Vietnam Veterans

All those in receipt of a Special Rate pension (T&PI), War Widows pension and Extreme Disablement Adjustment pension (EDA) who have children under the age of 25, who are attending school, TAFE or University are eligible for assistance from the VCES regardless of their income, assets or children's income. Veteran grandparents with custody or grandchildren students who are eligible should also make application for assistance under VCES.

We are aware that a lot of new TPI’s / War Widows / EDA’s may not be aware of these Education Schemes. You are reminded that the DVA have no details on family members for many that have been granted pensions since 1982. There are several important financial benefits that the VCES has over AUSTUDY and ABSTUDY.

VCES eligibility (from 1/1/2001) was extended to the children or former children of veterans with Vietnam service, where the child is diagnosed by an appropriately qualified professional as having a depressive disorder, or in the opinion of an appropriately qualified professional, is vulnerable. See Page 2 for detailed information.

The VCES provides support and counselling for parent and student as well as financial assistance for education and tutorial assistance if required.

Primary Students: The annual education allowance for primary students is $227.10

Under 16 $209.50 16 – 20 years $377.00 21 years and over $457.90

If you would like more information, phone the DVA National Line on 1300 131 945 and ask for the VCES State Secretary or contact your local DVA VAN Office.

Sheldon Maher OAM is the Vietnam Veterans Peacekeepers & Peacemakers Association, NSW Branch Inc., representative on the NSW V.C.E.S. Board. He can be contacted by phone on 02 6624 4486 or fax 02 6625 2895. Feel free to phone him should you need his assistance. We remind you that you must make application for these Education Allowances and get prior approval for tutorial assistance or special financial assistance.

A Vietnam Veteran’s dependents may be eligible for the Veterans Children Education Scheme (VCES), even if the Veteran is not receiving a disability pension at the Special Rate (TPI). A dependent is a student aged under 25 who is in the Veterans care. This includes grandchildren, step-children and foster children who are in the care of the Veteran.

The 1999-2000 Health Study of Australia’s Vietnam veteran community found that the children of Vietnam veterans suffered from a rate of educational disadvantage that was higher than the Australian community standard. In the 2000 Budget, the Government announced a range of initiatives in response to this and other findings from the study.

One of these initiatives was the extension of VCES eligibility to Vietnam veterans’ children who are diagnosed with a depressive disorder or who are regarded as vulnerable. With access to the VCES, and the support available through the guidance and counselling it provides, it was hoped to encourage these children to achieve their full educational potential.

A student child of a Vietnam veteran may be eligible to receive an Education Allowance, under ss.116(1)(e) of the Veterans’ Entitlements Act, if they are determined to have a diagnosed depressive disorder or, if an appropriately qualified professional has determined that they are vulnerable.

This involves is having the child assessed by either the local family doctor, the VVCS or another appropriately qualified professional. The assessment is a one question form, asking whether the student meets the criteria.

Once eligibility is confirmed, the student is eligible for the Education Allowance until he or she finishes full-time study which includes tertiary study. VCES eligibility entails other benefits, such as funding for tutoring if needed.

If you would like more information, phone the DVA National Line on 1300 131 945 and ask for the VCES State Secretary or contact your local DVA VAN Office.

I understand there's an issue doing the rounds of the TPI community about interstate ambulance travel. Hopefully the advice below is helpful for you to send out to your members and help quell their concerns.

The Department will transport veterans to the nearest available treatment location that can meet their clinical needs by the most appropriate mode of transport applicable in each case. If a veteran lives in one state and requires ambulance transport for their clinical needs and the closest suitable facility is in another state then the Department would fund that transport i.e. coverage is not limited to the state of residency.

However, if a veteran travels to another state for non medical reasons such as recreation and then requires ambulance transport to a hospital or other facility this would only be covered from their place of temporary residence to the nearest suitable treatment facility. The veteran will not be able to elect to be transported back to their home state for treatment or back to

by clinical need, only personal preference. The Department would transport them back to their temporary residence after discharge from hospital via the most appropriate transport mode.

Transport of veterans between facilities whether within states or between states is based on clinical need and at the discretion of the medical professionals treating the veteran. This is not something the veteran can elect to do and be funded by the Department.

There is some confusion on entitlements because of a recent not-altogether-accurate newspaper article.

The widow receives the soldier’s pay for a period of eight weeks after his death plus any long service leave etc owing.

During this time, arrangements are made for the widow to make a compensation claim on DVA.

On acceptance of her claim she receives an aged based lump sum of up to $122,000.

The widow then can choose between an aged based lump sum of up to $568,000 and the War Widow’s Pension of round $340 per week plus pharmaceutical allowance etc.

(For a War Widow and three children, the War Widow’s pension plus children’s payments would be some $600 per week.)

Whilst it is not compensation for the soldier’s war caused death, there may be a payout from any military superannuation scheme the soldier belongs to. The payout will depend on rank, age, etc.

There is a question as to whether this compensation is adequate. Does it allow the widow and her family to live decently? It is a question currently being examined by the Review of Military Compensation Arrangements which can be contacted at: milcomp.review@dva.gov.au

This document is attributed to the Vietnam Veterans Federation of Australia. It is not an original idea from sender. But where we are all trying to get the correct information this is a most helpful understanding of war widow entitlements currently under MRCA. VVAA NSW thank the VVFA for their kind permission in allowing us to distribute it with both badges displayed.

Subject: Voluntary work and the VEA, SRCA and MRCA

From: Office of the Minister of Veterans Affairs

Sent: Thursday, February 12, 2009 10:02 AM

Subject: Voluntary work and the VEA, SRCA and MRCA [SEC=UNCLASSIFIED]

A number of people have expressed concerns about how the Department of
Veterans' Affairs (DVA) treats voluntary work with community and welfare
organisations under the Veterans' Entitlements Act 1986 (VEA), the
Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 1988 (SRCA) and the
Military, Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 2004 (MRCA).

There appears to be a belief that voluntary work is treated differently
under SRCA and MRCA than it is under the VEA. Some people are concerned
that undertaking voluntary work will trigger a review of incapacity
payments. This is not the case.

To clarify the issue and reassure veterans wanting to do voluntary work,
the Repatriation Commissioner, Brigadier Bill Rolfe AO (Retd), has
written to a number of ex-service organisations and the Training and
Information Program Committee Chairs to state:

* DVA is supportive of veterans undertaking voluntary work;
* Voluntary work is treated the same under all three Acts; and
* Undertaking voluntary work will not trigger a review of pension
or incapacity payments.

A copy of Brigadier Rolfe's letter and policy statement is attached.

I would urge any veteran or veterans' representative to refer to this
statement should they have any issues with the way such matters are
being interpreted.

Alan Griffin
Minister for Veterans' Affairs

See Below: <<VW statement attached to ESO letter.pdf>> <<Letter to ESOsFeb.pdf>>

Voluntary Work Policy
DVA regards voluntary work in the same way for all three Acts it administers, the VEA, the
SRCA and the MRCA.
There is no legislated definition of voluntary work in any of these Acts. However, in policy
terms, voluntary work is defined as unpaid work for a recognised community or welfare
organisation.
DVA encourages veterans and members of the ex-service community to volunteer to assist
community or welfare groups. Many thousands of veterans provide immeasurable support to
ex-service organisations and other charities. Studies have also shown that volunteering has
physical, psychological and social benefits.
Undertaking voluntary work of this nature does not trigger a reassessment of incapacity
payments under either the SRCA or the MRCA. It is accepted that the conditions of
engagement in volunteering cannot necessarily be equated to remunerative work given the
person generally works at their own pace and time and is not be subject to the conditions
normally applied to paid employment.
Recipients of incapacity payments should be aware of how some other unpaid work may affect
their benefits. Unpaid work for family, friends or a business enterprise formed for the purposes
of making a profit is not classified as voluntary work.
For example, a recipient of incapacity payments and/or certain disability pensions who works
several hours in a job that aims to make a profit may be found to be able to undertake paid
work, and therefore ineligible for their current rate of payment. The same person volunteering
as an advocate, pension or welfare officer would not be deemed capable of paid work purely on
the basis of that voluntary work alone.
Under the MRCA and the SRCA, incapacity payments are regularly reviewed. The review
assesses a person’s ability to earn during the period and is based on rehabilitation and specialist
medical assessments. The assessments take into account physical and mental capacities, skills
and training, work history, age and so on. Voluntary work is not a trigger for the review and
does not of itself imply that someone is able to undertake remunerative work. In fact, voluntary
work with a community or welfare group is most often beneficial to a person’s wellbeing.
References in SRCA and MRCA legislation to “capacity for rehabilitation” or “capacity for
work” do not automatically translate to mean that a person who is undertaking voluntary work
has a capacity to do paid work.
If a person is concerned about their voluntary work, or their plans to undertake voluntary work,
they can contact DVA for advice on 133 254.
Department of Veterans’

President Telephone (02) 6289 6736
Deputy President Telephone (02) 6289 6744
Commissioner Telephone (02) 6289 6733
Facsimile (02) 6289 6257
Voluntary Work under the VEA, SRCA and MRCA
Dear
I write to you in light of some recent questions about how the Department of Veterans’
Affairs (DVA) treats voluntary work under the Veterans’ Entitlements Act 1986 (VEA), the
Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 1988 (SRCA) and the Military, Rehabilitation
and Compensation Act 2004 (MRCA).
DVA regards voluntary work in the same way for all three Acts it administers, the VEA, the
SRCA and the MRCA.
There is no legislated definition of voluntary work in any of these Acts. However, in policy
terms, voluntary work is defined as unpaid work for a recognised community or welfare
organisation.
DVA encourages veterans and members of the ex-service community to volunteer to assist
community or welfare groups. Many thousands of veterans provide immeasurable support to
ex-service organisations and other charities. Studies have also shown that volunteering has
physical, psychological and social benefits.
To help clarify concerns regarding how the Department views voluntary work in respect of
pensions and incapacity payments, attached is a paper tabled at the Training and Information
Program (TIP) Conference in November 2008. This paper outline’s DVA’s policy position
on voluntary work.
Should you have any questions on this matter, please contact Fiona Tuckwell, Director
Military Compensation Policy on (02) 6289 1153.
Yours sincerely
Brigadier W. Rolfe AO (Retd)
COMMISSIONER
February 2009

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