Australia’s military veterans are getting sub-standard health and welfare services by a Veterans’ Affairs Department that is financially unsustainable, disjointed and slow.
A Capability Review by the Australian Public Service Commission has found Veterans’ Affairs has big problems with its culture, leadership and equipment, affecting the health and welfare of its clients, veterans and their families.
A week after department staff voted for strike action over pay and conditions, the review team found the department needed a “major transformational leap forward” if it was to keep pace with its changing workload, as older veterans died off and a younger “client base” with different needs emerged.