Veterans Affairs Minister Darren Chester says a new diggers discount scheme is designed to complement, not replace, ongoing reform in the way Australia looks after former military personnel.
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From Sunday, ex-Australian Defence Force personnel will be able to use their veteran card to access more than 10,000 discounts from about 500 businesses, ranging from 2.5 to 40 per cent off, over-the-counter and online.
It's part of the new Veterans' Covenant, which also provides veterans with lapel pins in recognition of their military service.
Tasmanian senator and veteran Jacqui Lambie described the covenant as "pure symbolism" and "absolutely embarrassing" when the legislation passed the Senate in July.
"The Liberal Party don't want to be held to a lifetime of dealing with the claims of veterans, because that would cost them too much to actually deliver. Apparently pins are a cheaper solution," Senator Lambie said.
Speaking in Canberra on Sunday, Mr Chester said while it was true the pin was "largely symbolic", it complemented the $11 billion the federal government spent supporting veterans and their families each year.
"The bigger issues I'm dealing with on a day-to-day basis are around veterans mental wellbeing and the transition from the defence force into civilian life but there's no reason why we can't do some of these complementary activities as well," Mr Chester told The Canberra Times.
"This veteran card is primarily about access to health services, that's the most important aspect of the health card, but now it's going to be used for the corporate sector if they want to to offer discounts to our veterans. That's another tangible way of respecting and recognising our veterans.
"The Australian government and Australian taxpayers can be proud of the fact we provide more than $11 billion per year to support our veterans and their families but there's been enthusiasm among the business community to do its bit as well and it's a very practical and tangible way people in the business community can offer discounts to veterans if they want to access them."
The scheme comes as the Morrison government considers the finding of a damning Productivity Commission report, which found the system of compensation and rehabilitation for veterans was outdated and "not working in the best interest of veterans and their families, or the Australian community".
The commission called for fundamental reform of the system, which it described as "difficult to navigate, inequitable, and poorly administered.
Mr Chester said the government would formally respond to the recommendations in coming months, but he had spoken to Prime Minister Scott Morrison, others within government and veterans groups about the way forward.
"The Productivity Commission report was in some ways an endorsement of the transformations underway in DVA at the moment but also an acknowledgement that we need to go further and there's always more work to be done. It's a large body of work and we'll respond fully to it," Mr Chester said.
"I'm still receiving feedback from the veterans community as I hold roundtables around Australia and that feedback's been pretty positive in the main. They do like the way the department is becoming more digitised, focused on the veterans themselves and their needs, and less bureaucratic but I acknowledge that they still believe we can do more in terms of making it easier and faster to process claims."
