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14.10 Transition of Existing FSP Recipients

People who are receiving support through the Family Support Package (FSP) when the Defence, Veterans’ and Families’ Acute Support Package (the Package) comes into effect will continue to receive support until their original time period was due to end (excluding widowed partners, whose period of support under the new Package will be taken to have commenced on their acceptance into the FSP rather than the date of their veteran’s death – see below). They will have access to the services and flexibility available through the Acute Support Package.

Duration of eligibility for existing widows

Widows who are already receiving FSP on commencement of the new scheme will have access to support for two years from the date of their original acceptance into the FSP. This is because the new Package makes support available from the date of a widowed partner’s acceptance into the program rather than from the date of the veteran’s death which is currently the case. This change addresses circumstances where a widowed partner may not have been able to access the full period of support due to the time taken for DVA to determine the veteran’s death was service related. This change ensures that widows who transition to the new Package have the same level of support as new recipients.

Example:

  • Anna’s veteran husband, Jim, died on 1 July 2021.  Jim’s death was accepted as service related, and Anna was approved for FSP on 1 February 2022.
  • Under the current scheme, her last day of eligibility for FSP would be 30 June 2023.  However, under the new Package, she remains eligible for support up to and including 31 January 2024.

 

Entitlement cap for existing recipients

The annual cap available under the new Package will not be a pro-rata amount.  That is, it will not be reduced by the dollar amount of support that has already been available (or actually used) up to the date of commencement of the new scheme. The full yearly cap will be available for existing recipients, even if they only have a few months of eligibility remaining. However, as with any Package recipient, the amount of the annual cap used will still be subject to the actual needs of the family as determined by the needs assessment and prescribed in the approved support plan.

Example 1 – veteran/veteran’s family member:

  • Sam is a nominated person currently receiving FSP while their partner, Chris, is undertaking a rehabilitation program. They have been receiving child care support for their two children, aged 2 and 7, since 1 November 2021, and are experiencing challenging life circumstances related to Chris’s mental health conditions.
  • The Acute Support Package commences on 1 October 2022.
  • First year: Between 1 October and 31 October 2022 (the end of the first year of receiving support), Sam can access up to the annual cap of $10,000 and $5,000 in services supporting their two children (as one is under school age and the other of primary school age), and up to an additional $7,500 in services to support the family. The actual amount accessed is dependent on the identified need for this support, and the family continuing to experience challenging life circumstances. The amount of child care support accessed prior to 1 October 2022 is not taken into account when calculating the remaining annual cap post 1 October 2022.
  • Second year: From 1 November 2022 to 31 October 2023, Sam can access up to the annual cap of $10,000 and $5,000 in services supporting their two children, and up to $5,000 in support for the family. The actual amount accessed is dependent on the identified need for support, and the family continuing to experience challenging life circumstances.

 

Example 2 – widowed partner

  • Anna was approved for FSP on 1 February 2022. She does not have children under high school age, but has been accessing $200 of household services every fortnight.
  • The Acute Support Package commences on 1 October 2022.
  • First year: Between 1 October 2022 and 31 January 2023 (the end of the first year of receiving support), Anna can access up to $27,835 in services to support the family. The actual amount accessed is dependent on the identified need for support.
  • Second year: Between 1 February 2023 and 31 January 2024, she can access up to $27,835 in services to support the family, with the actual amount accessed depending on the identified need for support.

 

Where a veteran’s death is more than two years before the commencement of the Acute Support Package, the widowed partner is not eligible for the Package.

Please contact Family Policy Section at family.policy@dva.gov.au to discuss individual case circumstances.