The Albanese government has increased funding for income support, health care and other services for veterans every year since it took office in 2022, with the annual cost coming in at $15 billion for the 2025/26 financial year.
The substantial uptick in funding was driven in part by efforts to clear the massive backlog of 42,000 claims to the Department of Veterans' Affairs (DVA).
The timely processing of claims was among the recommendations by the Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide that the government has acted on.
Veterans' Affairs Minister Matt Keogh said the state of support funding for the nation's ex-service personnel was a "disgrace" when Labor assumed office.
"Our government is not just better-funding veteran support - it's made once-in-a-century changes to simplify veterans' entitlements legislation, improved integrity in the system, and taken a holistic wellbeing support approach to supporting veterans and veteran families," he said.
The government announced on Thursday evening it would hold an independent review of DVA's guidelines on Victoria Cross for Australia recipient travel entitlements.
It follows backlash after the parents of Cameron Baird, who was killed in 2013 during a deployment to Afghanistan, were informed their travel allowance would be cut.
The Victoria Cross recipient's parents were being reimbursed for air fares and car hire to represent their dead son and share his story to Australians at a cost of less than $3000.
Corporal Baird's parents will keep their entitlements while the review is under way.Â
The federal budget also includes $169.7 million to increase allied health provider fees from July 1, 2027, to address outdated fee schedules.
But the government has moved to claw back savings amid turbulent global conditions, cutting more than $779 million over the next four years.
Reforms include introducing a new $5000 annual limit on allied health services for veterans to prevent overcharging.
Army veteran and advocate Angela Harper said DVA had uncovered public cases of fraud and any crackdown on the waste of taxpayer money was a good thing.
"Many people have a fear that if they reach that cap, that will be the end of their health care," she said.
"DVA is very reasonable. If you have high health care needs, you should be able to go to your GP and request the cap be lifted."
A former medic, Ms Harper said the increase in allied health provider fees was positive for veterans.
"I have had clinicians shut the door in my face because I was a DVA patient," she said.
"The increase will make veterans competitive to treat by clinicians."
In a post-budget statement, RSL Australia commended the government for "long overdue" investments but said the savings measures risked undermining the overall benefit to veterans and their families.
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