VA005
Thursday, 18 February 2010
The
red tape facing Australia’s most disabled ex-serving personnel accessing
income support has been cut in new changes announced today by the Minister
for Veterans’ Affairs, Alan Griffin.
Minister
Griffin said that from March 2010, veteran pensioners assessed as Totally
and Permanently Incapacitated (TPI) would be exempt from Centrelink medical
reviews to access a Disability Support Pension.
“Since
coming to Government we have sought to reduce the barriers facing veterans
and injured ex-serving
personnel seeking compensation and income support,” the
Minister said.
“We
established an Interdepartmental Working Group to simplify the bureaucratic
maze facing veterans and ex-serving personnel, making it easier for them to
access their entitlements and streamlining arrangements across agencies.
“Today’s
announcement immediately assists around 1100 veterans on a Centrelink
Disability Support Pension and has the potential to benefit many more into
the future.
“Currently
TPI pensioners undergo repeated Job Capacity Assessments to access and
retain their Disability Support Pension. Our TPI pensioners have already
been through a rigorous assessment process to access their DVA benefits so
making them go through a similar process to access Centrelink benefits is
unreasonable.”
Today’s
announcement builds on a range of initiatives introduced since the election,
including expanding acceptance the ADF Identification Card as Proof of
Identity by more government agencies and compiling the ADF Transition
Handbook, which lists all interdepartmental benefits and support services
available to separating ADF members.
DVA
and Centrelink are also sharing data to help reduce the risk of overpayments
for the more than 17,500 pensioners on both DVA and Centrelink payments.
Mr
Griffin said the inter-agency co-operation under this Government was
creating smarter ways to deliver “whole-of-government” services.
“I
am pleased with our progress to date but more will be done in our efforts to
support our veterans and defence personnel,” Mr Griffin said.
Media inquiries: Sasha Nimmo 0437 863 109
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