COMMANDO Edition 1 2020

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20 COMMANDO ~ The Magazine of the Australian Commando Association ~ Edition 1 I 2020
DVA UPDATEMr Paul Copeland, OAM. - ACA Veteran Advocacy AdvisorMyServiceThe past three years has seen a flurry of activitywithin the Department of Veterans’ Affairs(DVA), particularly in terms of getting betteronline access for veterans to submit their claims via‘MyService’. MyService is designed to process claimsfaster, by interactive data exchange with the Client toDVA. MyService allows for “Claiming made Simple”:• Apply for free Mental Health Treatment;• Access support for a service-related condition orinjury;• Upload your supporting information for your claimquickly and easily;• Access your DVA Veteran Card;• View your accepted conditions;• Track the status of your claimsMyService is linked to MyGov. You will need to set-upan account with MyGov and the MyService Websiteprovides this link and instructionsLink: https://www.dva.gov.au/myservice/#/Australian Veteran’s CovenantThe Australian Defence Veterans’ Covenant servesto recognise and acknowledge the unique nature ofmilitary service and the contribution of veterans andtheir families. The Covenant is supported by the VeteranCard, Lapel Pin and Oath. These provide theopportunity for Australians to identify veterans whenthey are not in uniform or wearing their medals, andoffer respect to them and their family. Employers,businesses, local community groups and the broaderAustralian public are able to commit their support forthe Covenant. The Covenant provides the frameworkthat enables veterans and their families to betterconnect with their community.To apply for The Veterans’ Covenant for Veteransand Reservists, to go the link:https://recognition.dva.gov.au/how-veterans-canapply-information-pageSafety, Rehabilitation and Compensation(Defence-related Claims) Act 1988 (DRCA)The DRCA is the compensation legislation thatapplies to current and former members of the AustralianDefence Force (ADF) with conditions linked to serviceprior to 1 July 2004.Compensation coverage under the DRCA can beprovided for injuries, diseases or deaths that are linkedto most peacetime ADF service between 3 January1949 and 30 June 2004 (which includes British NuclearTest defence service), as well as hazardous andpeacekeeping service during the same period. TheDRCA also covers certain periods of operational servicebetween 7 April 1994 and 30 June 2004, includingwarlike and non-warlike service.The DRCA does not cover any ADF service prior to 3January 1949, or any period of operational service priorto 7 April 1994. These types of service are coveredunder the Veterans’ Entitlements Act 1986 (VEA). Somemembers who served for 3 years continuous full-timeservice with service between 7 December 1972 and 7April 1994 may have dual coverage under the VEA andDRCA for their peacetime service.From 12 October 2017, all claims that wereconsidered under the provisions of the Safety,Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 1988 (SRCA) arenow considered under the DRCA. All existing claimsunder the SRCA are now treated as claims under theDRCA. There is no change to existing entitlements orthe manner in which claims under the DRCA interactwith claims under the Military Rehabilitation andCompensation Act 2004 (MRCA) and/or the VEA.SRCA Clients and Former CMF and Reservists withconditions or injuries that they believe were servicerelated,should consult with a qualified AdvocacyTraining and Development Program (ATDP)Compensation Advocate.Link: https://web.atdp.org.au/Special Operations Forces-PilotThe Veteran Space has been rapidly developing inthe past three years. The Special Operations ForcesPilot (SOF-P) at Holsworthy with 2 Cdo Regt hasconcluded, with a further SOF-P now underway atSwanbourne with SASR. The SOF-P has identifiedconditions related to service that will be automaticallyaccepted due to the occupation of the Operator.This has been a long time coming. Advocates arehopeful that a wider application of this approach will beafforded across all trades, mustering and ratings acrossthe ADF.Warlike Service Automatic AcceptanceFor Some Mental Health ConditionsThe Policy has also been introduced for veteranswho have served on warlike service, who have PTSD,Depression, Anxiety Disorder and Adjustment Disorder;and claim these conditions, that they will beautomatically accepted as a result of the ReasonableHypothesis and the ease of claiming the conditions forYounger Veterans. The requisite is that the veteranmust have served 28 days in the declared warlikeOperational Area.Unfortunately, veterans who have served on nonwarlikeservice operations, particularly Peacekeeperswith Non-warlike Service classification have not beenincluded in this Policy. There is lobbying to havePeacekeepers included into this Policy, particularly afterthe findings of the Peacekeeper Mental Health Studythat was released in October 2014 (Creamer et al.,COMMANDO ~ The Magazine of the Australian Commando Association ~ Edition 1 I 2020 21
Page 1: Registered by Australia Post ~ Publ
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Page 6 and 7: 4 COMMANDO ~ The Magazine of the Au
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Page 10 and 11: LOOKING FOR A NEW START INTHE COMME
Page 12 and 13: Bluey with his late wife NormaNice
Page 14 and 15: daughter, stepped up to the plate a
Page 16 and 17: PRESIDENT’S WORDHello all, I hope
Page 18 and 19: THE AL FORSYTH, OAMPERPETUAL SHOOTI
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Page 36 and 37: Use your military experience to bri
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Page 50 and 51: Squadron rotates through counter te
Page 52 and 53: The Positive Relationship betweenPh
Page 54: CHIEF OF DEFENCE SORRYFOR RETIREMEN

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