Policy

VEA→

This chapter contains information on the purpose and requirements of obligations imposed under s54 of the VEA, and the penalties a person may incur for not complying with their obligations.

See Also

Date claimant notified of Commission decision

A person is taken to have been notified of a decision by the [glossary:Commission:545] when a properly addressed, pre-paid post and posted, letter advising of the decision has been delivered to the claimant. It would be reasonable to allow five working days for delivery of this letter as set out in section 163 of the Evidence Act 1995.

Most VEA compensation and rehabilitation determinations made on or after 21 April 2025 must be appealed directly to the Veterans’ Review Board (VRB), via VRB lodgement channels, rather than to DVA. Appeal timeframes remain the same for all claim types except Acute Support Package, which has been extended to 12 months. DVA has 28 days to prepare the report for the VRB under section 352D of the MRCA. The Commission continues to have the discretion to initiate a reconsideration of own motion.

What does data matching involve?

Data matching involves the comparison of pension records across the agencies, using personal details including the [glossary:tax file number:191], to detect instances of overpayments or dual payments where a pensioner has:

• failed to notify the Department of changes, or
• made false or misleading statements with regard to their personal details or income.

Agencies involved in data matching

The data matching exercise involves matching client records held by the following agencies:

The Secretary has the power to place an obligation on a person in relation to [glossary:service pension:245], veteran payment and [glossary:ISS:118] matters. An obligation can require a person to inform the Department of an event or change in circumstances that has occurred or is likely to occur.    

Inability to comply with obligations

VEA?

A person must comply with an obligations notice to the extent that they are able to comply. Inability to comply with obligations effectively results in the notification period specified in the notice not being applied when determining the date of effect. Consequently, the person would not be penalised for failing to comply with the notice.

When a claimant can request a review of decisions on allowances

What is an obligation?

The [glossary:VEA:373] provides the Secretary with a wide range of information gathering powers to enable decision-makers to satisfy themselves as to whether a person is or was eligible for a payment, a particular rate of payment or some other benefit, such as treatment. This chapter primarily deals with one of those information gathering powers - obligations imposed under s54 of the VEA, which require a person to notify the Department of an event or change in circumstances that:

Last updated 25 November 2008

Department initiated actions

A department initiated action (DIA) is a reassessment action undertaken by the department. Global or 'batch' runs are DIAs, undertaken by the department for a number of clients with [glossary:income:31] and [glossary:assets:296] that fall into a specific category, such as:

Last Amended: 31 March 2014

This section outlines what decisions on income support matters may be reviewed by the [glossary:Commission:545][glossary:,:] and the process of review.