Introduction
Australia’s 2025 Veterans’ Entitlements, Treatment and Support Act represents the most significant overhaul of the country’s veteran support system in a century. The legislation consolidates three separate acts into a single framework, addressing longstanding issues identified by the Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide. From July 1, 2026, all new veterans’ claims will be processed under an improved Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Act, with existing benefits protected through “grandfathering” provisions. The reforms promise more consistent outcomes, expanded eligibility for key services, and streamlined claims processing, while establishing a new oversight commission to monitor implementation and veteran wellbeing.
How the new legislation transforms veterans’ support
The Veterans’ Entitlements, Treatment and Support (Simplification and Harmonisation) Act 2024 (commonly called the VETS Act) passed Parliament on February 13, 2025, following recommendations from the Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide. The reform consolidates Australia’s notoriously complex veterans’ support system by closing the Veterans’ Entitlements Act 1986 (VEA) and the Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation (Defence-related Claims) Act 1988 (DRCA) to new claims from July 2026.
This consolidation addresses what veterans have long described as a Byzantine system of overlapping legislation that created inequities and confusion. Previously, veterans might be covered under different acts based solely on when they served, resulting in different benefits for identical conditions. The Australian Government has committed an additional $222 million for veteran entitlements in the first two years of implementation.
Key enhancements include a new Additional Disablement Amount for older veterans with service-related incapacity, expanded eligibility for household services, standardized allowances, presumptive liability for certain conditions, and improved travel reimbursements. The legislation also establishes the Defence and Veterans’ Services Commission as an oversight body to improve suicide prevention and wellbeing outcomes.
The previous system’s three-act complexity
Understanding the significance of these reforms requires appreciating the labyrinthine system they replace. Australia’s previous veterans’ support structure operated under three separate acts, each with different eligibility criteria, benefit structures, and standards of proof:
- Veterans’ Entitlements Act 1986 (VEA): Covered wartime service and certain deployments between 1972 and 2004, focusing primarily on pensions rather than rehabilitation.
- Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation (Defence-related Claims) Act 1988 (DRCA): Applied to peacetime service from 1988 to 2004, based on workers’ compensation principles.
- Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 2004 (MRCA): Covered all service types after July 2004, with a greater focus on rehabilitation.
This fragmentation created significant problems, including processing backlogs exceeding 42,000 unallocated claims by 2022. The Productivity Commission’s 2019 report “A Better Way to Support Veterans” identified numerous systemic issues, including excessive processing times (averaging over 300 days for MRCA claims), outdated IT systems, and inconsistent outcomes for similar conditions.
Administrative complexity further complicated matters, with different review pathways for each act. VEA claims could be reviewed through the Veterans’ Review Board (VRB) and then the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT), while DRCA reviews went through internal reconsideration before proceeding directly to the AAT. MRCA offered both options.
Implementation timeline and transition arrangements
The VETS Act features a carefully phased implementation to ensure a smooth transition:
Phase 1: Initial approval (February 2025)
- Parliament passed the Act on February 13, 2025
- Michael Manthorpe PSM appointed as Interim Head of the Defence and Veterans’ Service Commission
Phase 2: Early implementation (April-September 2025)
- April 21, 2025: Single review pathway through the Veterans’ Review Board commences
- September 29, 2025: Defence and Veterans’ Services Commission established
Phase 3: Full implementation (July 2026)
- July 1, 2026: Complete implementation with VEA and DRCA closed to new claims
The extended timeline provides an 18-month preparation period for veterans, families, and advocates to understand the changes. Importantly, all existing payments will continue uninterrupted and will be indexed annually, protecting current recipients from any reduction in benefits. Veterans receiving DRCA incapacity payments will automatically transition to generally more generous MRCA incapacity payments on July 1, 2026.
For the transition period, claims submitted before July 1, 2026, will be processed under the existing framework, while new claims after that date will use the improved MRCA. The government has allocated $40.1 million for implementation, including advocacy training, with resources for DVA staff preparation and comprehensive information campaigns for veterans.
Key improvements for veterans
The VETS Act introduces several significant advantages for Australia’s veteran community:
Administrative simplification: Veterans will no longer navigate three different systems with separate eligibility requirements, application processes, and benefit structures. This addresses a fundamental concern raised by the Royal Commission that system complexity was contributing to veteran distress.
Expanded eligibility and enhanced benefits: The Act extends household services and attendant care to VEA veterans, increases funeral benefits to $3,000 (with reimbursement up to $14,062 for service-related deaths), and introduces a new Additional Disablement Amount for veterans of pension age with high incapacity.
Procedural improvements: Several changes make the system more efficient and veteran-friendly, including beneficial application of updated Statements of Principles (ensuring veterans get the most favorable assessment) and enhanced special assistance provisions.
Presumptive liability: The Repatriation Commission can now specify injuries and diseases that automatically qualify for compensation when they have a known connection to military service, reducing the burden of proof on veterans for certain conditions.
Single review pathway: All veterans will have access to the Veterans’ Review Board from April 2025, providing a more veteran-friendly forum than the Administrative Review Tribunal. This creates consistency in how claims are reviewed across all types of service.
Potential limitations and concerns
Despite broad support, stakeholders have identified several potential drawbacks:
Independence of oversight body: The RSL expressed concerns that the Defence and Veterans’ Services Commission was established “within the Defence portfolio rather than as an independent entity,” potentially limiting its ability to provide truly independent scrutiny. This amendment was “brought forward by the Government without proper consultation” with the veteran community.
Legal representation limitations: The Australian Lawyers Alliance raised concerns that veterans would “continue to face significant barriers to accessing legal representation during the claims process.” Despite consolidation, the claims process remains legally complex, and veterans without proper legal guidance may receive less favorable outcomes.
Implementation challenges: The 16-month transition period creates complexity as both systems must operate simultaneously. Significant resources will be required for training advocates and DVA staff, adapting IT systems, and ensuring veterans understand the changes.
Funding uncertainties: Questions remain about whether sufficient funding will be allocated in forthcoming budgets to properly implement all aspects of the reform, particularly for advocacy services during the transition period.
Stakeholder reactions: broad support with reservations
The VETS Act has received generally positive reactions from major stakeholders, particularly for its core purpose of simplifying veterans’ legislation. The RSL has been one of the strongest advocates for consolidating the three complex pieces of legislation, though they expressed significant concerns about the late amendment establishing the Defence and Veterans’ Services Commission within the Defence portfolio.
Minister for Veterans’ Affairs Matt Keogh described the Act as “the most significant legislative reform of Australia’s veteran support system in a century,” emphasizing that “no veteran will see a reduction in their current payments” and that the legislation “will open up a pathway to a Gold Card for many veterans who were previously not eligible.”
Opposition criticism focused primarily on the implementation timeline rather than the substance of the reforms. Shadow Minister Barnaby Joyce noted that despite the Royal Commission recommending implementation “no later than 1 July 2025,” the government extended the timeframe to July 2026.
Some critics, including Greens Senator David Shoebridge, suggested the Act represents only “a modest bureaucratic change” rather than the fundamental reform needed to address deeper issues highlighted by the Royal Commission.
Conclusion
The 2025 Veterans’ Entitlements, Treatment and Support Act marks a watershed moment in Australia’s approach to supporting its veteran community. By consolidating three complex pieces of legislation into a single framework, the reform addresses a critical recommendation from the Royal Commission and has the potential to substantially improve veterans’ experiences. While the extended implementation timeline and concerns about the independence of the oversight body have drawn criticism, the core reforms have received broad support across the political spectrum and from major veterans’ organizations. The Act’s success will ultimately depend on effective implementation, adequate resourcing, and continued commitment to incorporating veteran perspectives as the system evolves.
