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News
State Contacts |
ASSOCIATION ACTIVITIES The DFWA is involved in a range of policy issues that concern the well-being of its constituency, including the following:
Within these policy areas, the Association frequently makes representations to the Federal Government and Opposition, the Service Chiefs, the Department of Veterans' Affairs, ComSuper, Compensation Authorities and various other agencies. In this regard the Association actively defends the rights and interests of serving and former defence personnel. The provision of advocacy services to ensure serving or former defence personnel achieve their maximum entitlements in respect of compensation, retirement or superannuation is an important Association task, and many seek our assistance for which there is no charge. All our advocates are trained and accredited by the Department of Veterans' Affairs and provide their services voluntarily. An article "Advocacy Matters", recently published in Camaraderie, gives an example of this advocacy with pointers for members to achieve their full entitlements. The Association has established Defence Widows Support Groups in the ACT and Western Australia that provide support and services to defence widows with whom we have been able to establish contact. There are informal support groups in the other states and each state office can provide contact information. For useful advice to save your partner grief and effort in the event of your death see the article "What happens to your widow when you die" in Widows' Issues. The DFWA is a member of the Australian Council of Public Sector Retiree Organisations (ACPSRO) which is a peak body representing Commonwealth, State and Territory retiree organisations. There are only three federal members of ACPSRO: DFWA, SCOA and NAA. The administration is done out of DFWA's national office and there is an ongoing push for better indexing of public sector pensions (including military). Links to papers, letters and press releases on this and other matters appear on the Representations page |
