Veterans have demanded the Albanese government abandon its planned $5,000 allied-health threshold in an emotional press conference on Monday, arguing the cap – and the conversations they have had with Defence Personnel Minister Matt Keogh – have left them feeling “disappointed” and “betrayed”.
Earlier on Monday, some of the country’s most decorated soldiers laid down their medals outside Parliament House in a protest against the proposed annual allied-health cap.
The proposed allied-health changes were announced in the federal Budget in May and will take effect from July 1, 2027.
The proposal would make Veteran Card holders have their allied-health treatment reviewed once spending reaches $5,000 in a financial year.
Led by Nationals leader Matt Canavan, a press conference at Parliament House saw multiple veterans speak out against a recent meeting they had with Mr Keogh.
Founder and Veteran Lived Experience Facilitator Andy Cullen said as a result of the meeting, he was now strongly urging his 18-year-old son not to join the military out of fear the Albanese government was failing defence personnel.
“(Minister Keogh) said he wanted to hear from the veteran community and I was privileged to sit with a bunch of very brave veterans who shared the many concerns that we have about the negative impact this cap will have on the veteran’s community,” he said.
“(Minister Keogh) said that he wanted to consult the wider veteran community further. And leaving that meeting, I felt disappointed. To be honest, I feel kind of betrayed.
“I’m a fourth-generation soldier who’s served this country proudly. I have an 18-year-old son who’s looking to enter the defence force at the moment, who I’m encouraging actively not to do that, because I don’t know if this government is going to live up to its promise to look after him if he’s injured as a result of that service.
“And it’s a pretty devastating thing to say as a father and a proud veteran in this community.”
In recent weeks, Veterans’ Affairs Minister Matt Keogh faced backlash over a previous meeting with the Coalition of Veterans’ Voices.
Veterans said Minister Keogh appeared dismissive during the meeting, claiming he slouched in his chair and rolled his eyes during talks.
Following today’s meeting, Mr Cullen said the government had made a promise to protect veterans that it must live up to, urging Minister Keogh to “scrap the cap, stop the pain”.
Coalition of Veterans representative Tim Nelson said the meeting was “disappointing”, claiming Minister Keogh was “unaware” of certain details of the system already in place.
“What was disappointing in this meeting was Minister Keogh wanted to hear all the stories and wanted our recommendations as part of the consultation process … Such that we could design a system that would allow the threshold to be introduced,” he said.
“When challenged as to why we actually need a threshold in the first place, it was justified that only less than 10 per cent of veterans would be affected. The number estimated is about 7 per cent.
“The justification for the threshold was also given that the benefit of it was to be able to reduce the 12-visit care cycle. When I pointed out to the Minister that there was already a mechanism in place that actually deals with that at present, he was unaware that that was a system that DVA (Department of Veterans’ Affairs) already had in place.
“If the justification is to increase access to allied health care, that mechanism already exists.”
Mr Keogh has defended the healthcare reforms and argued service members can still receive treatment above the $5,000 threshold.
The government has also flagged higher allied-health provider fees and the removal of repeated referral requirements will improve the system.
However, Dr Nelson said the Department had shown it had failed to communicate to veterans and insisted the cap “needs to go”.
“Once again it shows to me a failure in DVA’s ability to communicate to veterans and to the health care providers that look after veterans,” Dr Nelson said.
“The cap needs to go. We need to scrap the cap.”
Read related topics:Labor PartyVeterans Affairs