Veterans are in the dark about their failed attempts to gain compensation for injuries during service as the government agency deciding payments neglects to explain why it won't accept claims, a federal watchdog says.
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The Commonwealth Ombudsman has told the federal government's economic advisory body that the Department of Veterans' Affairs is not adequately telling former defence force personnel why it found their injuries and conditions were not linked to their military roles.
In a submission to the Productivity Commission's review of veteran compensation the watchdog said it received complaints that some decisions had failed to link veterans' service to their injuries, despite these occuring while they were meeting military obligations.
Compensation decisions were often overturned by a review board or appeals tribunal, but the wait involved could be costly for ex-Australian Defence Force personnel, the ombudsman said.
"The veteran is often unable to receive health care or income subsidy while the matter is under review and the review process can be long and arduous," it said.
The criticisms follow a national auditor's report last month finding the department allowed claims to become "lost" for up to 183 days and delayed while handled by officials.
It found the agency was slow in dealing with some claims as staff made multiple requests for information from third parties, and the same voluminous case files were subjected to review multiple times.
The Commonwealth Ombudsman also found veterans faced prolonged waits - often longer than 12 months - for claim decisions as the department required some to attend multiple medical assessments with its contractors.
"These cases are particularly concerning where the veteran has significant mental health issues and is unable to access the appropriate health treatment and income support," the ombudsman said.
"While DVA now has non-liability health care and interim veteran payment schemes, the length of time a claim remains outstanding can still have significant impacts, particularly mental health impacts, on vulnerable veterans."
The watchdog still received complaints about processing times for claims but the problem had been reduced with government reforms simplifying the Veterans' Affairs department's IT systems, replacing manual tasks and making the agency more accessible for clients.
Veterans' Affairs did not respond to questions sent by Fairfax Media before deadline.
Labor veterans' affairs spokeswoman Amanda Rishworth said the ombudsman's report showed multiple health checks and excessive delays had become the norm for many veterans seeking financial assistance from the department.
"This is not the first report detailing these types of concerns and it is incumbent on the government and the department to step up and take action to ensure our veterans receive the services they need and are not subject to unnecessary delays," she said.
"Unfortunately, the experiences highlighted by the ombudsman reflect many of the concerns veterans and their loved ones have been expressing for some time."
A Veterans' Affairs spokesperson said it was addressing the issues raised in the ombudsman's submission to the Productivity Commission, and said it had recognised parts of the system not working for veterans in its own comments to the advisory body.
Reforms to the department's services had improved them with a new online portal for veterans to have claims processed more simply, better use of evidence and data to identify conditions for which immediate compensation decisions are made, and data sharing with the Defence Department letting ADF personnel access free mental health treatment as they transition from service.
