In 2014, DVA undertook a Client Service Survey. Its key objectives were to:
provide an indicator of satisfaction amongst the veteran community with DVA client services;
better understand the communication experiences and expectations of client groups to assist in identifying opportunities for service delivery improvements; and
form a baseline from which to measure the success of future changes to DVA’s service delivery environment.
Younger DVA client veterans have questioned the survey’s results because it is distorted to an older veteran client age group, over aged 45 (87.5%), who in the main are covered by the VEA. The younger contemporary veterans (12.5%) under age 45 are covered by the SRCA and/or MRCA.
It would be reasonable for DVA to conduct separate surveys for those clients covered by the two major client divisions: contemporary SRCA/MRCA and older VEA. The results may reveal matters that the DVA’s Younger Veterans – Contemporary Needs Forum (YVF) would regard as one of its major objectives: to assist in identifying priority emerging issues for veterans across the age and conflict spectrum particularly in the areas of mental and social health.