Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Amendment (Veterans' Healthcare Without Caps) Bill 2026

Senator DAVID POCOCK (Australian Capital Territory—Independent ACT Whip) (09:35): I rise in support of Senator Lambie's bill the Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Amendment (Veterans’ Healthcare Without Caps) Bill 2026. I want to start by thanking Minister Keogh for the roundtable last night where he heard directly from Canberra veterans about their concerns.

He stayed until after 9 pm, answering every question. I appreciate all the Canberrans who came to really engage in good faith. They put questions to the minister and raised concerns, trying to interrogate some of the reasons behind this $5,000 threshold, as the government has started calling it, and really point out the consequences of that—the consequences for gold card holders, for widows and for their children who are wanting to access psychology and just how much stress this has placed on the veterans' community and the stress placed on them in the broader context of a DVA system that many of them feel grinds them down.

Yes, we should acknowledge the Labor government's investment in DVA, but there is still a lot of frustration with the way the system is working. I think this is just another thing, and we have to congratulate the veteran's community on the way they have come together, campaigned, contacted elected representatives and run an outstanding campaign against this cap.

While last night's roundtable was welcome, there were clearly very serious frustrations. At 9 pm last night, it seemed like it was full steam ahead with this $5,000 threshold. This morning they scrapped it, when they were faced with a Senate that said, 'Absolutely not.

There is no pathway for you to do anything like this in this parliament, with this Senate.' This is a win for veterans. But it's a fight they should not have had to have had. They've got other issues on their minds.

They didn't need yet another thing to say to the government and to the country: 'Listen, we've served you. Our understanding was that you'd look after us, and now you're placing yet another barrier, another thing, another piece of paper, another visit to the doctor for us to worry about.' Something that's been on my mind as this debate has unfolded is the question of whether it's a cap or a threshold.

The government is at pains to say that this is not a cap, and how dare those in the opposition or on the crossbench refer to it as a cap. So my team went back to the budget papers where all of this started, and it says this: Savings include: $748.0 million over three years … from the introduction of an Annual Monetary Limit for veterans' allied health services I think most Australians would read a 'limit' as a cap.

You don't read 'limit' as 'threshold'. Clearly, given the very swift backlash from veterans, this limit has now been called a threshold. The talking points have been updated, but it's very clear that it started as a hard cap.

Terminology aside, I think the concerns from veterans have been really well articulated in the added burden this places on them. It's another hurdle to accessing critically important allied health care to help them be well. I really welcome this move from the government.

I wanted to thank Senator Lambie for her advocacy in this space. She has been a steadfast and tireless voice for veterans in this Senate over many, many years now. I think she has huge respect amongst the veterans community for her work.

I also wanted to acknowledge Senator Collins, who had an inquiry before this place to look at this issue, Senator Shoebridge and his work on this, including at his outstanding work at estimates, Senators Hanson and Cadell—I know Senator Roberts has had a lot to say about this too. There's been a lot of good work done in this chamber to raise voices from our states and territories and to hold the executive to account, and I welcome it.

I say, as the Senate, we should be working more together to hold the executive to account, because that is what the Australian people expect of us. I'd also like to acknowledge those in the other place on the crossbench who've raised concerns about this, as well as Phil Thompson and Michael McCormack in the coalition. This is a victory for veterans.

It's a victory for the Senate holding the executive to account, and I support this bill.