Wagga’s Pro Patria has expressed grave concerns about the budget. Photo: Supplied.
A Wagga veterans’ support group has questioned how the Federal Government can find an extra $50 million to investigate alleged war crimes committed by Australian troops while also cutting support services for returned soldiers waiting more than a year for help.
The Pro Patria Centre has strongly criticised the Federal Budget, particularly the decision to cut 111 frontline Department of Veterans’ Affairs (DVA) staff and defund eight regional Veteran Wellbeing Centres, including a promised $5 million facility for Wagga Wagga.
The group also claims more than $600 million has been removed from veteran-related programs and grants.
At the same time, the Federal Government has committed an additional $50.4 million to the Office of the Special Investigator to continue investigating alleged war crimes committed by Australian personnel in Afghanistan.
“The Pro Patria Centre acknowledges that accountability and the rule of law are non-negotiable principles, and that due process must be allowed to proceed,” the centre said in a statement.
“Nevertheless, the centre notes the deep unease within the veteran community at the scale of this allocation, particularly when set against the simultaneous removal of funding for wellbeing centres, reductions in frontline DVA staffing, and the persistent failure to clear a claims backlog approaching 100,000 cases.
“Veterans who have raised concerns with the Pro Patria Centre consistently express the view that $50.4 million directed toward healthcare, mental health services, and claims processing would be more immediately felt.”
The group said tens of thousands of veterans were still waiting to have claims processed for healthcare, rehabilitation and other support services.
“Nearly 97,000 veterans are waiting — some for almost a year — to find out whether their injuries will be recognised by the country they served,” Pro Patria Centre Ltd board director Richard Moffatt said.
“And in this budget, the government’s response is to cut 111 of the people responsible for processing those claims. That is not a plan; that is an abdication. The Pro Patria Centre demands that the government restore DVA frontline staffing immediately, fund the workforce needed to clear this backlog, and treat the claims crisis with the urgency it deserves. Veterans should not have to wait 352 days for an answer.”
Richard Moffatt, who is also a National Party member, says the budget fails veterans. Photo: Supplied.
The Pro Patria Centre said the closure of the eight regional wellbeing centres would hit rural communities especially hard, arguing they were designed to give veterans and their families a place to access support, connect with others and navigate life after military service.
When contacted by Region, the Department of Veterans Affairs provided more information on how the budget will impact on services for Wagga-based veterans.
“Since 2019, the Australian Government has committed funding to establish 18 Veterans’ and Families’ Hubs (Hubs) in both metropolitan and regional areas,” a spokesperson said.
“No funding has been committed for a Hub in Wagga Wagga. However, more than $1.7 million has been awarded under the Veteran Wellbeing Grants One-Off Program to two organisations, Pro Patria and RSL LifeCare, who provide Hub-like services, to veterans and families in the Wagga Wagga region.
“The Government will provide $38.9 million over three years from 2026-27 to provide funding for Hubs, particularly in ways which support of the establishment of the Agency.
“The Government continues to invest in Department of Veterans’ Affairs (DVA) resources and staffing levels are significantly higher than the 2,617 staff budgeted in 2022-23.”
The Pro Patria Centre said veterans in regional Australia already faced isolation and fewer available services, so the lack of funding for a Wagga hub was disappointing.
“The defunding of eight regional Veteran Wellbeing Centres is a decision that will be felt in communities across this country for years to come,” Neurotherapy Clinics Australia and the Pro Patria Centre director Lara Schulz said.
“For veterans in Wagga Wagga, in the Riverina, and in regional Australia more broadly, these centres were a promise — and this budget breaks it.
“Isolation is one of the greatest threats to veteran wellbeing, and the government has just removed one of the key tools we had to address it.
“I call on the minister to reconsider, to sit down with regional veteran communities, and to understand what it means to remove the only dedicated support service within a hundred kilometres of home.”
The Federal Government has defended parts of its veterans package, including a $169.7 million increase in allied health provider fees and continued funding for programs linked to the Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide.
But the Pro Patria Centre argues those measures are being overshadowed by cuts to frontline staffing and regional support services at a time when thousands of veterans are already struggling to access help.
