Department of Veterans' Affairs (Australia)

The Department of Veterans' Affairs is a department of the Government of Australia, established in 1976, and charged with the responsibility of delivering government programs for war veterans, members of the Australian Defence Force, members of the Australian Federal Police, and their dependants.

Department of Veterans' Affairs

Department overview
Formed	5 October 1976; 48 years ago (1976-10-05)
Preceding department	Department of Repatriation (1975–1976)
Jurisdiction	Australian Government
Employees	1,851 (at June 2022)[1]
Minister responsible	Matt Keogh, Minister for Veterans' Affairs
Department executive	Alison Frame, Secretary
Child agencies	Australian War Memorial Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Commission Office of Australian War Graves Repatriation Commission Repatriation Medical Authority Specialist Medical Review Council Veterans’ Children Education Boards Veterans' Review Board
Website	dva.gov.au

The current Secretary of the Department of Veterans' Affairs is Alison Frame, who succeeded Elizabeth Cosson as secretary on 23 January 2023.^[2]

For administration purposes, the department forms part of the Defence portfolio.^[3] The Minister for Defence acts on behalf of the Minister for Veterans' Affairs within the Cabinet.

The head of the department is the Secretary of the Department of Veterans' Affairs, currently Alison Frame, who is responsible to the Minister for Veterans' Affairs, the Minister for Defence Personnel, and the Assistant Minister for Veterans' Affairs. The Secretary of the Department also has the responsibility of the Repatriation Commission and the Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Commission.

Operational activities

The purpose of the department is to support the wellbeing of those who serve or have served in the defence of Australia, and their families.^[4]

The department deals with the following matters:

• Repatriation income support, compensation and health programmes for veterans, members of the Defence Force, certain mariners and their dependants.
• Delivering meaningful commemorations, including promotion of understanding of Anzac Day, Remembrance Day and Vietnam Veterans' Day.
• Maintaining or providing war graves and memorials.
• Defence Service Homes.

Agencies

In carrying out its functions, the department administers the following agencies:^[5][6][7][8]

• Australian War Memorial
• Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Commission
• Office of Australian War Graves
• Repatriation Commission
• Repatriation Medical Authority
• Specialist Medical Review Council
• Veterans’ Children Education Boards
• Veterans' Review Board

Key legislation

The Department of Veterans' Affairs is responsible for administration of several key Acts:^[9]

• Defence Service Homes Act, 1918 (Cth)
• Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Act, 2004 (Cth)
• Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation Act, 1988 (Cth)
• Veterans Entitlements Act, 1986 (Cth)
• War Graves Act, 1980 (Cth)

Key officeholders

Department secretary

The Secretary of the Department of Veterans' Affairs is Alison Frame, since 23 January 2023. In addition to her role of departmental secretary, she is also the President of the Repatriation Commission and Chair of the Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Commission.^[10]

Below is a full list of the Department's Secretaries since it was established.

Order	Official	Official title	Date appointment commenced	Date appointment ceased	Term in office	Notes
1	Sir Richard Kingsland	Secretary of the Department of Veterans' Affairs	5 October 1976 (1976-10-05)	1981	4–5 years	served as Secretary to the Repatriation Department since 1970
2	Derek Volker		1981	14 November 1986 (1986-11-14)	4–5 years
3	Noel Tanzer		18 December 1986 (1986-12-18)	1 March 1989 (1989-03-01)	2 years, 73 days
4	Lionel Woodward		1 March 1989 (1989-03-01)	26 April 1994 (1994-04-26)	5 years, 56 days
5	Allan Hawke		1994	1996	1–2 years
6	Neil Johnston		11 March 1996 (1996-03-11)	30 September 2004 (2004-09-30)	8 years, 203 days
7	Mark Sullivan		26 October 2004 (2004-10-26)	2008	3–4 years
8	Ian Campbell		22 September 2008 (2008-09-22)	5 July 2013 (2013-07-05)	4 years, 286 days
9	Simon Lewis		July 2013	18 May 2018	11 years, 351 days	acting between May and July 2013
10	Elizabeth Cosson		18 May 2018 (2018-05-18)	23 January 2023 (2023-01-23)	4 years, 250 days
11	Alison Frame		23 January 2023 (2023-01-23)	incumbent

Other key officeholders

Other key officeholders in the department are the Deputy President of the Repatriation Commission, currently Kate Pope PSM; the Repatriation Commissioner, currently Don Spinks AM; and the Veteran Family Advocate Commissioner, currently Gwen Cherne^[11]

See also

• Minister for Veterans' Affairs
• List of Australian Commonwealth Government entities