CONSTITUENCY STATEMENTS
Ms LE (Fowler) (16:12): Veterans have come to see me, and like many members in this House I have sat with them and listened. They were not asking for sympathy. They were asking for understanding.
They wanted us, the people in this House, to understand what it's like to come home from a tour of duty and keep carrying it—the injuries, the trauma, the toll on their families. As a refugee from the Vietnam War, I know that Australians who serve gave. I do not take it lightly.
In recent weeks we have heard a lot about the government's plan to introduce a $5,000 annual threshold for veterans' allied health care. Veterans organisations, families, clinicians and members of this House have raised serious concerns. My office in Fowler has heard directly from veterans who are worried about what this means for their care.
There are more than 1,800 DVA clients in my electorate—veterans, service pensioners, partners and widows. Most rely on allied health to manage the lasting effects of service, stay mobile and live independently. The government says this is a review threshold, not a cap.
It says care will continue while DVA makes a decision. If that is the promise, then guarantee it. Set clear time frames.
Give veterans a right of review, because uncertainty changes behaviour. Will a veteran delay an appointment, put off seeing their psychologist or stop physiotherapy because they're worried about reaching the threshold? For veterans with complex needs, $5,000 can be reached quickly.
That doesn't mean their care is inappropriate. It means their needs are complex. A dollar amount cannot measure clinical need.
It cannot measure pain, trauma, mobility or whether someone is at risk of losing their independence. My office has heard from a veteran in Liverpool who is falling at home. His wife has had to call an ambulance many times because she cannot safely lift him from the floor.
His occupational therapist supports a lifting device that would keep him safe and prevent him from more call outs. But he is worried about delay. He's worried about uncertainty.
Support that keeps someone safe at home should never be harder to get than an ambulance after something has gone wrong. There must be scrutiny of inappropriate billing and overservicing. But the answer is targeted oversight of providers, not a blunt threshold that risks interrupting care for veterans who have genuine needs.
Veterans and their families served Australia. They were prepared to protect our safety, our security and our way of life often at risk to their own lives. We cannot ask them to carry this burden as well.