Veterans receive millions more in abuse compensation after court forces review

Dozens of veterans will receive millions more in compensation for abuse after a federal court case forced the Defence Force Ombudsman to reassess its reparation scheme. The Defence Abuse Reparation Scheme (DARS) initially only considered the severity of assaults, neglecting the ongoing psychological toll on victims.

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The abuse has had substantial and enduring physical and psychological effects.

Following a challenge in federal court this year, the ombudsman conceded its error and launched a voluntary review of claims. Around 2,000 cases were eligible, and nearly 200 decisions have been remade. The scheme, which paid out over $75 million for some 5,000 reported abuses, stopped making payments in mid-2023.

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I think the handling of this internal review has not been managed very well.

However, the review process has drawn criticism. Lawyer Luke Armstrong, who represents several veterans, stated some clients were only notified of their case reassessment via email informing them of an additional payment. He argued this denied them the chance to appeal decisions that did not result in an increased payment. One client, identified only as Matthew, received an additional $25,000 after his claim was upgraded, but his lawyer felt the review was poorly managed and clients should have been informed earlier and given legal advice opportunities.

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I do think that it would have been a lot more appropriate to have given clients the ability to one, know that their case has been reopened and two, once they have actually received an upgrade, allowing them the ability to get legal advice first.