Defence and DVA forge closer ties to support ADF members

The Departments of Defence and Veterans’ Affairs have pledged closer cooperation and improved support services for current and former ADF members, with a new Memorandum of Understanding (MOU).

Minister for Defence Science and Personnel and Minister for Veterans’ Affairs, Warren Snowdon, joined the Minister for Defence, Stephen Smith, Chief of the Defence Force, General David Hurley and the Secretaries of the Department of Defence, Dennis Richardson and the Department of Veterans’ Affairs, Ian Campbell, to signing the MOU for the Cooperative Delivery of Care and Support to Eligible Persons.

The new MOU has been developed to better co-ordinate the delivery of care and support services between Defence and Veterans’ Affairs.

The MOU formally recognises that the providing quality care and support to ADF members and their dependants is a shared responsibility.

The MOU sets out the key principles which will govern the cooperative delivery of care and support and establishes effective governance arrangements designed to ensure that the support arrangements remain effective.

This MOU includes a ‘support continuum’––a structure of systems that extend across both Defence and Veterans’ Affairs to deliver seamless care and support services.