Veterans to get better access to mental health services
August 01, 2014
Australia has enacted several new measures to expand and improve mental health services for its military veterans. In order to better address the needs of “the contemporary cohort of veterans,” Senator Michael Ronaldson, Veterans Affairs (VA) minister, announced in July that former soldiers with a diagnosis of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety, or depression are no longer required to prove that their condition is related to their service in order to receive treatment. The VA department will now pay for veterans’ alcohol and substance abuse treatment as well. The kinds of service that qualify individuals for the VA’s mental health resources are expanding to include more peacetime duties, such as work in border protection and disaster zones. The department expects to spend more than AUD $660 million over the next four years, an amount several veterans’ groups say will not adequately meet the anticipated rise in PTSD claims by soldiers returning from Afghanistan.
Spark Extra! Read about research on factors that maximize the effectiveness of PTSD treatment for U.S. veterans of Afghanistan and Iraq.