Call for action to protect vulnerable veterans

A homeless, drug-addicted veteran was shot last month just days after he received an almost $200,000 lump sum compensation payment, underscoring the risks surrounding some vulnerable ex-soldiers.

There are growing calls for more help for vulnerable army veterans.

Measures aimed at improving compensation for veterans in the wake of the damning Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide do little to reduce the risks facing struggling recipients who are handed lump sums they cannot manage, RSL Victoria has warned.

RSL Victoria state president Robert Webster has sent a letter to Veterans Affairs’ Minister Matt Keogh and other federal MPs, spelling out the organisation’s concerns about the Albanese government’s new bill and warning the new measures could leave some veterans particularly vulnerable.

Dr Webster said RSL Victoria had made multiple policy and legislative amendment suggestions over the past three years aimed at improving the outcomes for veterans who were unable to manage their financial affairs due to addictions and other issues.

“RSL Victoria is aware of numerous instances where veterans have expended all or most of their compensation payments to support their addictions or make rash, impulsive or irresponsible purchases,” Dr Webster wrote.

Both the royal commission and RSL Victoria have heard multiple examples of veterans with serious mental health issues and drug and gambling addictions who were handed substantial windfalls without any adequate support in place.

RSL Victorian president Robert Webster. Picture: AAP

During the royal commission, one veteran told how he had received a $360,000 lump sum compensation payment while in the grip of drug, alcohol and gambling addictions. He immediately began betting large sums of money on greyhound races, turning over around $500,000 and losing $130,000 within the first 24 hours of receiving the funds. He later sold his service medals for just $300.

The veteran said his psychologist had informed the Department of Veterans’ Affairs of those addictions before the payment was awarded to him.

Recently, a homeless, drug-addicted veteran in Victoria was shot in the chest just days after he received an almost $200,000 lump sum payment from the Department of Veterans’ Affairs. The same man is also understood to have been stabbed and robbed several years ago, shortly after being awarded another payout.

And last year, RSL Victoria took the unusual step of applying to the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal for an administration order for a veteran with mental health and addiction disorders.

“More needs to be done to protect such vulnerable veterans from themselves and … the bill in its current form does not address this serious issue,” Dr Webster wrote.

Among the issues with the proposed bill, he said, is a lack of definitions around disabilities. Each state has different definitions of legal disabilities, while courts have ruled that a gambling addiction is not a disability. The DVA, he says, has shown it has no intention of making trustee applications through state tribunals.

“The bill should include safeguards for those veterans who are about to receive large lump sum compensation payments where valid concerns exist that they are unfit to manage their financial affairs because of severe, service-related mental health issues or are at risk of exploitation,” Dr Webster said.

Among the group’s recommendations is a suggestion that vulnerable veterans should instead receive smaller weekly payouts until such a point that the risks no longer exist or can be properly managed.

Dr Webster told The Australian that RSL Victoria was keen to work with government to better support vulnerable veterans rebuilding their lives.

“When a vulnerable veteran is going to receive a significant lump sum compensation payment, we believe it is vital that financial protection is afforded to that veteran,” he said

Mr Keogh said in a statement to The Australian that the government’s Veterans’ Entitlements, Treatment and Support bill already sought to give the department the discretion to appoint a trustee in situations where veterans do not have the capacity to look after their compensation due to a legal disability.

Veterans' Affairs Minister Matt Keogh. Picture: NewsWire / Martin Ollman

“There are already changes to the (Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Act) proposed in the VETS bill that present a balanced response to this matter, which have been through rigorous consultation processes,” Mr Keogh said.

“Additional measures to address this sensitive matter would need to be subject to broader consultation with the veteran community.”

Opposition veterans’ affairs spokesman Barnaby Joyce confirmed he had been briefed on, and understood, the issues raised by RSL Victoria.

“I am very sympathetic to the concerns raised and will consider advice on how to protect vulnerable veterans who are afflicted by addiction,” he said.