There you go, all you ex – servicemen. That’s what the Albanese Government thinks of you.
“Nothing is too good for our veterans, and that’s precisely what they’ll get. NOTHING!”

Veterans ‘left behind’ by looming legal service closure
Matthew Denholm
15 hours ago

110 comments
A lauded national legal service helping veterans fight for their entitlements, compensation and rehabilitation is being quietly axed, prompting warnings they will be left to the mercy of legal “sharks”.
The Defence and Veterans Legal Service faces closure because of a federal funding “cliff”, despite a 41,000 backlog of stalled claims and expectations that findings of the Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide findings will generate thousands more.
The nationwide service is prized by veterans because its support and guidance is expert, free, confidential and independent of government and military bodies.
However, its funding ends in September.
If the service, also known as DAVLS, is allowed to close, there are fears many veterans will resort to fee-for-service lawyers and advocates, some of whom are described by veterans as “sharks”.
“Applying for compensation can be difficult and veterans often seek legal assistance during that process,” said Katherine McKernan, executive director of National Legal Aid, which set up the service in late 2021.
“Sadly, some law firms charge large amounts for legal support that is freely available from DAVLS … High fees are also being charged by some fee-for-service advocates – non-lawyers who don’t have to cap their fees when helping people to apply for veteran entitlements.
“The compensation claim process is complex and can be stressful, so access to specialist legal help is critical. We are concerned that if the service ends in September, veterans could be left behind without access to free legal help.”
Ms McKernan said the ­expertise of DAVLS’s lawyers and staff would be lost if it disbanded in September.
With the funding cliff approaching, its staff has already halved from about 40 to about 20.
Veteran Billy Starr’s almost 30-year wait for compensation – after being physically injured, bullied, sexually harassed and raped in the army – was resolved only after she obtained assistance from DAVLS.
After discharging in 1994, Ms Starr was never told about entitlements and described her later experience of seeking compensation as “hell”.
“I was so exhausted by the whole process – if DAVLS hadn’t helped me, I would have given up,” the 54-year-old said.
“The outcome they achieved is phenomenal.
“There was a really important human element too. They had genuine care and compassion, and they had my best interests at heart. That is what veterans need.”
Without DAVLS, she feared others seeking justice would fall victim to “sharks”.
“There’s a lot of people making money out of this at the moment,” she said. “There’s a vulnerable group of veterans, so people start to target them because they see that they may not have the capacity to manage an application.
“And then that causes the ­veteran more financial distress – or they just give up.”