VetAffairs April 2022

Page 1

VETAFFAIRS DVA’S FREE NEWSPAPER FOR AUSTRALIA'S VETERAN COMMUNITY

ISSN 0819-8934

Vol. 38 No. 1 APRIL 2022

Serving and ex-serving personnel help with flood relief

DVA’S Chief Health Officer on your long-term health

Help with post-transition employment

7

14–15

40 years of Open Arms – Veterans & Families Counselling

17

80 years since Fall of Singapore and Bombing of Darwin

20–21

Clockwise from top left: Sappers from 2nd Combat Engineer Regiment assist Gympie Roads & Infrastructure rebuild a culvert and open up roads; an Army aircrewman and a young child are winched aboard an MRH-90 Taipan helicopter near Lismore, NSW; an MRH-90 Taipan flies over Lismore; a rifleman assists the local community to move flooddamaged belongings in St Lucia, Brisbane

Members of the veteran community – both serving and ex-serving – played a huge role in supporting communities in New South Wales and Queensland during the recent floods. The Australian Defence Force (ADF) deployed thousands of personnel during the floods and for the clean-up afterwards as part of Operation Flood Assist

2022. Among other things, they conducted evacuations, search and rescue work, clean-up and recovery tasks, aerial reconnaissance, food, water and supply drops and distribution, and helped to restore communications and repair infrastructure. Ex-service organisations such as Disaster Relief Australia (DRA) also pitched in. DRA (see page 13)

worked alongside locals, removing rubbish and debris, treating mould, clearing key access points and generally cleaning up. And of course individual members of the veteran community did what so many Australians did: offered a helping hand to their neighbours and their communities during this challenging time.

Federal Budget and the veteran community In Budget 2022–23, $369 million in funding has been allocated on top of the more than $11.5 billion provided to support around 340,000 veterans and families every year. DVA’s claims processing system is

receiving additional funding to help reduce the claims backlog. The Psychiatric Assistance Dog Program has received ongoing funding to help more eligible veterans. The funding will also provide financial support to veterans living

with post-traumatic stress disorder who have privately sourced a suitably trained psychiatric assistance dog prior to or shortly after the start of the Program in September 2019. Continued on page 5.

CONTENTS NEWS............................................... 2–6 HEALTH & WELLBEING...................... 7–8 WIDOWS’ NEWS................................... 9 ESO NEWS.................................... 10–13 TRANSITIONING WELL.................. 14–15 FAMILIES............................................ 16 FEATURES.................................... 17–18 COMMEMORATIONS......................19–21 AUSTRALIAN WAR MEMORIAL............ 22 NOTICEBOARD.............................. 23–24


Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.