I’m very pleased to present the Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade References Committee’s report Issues relating to advocacy services for veterans accessing compensation and income support together with accompanying documents. I move: That the Senate take note of the report.
I am very pleased to table this report of the Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade References Committee, which I very proudly chair, Issues relating to advocacy services for veterans accessing compensation and income support. This inquiry has examined the system which is essential to the wellbeing of those who have served our nation, a system which helps veterans and their families access the treatment, rehabilitation and compensation to which they are entitled.
The evidence before the committee made it very clear that while there has been real progress, particularly through the work to simplify veterans legislation, the advocacy system remains under significant strain and requires urgent and coordinated action to protect veterans from harm. The committee acknowledges the government for its commitment to the harmonisation of veterans legislation, consolidating three complex acts into a single modern framework from 1 July 2026. This reform represents an important step towards simplifying the claims process and improving access to entitlements.
However, the committee also heard repeatedly about the ongoing need for professional and accessible advocacy. Many veterans leaving service face very significant physical, psychological, bureaucratic barriers. They need support not just to make a claim but to understand it and their rights, to navigate the system and to trust the system, including the Department of Veterans’ Affairs. That is where advocacy remains vital.
Our inquiry heard troubling evidence about the rapid expansion of commercial for-profit advocacy services. These businesses charge veterans fees or commissions—sometimes, we heard, as high as 29 per cent of a veteran’s compensation—just to assist with DVA claims. While the committee recognises that paid advocacy can have a legitimate role where it is transparent, ethical and conducted in the veteran’s best interest, we heard far too often that many veterans were encumbered with the system without proper safeguards. There is no regulation, no accreditation and no clear code of conduct. This absence of oversight has allowed unacceptable and in some cases distressing behaviour to emerge.
The committee heard evidence of misleading advertising, hidden fees and contracts that veterans could not escape. We heard some providers have combined advocacy within in-house medical services, creating clear conflicts of interest and perverse incentives to inflate claims for profit. Our committee heard cases where this conduct—I have to say, in some cases, quite reprehensible conduct—left veterans worse off financially and emotionally, and, in some cases, traumatised by the very process which was meant to help them. This is not acceptable. It undermines trust in the entire system and damages the integrity of the Department of Veterans’ Affairs’s work.
The committee does not recommend the prohibition of paid advocacy outright. Veterans should have the choice to seek assistance from volunteer not-for-profit or professional advocates as they see fit, but that choice must come with protections, transparent fees, capped costs and mandatory accreditation to ensure that all advocates, paid or unpaid, are held to the same ethical and professional standards. Advocacy must always be the veteran centric, never profit driven.
At the same time, the free-to-veterans advocacy network, often delivered through ex-service organisations, is under enormous strain. It relies heavily on volunteers and limited government grants through the Building Excellence in Support and Training Grants program, the BEST program. It is a system that has not kept pace with demand or the complexity of veterans’ needs. Both this inquiry and the Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide found that this model is unsustainable. The evidence is clear. We need a professional, stable and adequately funded free advocacy system to ensure no veteran is left vulnerable to predatory business models.
The committee also examined the Institute of Veterans’ Advocacy, an initiative with potential to bring coherence, training and professional standards to the sector. However, the committee heard that the institute cannot succeed under its current funding model. It cannot depend on membership fees or donations to deliver a national regulatory and accreditation role. If the government is to ensure quality and integrity across the advocacy system, the institute must be securely and sustainably funded and empowered as an independent statutory authority to register, accredit and oversee advocates nationwide.
Some of the evidence this committee heard about the way our veterans are being treated was nothing short of distressing. It caused a lot of anger amongst committee members, I have to say. These men and women have already served our nation with courage and loyalty. They should not have to fight again for the support which is rightfully theirs. Our report and our recommendations call for urgent, coordinated government action to regulate commercial advocacy services, to ensure transparency, capped pricing and veteran centred conduct; to fully fund and empower the Institute of Veterans Advocacy as an independent national regulator; and to act on the royal commission recommendation and invest in a professional, sustainable, free-to-the-veteran advocacy system to ensure every veteran, regardless of means, has access to fair and competent support.
It would be remiss of me not to note that, to their credit, the Department of Veterans’ Affairs has been implementing safeguards, within the current legislative framework, to protect veterans from unethical processes and practices. However, without government action, this issue will continue to spiral out of control. The government must now act swiftly and decisively with sustained investment to ensure that every veteran receives advocacy that is fair and professional and reflects the enormous commitment that veterans have made to our nation.
I finish by saluting our veterans. The Australian Senate and our committee that I proudly chair hear you. We stand with you, and we will continue our fight to ensure that you receive the respect, the support and the entitlements you so deserve. I commend our report to the Senate.
I seek leave to continue my remarks later.