathway to the Gold Card for some Nashos who fall under DRCA, plus increased incapacity payments
- It will adopt a condition of “material contribution”, reducing the level of proof required under the previous model
- What’s next? Nashos have a long wait until the changes come into effect on July 1, 2026
The move will see all three veteran entitlement acts merged, bringing everyone under a single, unified act by 1 July 2026.
“The proposed reforms would bring National Servicemen with new DVA claims under the Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 2004 (MRCA),” the DVA said.
The Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide found the three-act model was “so complicated that it adversely affects the mental health of some veterans and can be a contributing factor to suicidality”.
Nashos who did not deploy overseas are covered by the Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation Act (DRCA), and some men fall under all three.
“There is currently no eligibility for a Gold Card for those only covered under DRCA,” Minister Keogh revealed in a question on notice.
This will change under the new legislation by giving seriously injured DRCA recipients “…the same access to eligibility to the Gold Card as other ADF members that have not had warlike or non-warlike service,” Minister Keogh said.
Nashos would need to have a permanent impairment of at least 60 points from service-related injuries or diseases to qualify.
Additionally, the act will allow DRCA recipients to apply for the Special Rate Disability Pension and increased incapacity payments.
In a parliamentary question on notice, Minister Keogh said “there will be no statutory timeframe within which claims must be submitted.”
VEA recipients may also be eligible for incapacity compensation for the first time.
The new claims process will make it easier to win injury compensation by removing the need for veterans to prove their impairments were “significantly” influenced by their service history.
It will instead rely on the principle of “material contribution”.
Material contribution demands that someone’s service is “pertinent” to or “likely to influence” a condition. In the DVA’s own words, “the causal contribution does not need to be of a substantial or significant nature.”
The act will recognise a complying claim as either a new injury service claim or claim for a condition that has worsened by at least five impairment points.
Consultation for the draft legislation closed at the end of April.
This came as the federal government announced an additional $6.5 billion worth of veteran repayments over the next five years to manage the increasing number of claims being processed.
“What you see in the budget now, in terms of the cost of providing benefits to veterans and that increasing cost, is because we’ve ingested all of these claims that we’re now looking at and processing,” Minister Keogh said in an interview with 4BC radio Brisbane.
“That means veterans are costing more, but importantly, that means they’re getting what they deserve, and that’s the really important part.”
As of April 30, the backlog of unallocated cases had reduced to 2,569.
The average wait time under MRCA has reduced from 432 to 377 days – a reduction of 55 days.
The DVA has committed to recruiting an additional 500 staff to help clear the backlog and process claims faster.