Better healthcare for nuclear exposed vets

Veterans exposed to radiation in Japan in the aftermath of the Second World War are set to receive long overdue Gold Cards for healthcare.

Better healthcare for nuclear exposed vets

Veterans exposed to radiation in Japan are set to receive Gold Cards for healthcare. (AAP)

Veterans exposed to radiation in Japan in the aftermath of the Second World War and those caught up in the British nuclear tests in Australia are set to receive long overdue Gold Cards for healthcare.

Tuesday's budget allocates $133.1 million over four years to the venture.

There are 1800 surviving Australian veterans who were exposed during nuclear tests at Maralinga and Emu Fields in South Australia and Monte Bello Islands in Western Australia in the 1950s and 1960s.

Aboriginal people who lived near the test sites will also receive better healthcare access.

There are also 1100 surviving veterans, who were part of the British Commonwealth Occupational Force during its occupation of Japan, and were deployed in or near Hiroshima.

Meanwhile, there will be a boost to mental health services for military personnel, veterans and their families.

There will be expanded access to treatment for mental health conditions on a non-liability basis at a cost of $33.5 million over four years.

Previously, only five conditions were covered - drug and alcohol addictions, anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder.

But now all mental illnesses will be covered.

"The earlier a veteran gets treatment, the better the health and other outcomes," Veterans Affairs Minister Dan Tehan said.

Family counselling will be boosted to the tune of $8.5 million and there will be $9.8 million over three years on suicide prevention pilot programs.

Compensation, rehabilitation and income support claims are set to be processed quicker.

The Veterans Affairs Department will use $13.5 million in 2017-18 to improve its claims processing and reduce its backlog.

It will also spend $166.6 million over four years to improve its IT systems and cyber security.

The government will save $171 million over five years from tightening up healthcare arrangements for veterans by renegotiating contracts with private hospitals and updating prices for prosthetic medical devices.

The money will be channelled back into the department for other areas.


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Published 9 May 2017 7:40pm
Source: AAP


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