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Change of plans: Transition options available for ADF personnel in wake of COVID-19

Defence personnel wanting to remain in the ADF are encouraged to contact their service career manager or transition coach.
Change of plans: Transition options available for ADF personnel in wake of COVID-19

Change of plans: Transition options available for ADF personnel in wake of COVID-19
Defence personnel wanting to remain in the ADF are encouraged to contact their service career manager or transition coach.
Defence personnel wanting to remain in the ADF are encouraged to contact their service career manager or transition coach.
Independent news and opinion for
the Australian veteran community.
Opinion


Mark Schroffel
May 1, 2024
Albanese’s Legacy at Stake: An Unlikely Morrison 2.0 in Veterans’ Affairs
As the Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide concludes, the swift legislative responses by the Albanese government are being...


Eamon Hale
Mar 21, 2024
Before the Final Verdict: Government Races Against Royal Commission Recommendations in Veterans' Affairs Overhaul
Throughout the Royal Commission into Veteran and Defence Suicide, the Department of Veterans Affairs has faced heavy criticism. Described...


@AVNHQ
Mar 19, 2024
Putting the Blowtorch to the Belly: The Final Hearings of the DVSRC Represent the Opportunity for Meaningful Change
Op-Ed by Jasmine Stanton, National Director of the Defence and Veterans Legal Service It’s regarded as a great Aussie expression and was...


Luke Gosling OAM MP
Feb 29, 2024
Afghanistan's Long Shadow: The Urgent Need for Recognition and Support for Australia's Veterans and Families
Op-Ed by Luke Gosling OAM MP For many Afghanistan veterans and their families, the withdrawal from Kabul in 2021 and the imagery of the...


Mark Schroffel
Feb 5, 2024
DVA MATES Program in Crisis: A Breach of Trust and the Case for Better Governance
Documents disclosed to several news outlets, including Australian Veteran News, reveal serious concerns about the Department of Veterans’...


Eamon Hale
Dec 4, 2023
The RSL Dilemma: Advocacy or Abdication in Veteran Affairs?
Regular AVN correspondent Eamon Hale weighs in to our debate on the role of the RSL and need for a peak body for ESOs. Dear Mark, I read...


Bill Westhead
Nov 16, 2023
ESO Peak Body - Government intervention not self-regulation!
Respected policy advocate for veterans and their families, Bill Westhead, offers the follow analysis and insights response to Mark...


Mark Schroffel
Nov 8, 2023
RSL's National Forum for Ex-Service Organisations: A Promising Formula for Collective Impact
The Returned and Services League (RSL) Australia has, over the past year, coordinated a series of National Forums for Ex-Service...


Mark Schroffel
Sep 18, 2023
A Missed Opportunity: Rethinking the Appointment of Repatriation Commissioners
The announcement of Mr. Kahlil Fegan DSC AM as the new Repatriation Commissioner has prompted concerns within the veteran community...


Mark Schroffel
Aug 28, 2023
Beyond the Inquiry: Why We Need a Successor to the Royal Commission
When the Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide embarked on its Melbourne hearings, it marked another step in Australia's...


Eamon Hale
Aug 11, 2023
Missteps and Missed Opportunities: The Need for Fresh Vision at RSL Victoria
Is this the best we’ve got? Are these comments appropriate? “When I get a voice that is having trouble speaking English asking me for...


Mark Schroffel
Jul 20, 2023
Moving Past Prejudices: An Appeal for Unity and Progress within the RSL
Being an active member of the Returned and Services League of Victoria (RSL Vic), I have witnessed firsthand the dedication, sacrifice,...


@AVNHQ
Jul 14, 2023
Beyond the Battlefield: Understanding Australia's Role in Afghanistan
We are pleased to present a thoughtful response from one of our loyal readers, Laurence Quinn, a seasoned veteran with deep insights...


Eamon Hale
Jul 12, 2023
A New Era for DVA Repatriation: The Appointment of Glen Ferrarotto Signals Generational Shift
For the first time a junior non-commissioned officer will be appointed as the new Department of Veterans Affairs (Interim) Repatriation...


Eamon Hale
Jun 28, 2023
Echoes of Vietnam: Media Perception and Veteran Treatment in the Afghanistan War
The Vietnam War was finally won by the North Vietnamese in 1975, marked by the images streamed around the world of their tanks smashing...


Mark Schroffel
Jun 2, 2023
Military Accountability Post-Afghanistan: Australia's War Crimes Controversy and its Repercussions
In the often-tumultuous theatre of war, clear lines of responsibility can blur, challenging the very core of ethical and legal norms....


Mark Schroffel
Apr 1, 2023
Yellow Pages on Steroids: A Review of RSL Austalia's Veterans' Catalogue App
RSL Australia recently launched the Veterans' Catalogue App, which is supposed to help veterans find support services. However, upon...

Mark Schroffel
Sep 30, 2022
Canberra veterans' symposium a feat of grassroots leadership for wellbeing and advocacy
An important event is underway in Canberra today under the leadership of Ian Lindgren who has established a notable coterie of advocates...


Andrew McDougall
Sep 13, 2022
Friendly advice for those leaving the ADF and feeling unsure about what’s next
Andrew McDougall A friend recently announced on social media that he was being medically discharged. After 30 years, that was the end of...


Eamon Hale
Sep 10, 2022
God save the King!
By Eamon Hale It was a momentous moment that most of us remember like it was yesterday. Standing in a Defence Force Recruiting Centre or...


Andrew McDougall
Aug 23, 2022
The invisible costs of service life and why fixing DVA is not the only answer
Andrew McDougall writes about the hidden costs of service life and the need to better support the psychological transition to civilian life.


Mark Schroffel
Aug 17, 2022
RSL’s inadequate consultation in deciding top job
This year, unlike any other year in its recent history, RSL member and community expectations on the performance of the RSL in the...


Mark Schroffel
Jun 26, 2022
RSL Australia is clearly trying, but fails to hit the mark
It’s time for the RSL to hold government accountable for its actions to veterans. If it chooses not to, someone else will.


@AVNHQ
Jun 17, 2022
Bill Westhead calls for renewed leadership transparency within the RSL
17 June 2022 Re: Apathy and absence: RSL Australia plays politics at the expense of veteran advocacy Now that the dust has settled on the...


George Alban and Eamon Hale
Jun 6, 2022
Apathy and absence: RSL Australia plays politics at the expense of veteran advocacy
By George Alban and Eamon Hale On 1 June 2022, RSL Australia’s entrenched failure to speak publicly on behalf of the veteran population...


Brian Briggs
May 31, 2022
DVA’s provisional medical access scheme unfairly prioritises claimants and should be scrapped
Scrapping the injury trial that unfairly prioritises some claimants over others will help clear the claims backlog plaguing DVA

@AVNHQ
Apr 16, 2022
Grass-roots ESO members disillusioned with DVA and its opaque dealings with ESO leadership
Letter submitted by MAJ Rick Ryan (RTD) After watching the lackluster performance of Liz Cosson DVA on the 14th of April 2022, I am more...


Mark Schroffel
Mar 28, 2022
A defiant Andrew Gee puts veterans ahead of self-interest
In a daring act of defiance, Andrew Gee, Minister for Veterans’ Affairs and Defence Personnel, stood ready to resign over a budget...


Eamon Hale
Feb 25, 2022
Ruxton's legacy, a force to be reckoned with
Bruce Ruxton died in 2011, leaving a legacy of dogged advocacy and service to Australian veterans and their families...


Mark Schroffel
Feb 21, 2022
Morrison unwittingly reveals Coalition weakness on national security
The politicisation of national security overshaddowing the safety of Australian defence and security personnel


Eamon Hale
Dec 18, 2021
A new Day in the Sunshine State
Eamon Hale's opinion piece on the election of Major General Stephen Day DSC AM as RSL Queensland's State President.


Leo D'Angelo Fisher
Dec 1, 2021
Made in Taiwan: Scott Morrison has concocted a phony war with China to take to the next election
The Coalition’s bravado has nothing to do with foreign policy. It is naked brinksmanship with only one objective: the 2022 election.


@AVNHQ
Nov 25, 2021
Wayne Eastgate's letter highlights unfairness built into Australia's military compensation system
This letter relates to the fact that compensation and health entitlements vary significantly depending when a veteran served and the...


Leo D'Angelo Fisher
Oct 29, 2021
Alan Tudge risks embroiling ADF in toxic woke wars
Now the federal Minister for Education, Alan Tudge, has decided to use the ADF as an ideological prop in the woke wars.


Eamon Hale
Oct 13, 2021
Change step: transitioning back to the ‘real’ world
So, to cut to the chase, have you metaphorically put your weapon down?


Eamon Hale
Sep 23, 2021
In the company of giants: a tribute to veterans who defended Melbourne’s most revered sacred site
He stood alone among hundreds of protesters, distancing himself and wearing a sombre dark mask..


Mark Schroffel
Sep 16, 2021
Andrews government must intervene to save RSL Victoria from itself
Why the Victorian government must step in and conduct an inquiry into the governance and administration of RSL Victoria.


Leo D'Angelo Fisher
Sep 15, 2021
Peter Dutton and gun-shy Scott Morrison in retreat on Brereton reforms
Defence Minister Peter Dutton has overruled proposed Australian Defence Force (ADF) reforms...


Leo D'Angelo Fisher
Aug 23, 2021
The Jamie Twidale resignation: another example of RSL Vic’s culture of secrecy
Transparency does not come naturally to the secretive and at times paranoid RSL Victoria leadership...


@AVNHQ
Aug 20, 2021
Australians did ‘magnificent job’ in Afghanistan, says RSL
The RSL has urged Australians to praise Australian Defence Force personnel for their service in Afghanistan. RSL National President Greg...


Eamon Hale
Aug 18, 2021
An Afghanistan veteran reflects: ‘We made a big and positive difference’
"Kabul is in crisis but the narrative from people who have never cared about Afghanistan until this week is superficial and ignorant."

Leo D'Angelo Fisher
Aug 17, 2021
Australian deaths in Afghanistan not in vain says Morrison. Who is he trying to kid?
It is not good enough to state that “no Australian who has ever fallen in our uniform has ever died in vain”.


Eamon Hale
Aug 3, 2021
Jeff Kennett may be the saviour that RSL Victoria desperately needs
Can you feel that? It’s the winds of change gently blowing through the veteran community...

Leo D'Angelo Fisher
Jul 22, 2021
Scott Morrison ignores moral obligation to Afghan interpreters left behind
The resurgence of the Taliban once Western forces left the country was never in doubt...


Eamon Hale
Jul 16, 2021
Another lockdown? Wedding’s postponed? Hurry up and wait
By Eamon Hale “Hurry up and wait.” Is there a phrase we know better from our time in the Defence force? Whether we did it in breezeways,...


Leo D'Angelo Fisher
Jul 14, 2021
Not even a ‘thank you for your service’ for dumped Bernadette Boss
Boss clearly did not expect that her role would be suspended while the work of the royal commission was done...

Mark Schroffel
Jul 9, 2021
Julie-Ann Finney discusses Royal Commission Terms of Reference with Mark Schröffel - 9 July 2021
Julie-Ann Finney speaks to AVN about theTerms of Reference for the Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicides...


Shayne Neumann MP
Jul 2, 2021
A ‘One-in-100-year opportunity’ – Andrew Gee must get royal commission into veteran suicide right
Andrew Gee, the new Minister for Veterans’ Affairs and Defence Personnel, is the sixth veterans’ affairs minister in eight years...


Eamon Hale
Jun 30, 2021
Darren Chester and his legacy as Veterans’ Affairs Minister
It is with barely concealed bitterness that Darren Chester has been forced to end his time as Minister for Veterans’ Affairs...


Leo D'Angelo Fisher
Jun 28, 2021
Beetrooted: the demise of Darren Chester shows what this government really thinks of veterans
Veterans were the last thing on Barnaby Joyce’s mind when he sacked Veterans’ Affairs’ Minister Darren Chester.
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