Michael McCormack (right) with Northern Territory-based veteran Craig Wharton during the Member for Riverina’s listening tour. Photos: Michael McCormack MP.
Riverina MP Michael McCormack has called for the Federal Government to scrap a planned $5000 annual threshold for veterans’ allied health treatment, but Labor has defended the measure as a review point designed to prevent unnecessary treatment rather than a cap on care.
Mr McCormack, the Coalition’s Shadow Minister for Veterans’ Affairs, has been travelling around the country holding forums with veterans and ex-service organisations as part of a national listening tour.
“We stood up for our country, why won’t the government stand up for us? is the line many, many veterans used at the forums,” Mr McCormack said.
“The message is consistent: this cap is unfair, it creates uncertainty and it risks veterans missing out on the care they need.”
Under the changes, due to begin on 1 July, 2027, Veteran Card-holders will have a $5000 annual threshold covering the cost of eligible allied health services.
The $5000 is not a cash allowance that veterans receive or can spend as they choose. It is a threshold based on the cost of treatment such as physiotherapy, psychology, occupational therapy, podiatry, exercise physiology, dietetics, chiropractic treatment and speech pathology.
For example, the cost of a veteran’s physiotherapy and podiatry treatment would count towards the threshold.
Once a veteran’s treatment reaches $5000 in a year, the government says treatment does not automatically stop.
Instead, further treatment can be approved where there is a demonstrated clinical need.
The Coalition, however, continues to refer to it as a cap, arguing that requiring veterans to seek approval for further treatment creates a barrier that should not exist.
Mr McCormack with Legacy SA officials in Adelaide.
Shadow Defence Personnel Minister Phillip Thompson has argued veterans should not have to rely on bureaucratic approval to continue treatment their doctors believe they need.
“Healthcare decisions should be made between veterans and their treating health professionals, not by bureaucratic thresholds devised in Canberra,” Mr Thompson said.
The government, however, says clinical need — rather than the $5000 figure itself — will ultimately determine whether a veteran receives further treatment.
The details of the system for approving treatment above the threshold are still being developed.
The Department of Veterans’ Affairs has opened consultation with veterans, families, allied health providers and ex-service organisations on how the process will work, including how veterans with complex health needs can access treatment above the $5000 threshold.
Consultation closes on 30 October, with the new arrangements due to start on 1 July, 2027.
Mr McCormack said the government’s exemptions and ongoing changes showed the policy remained flawed.
“Veterans served this nation without a cap on their service and they don’t believe there should be a cap on their access to healthcare,” he said.
The dispute is likely to continue as the government finalises the system ahead of its introduction next year.
Original Article published by Oliver Jacques on Region Riverina.
