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The Productivity Commission has suggested the Veterans' Affairs Department be dismantled in what would be the biggest shake-up to the portfolio since World War II.
Key points:
- Productivity commissioner Robert Fitzgerald says the time for tinkering with Veterans' Affairs is over
- The suggestion calls for the creation of a new ministry, with a separate Veterans Services Commission to provide support
- Some veterans' groups say that putting the Defence Department in charge of veterans could backfire
Instead, a Ministry for Defence Personnel and Veterans would deal with policy, while a new body, the Veteran Services Commission, would provide support.
The suggestion was launched in a draft report by the Productivity Commission but veterans' groups say those who have left the military do not want to be back under Defence control.
Commissioner Robert Fitzgerald from the Productivity Commission said the time for tinkering with Veterans' Affairs was over.
"At the end of the day, both older veterans who will retain most of the benefits and entitlements they have today, and younger veterans who have very different needs, will have a system that actually does meet their needs and recognises the important service they've given to the country," Mr Fitzgerald told the ABC's AM program.
Mr Fitzgerald argues it was not just a change in name.
"A Veteran Services Commission would be an independent authority, with a board of directors or commissioners," he said.
"It would operate in the same way as many workers comp schemes operate currently in Australia.
"It would be focussed on outcomes, it would be absolutely evidence-based."
And he's calling on the Defence department to take more responsibility for its former employees.
"We believe that the Defence Department needs to take a much stronger role, not only in having troops ready for deployment, but assisting them on transition to civilian life," he said.
"Whilst many would say some of that is already happening, our focus is much, much stronger ... on the transferring of veterans into civilian life, and we think Defence has to play a much more active role in that."
Do veterans want this?
Some veterans groups do not seem to like this idea.
Ken Foster, who spent 21 years in the Army, is the president of the Vietnam Veterans Association of Australia.
He believes putting the Defence Department in charge of veterans could backfire.
"People being discharged from the military don't want to be back under military control; they want to separate from the Army, the Navy or the Airforce," he told The World Today program.
"They want someone independent from Defence — who they don't trust anymore in a lot of cases."
He said the Department of Veterans Affairs has its problems, but getting rid of it is not the solution.
"And a lot of the reason the DVA haven't been able to do it in the past is that the government hasn't given them the money to upgrade their systems," Mr Foster said.
"Now they're giving them the money, they're getting some of the work done, but it's a slow process, and every year they've got to wait to see if the government will give them the next year's lot of money."
Mr Foster left the Army in 1980, but he still helps younger soldiers navigate their re-entry to civilian life.
"I lodged a claim yesterday for a young, still-serving sailor who's possibly going to be discharged early in the new year," he said.
"It took me about a week to the forms filled and lodged and he could have a decision within a week or so.
"The system is working if you use it."
The Productivity Commission draft report is the latest in a series of efforts to address the issues facing veterans.
In August last year the Senate released a report into veteran suicide.
And another parliamentary inquiry is continuing into how veterans transition from the Defence Force.
Mat Jones, CEO of veteran support organisation Soldier, served for 13 years, including tours of Afghanistan and Iraq.
He said the recent reports were all good signs the Government was listening to veterans' concerns.
"I think we are seeing action," he told The World Today.
"There are a range of different programs in place that weren't there five years ago.
"So, if you talk to anyone that is getting out and transitioning out of the Defence Force now, that process is being streamlined and improved, but we can always to it better.
He suggested organisations that look after veterans could work together better.
"We're not going to say the DVA needs to be abolished, but if that's what the Government decided is best, then we will of course be there, as we always are, to support that process," he said.
The Federal Government welcomed the draft report.
Minister for Veterans' Affairs Darren Chester said it was important that the veteran community has its say now that the draft report has been released.
"There are issues in the report that I don't agree with, and some I do agree with, but it's not for me to stand here today and rule things out or rule them in," Mr Chester said.
Th final report from the Productivity Commission is expected to be handed to the Government by June next year.
Topics: veterans, community-organisations, federal-government, government-and-politics, australia
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