Budget 2023–24 investments to support veterans and families

The Australian Government is investing an additional $328.1 million over four years to support the more than 340,000 veterans and dependants accessing services through DVA. This builds on the $537.5 million invested in the October 2022 Budget as part of the Government’s commitment to ensuring a better future for veterans and families.

The 2023-24 Federal Budget makes significant investments that will further reduce the veteran compensation claims backlog.

An investment of $64.1 million in 2023-24 will retain over 480 DVA staff who are working to deliver frontline services to veterans and families and $254.1 million over four years has been provided to modernise and sustain ageing IT systems to ensure more timely payments and access to services for veterans and families through DVA.

These investments support the Government’s response to the interim recommendations of the Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide.

Funding has been invested for technology upgrades at the Sir John Monash Centre, with $7.4 million over four years ($8.3 million over six years) to maintain cutting edge multi-media technology that gives visitors to the centre an interactive and immersive experience of what our diggers went through during the First World War.

Other measures in the Budget 2023-24 package supporting health and wellbeing include:

  • $500,000 over four years to expand eligibility for the Acute Support Package introduced in the October 2022 Budget to include grand-carers – grandparents who are also full-time carers of children of veterans
  • $2 million over two years to allow DVA to continue important mental health awareness and suicide intervention training for volunteers supporting veterans.

Additionally, there are a range of measures managed by other Australian Government departments that benefit veterans and families, from the Department of Health and Aged Care and from the Department of Social Services.

For more information, visit the www.dva.gov.au/budget2023-24 on the DVA website.