Mrs PHILLIPS (Gilmore) Veterans in my electorate of Gilmore are very much loved and play a big part in our communities. Gilmore is home to over 7,000 serving defence members, veterans and their families. Gilmore has the highest number of defence members and veterans in New South Wales, so it's fair to say that veterans and support for veterans are very important topics in Gilmore.

One of the many things I have really cherished in my role has been building good relationships with all our local RSL clubs, Vietnam veterans associations and local veterans groups. This has taken time, but it is so important. I have got to know ESOs and have heard many of the challenges around veterans' claims. I vividly remember one RSL sub-branch meeting and hearing about the very real impacts of the high number of veterans claims that the ESO had been supporting and that had been ongoing for a very long period. Our ESOs play a vital role, but I remember thinking they needed more support. That was at a time when, under the previous government, veterans' claims processing times had blown right out, and veterans, their families and people supporting them all felt intolerable pain.

Deputy Speaker, Nowra is a proud Navy and defence town. We are home to HMAS Albatross, the Royal Australian Navy's largest base and the only naval air station in Australia. We are home to HMAS Creswell, the Royal Australian Navy's officer training college. We also have many lodger units at HMAS Albatross, including the Army's Special Operations Command ADF Parachuting School. We are truly lucky to have such diversity in defence in the Shoalhaven, including the most amazing defence industry businesses.

It is natural that, when serving defence members retire or conclude their time with defence locally, they stay in our beautiful area that has been home for their families for some time. So the question becomes: how can we better support our veterans and their families? Deputy Speaker, I was proud to advocate for and deliver one of the first veterans wellbeing hubs at Nowra, the Shoalhaven Veteran and Family Hub. I have visited often and witnessed the many different veterans groups and veterans participating in wellbeing activities and accessing support. It is a wonderful centre, funded and supported by the federal government. In fact, just a couple of weeks ago, I joined Invictus South Coast and Bowls Gr8 for Brains at Worrigee Sports club to bowl with veterans and their families. This is just one of the many wellbeing activities on offer in my area from dedicated workers and volunteers supporting veterans and families.

But one thing that had always stayed with me from before we came to government was the issue of the massive backlog of veterans' DVA claims and the impact it was having on veterans and their family members. I'm pleased to say that the backlog is an issue we have been tackling, with an additional 500 DVA staff employed to work through it. I'm also pleased to say that, because of the Albanese government's work in this regard—it has taken time, and full credit to the minister and his department—DVA claims are now back to within normal processing times. However, adding to the complexity of the claims process is that under the current legislative model veterans' entitlements are determined by either one or more of three primary compensation acts: the Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 2004, MCRA; the Veterans' Entitlements Act 1986, VEA; and/or the Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation (Defence-related Claims) Act 1988, DRCA. Which act determines a veteran's entitlements depends on when the veteran served and which periods of service caused or contributed to the condition being claimed.

When the interim report of the Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide recommended that the legislative regime supporting veteran entitlements be simplified and harmonised, guided by recommendations of the 2019 Productivity Commission report A better way to support veterans, that's what the Albanese government set out to do, and that is what it is doing with this legislation. In handing down its report, the royal commission observed that the current system of veterans' entitlements is so complicated as to adversely affect the mental health of some veterans and their families. Calls to address this complexity have been longstanding, and the Veterans' Entitlements, Treatment and Support (Simplification and Harmonisation) Bill 2024 represents the most significant commitment from government to simplifying veterans legislation since the introduction of the Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 20 years ago. The system is overly complex and difficult to understand.

In 2019, the Productivity Commission recommended that the current three acts be streamlined into two. The Albanese government has taken that a step further. The bill streamlines the number of acts the Department of Veterans' Affairs currently administers from three to one, which will greatly simplify claims processing and give veterans and families the support they need faster. The new regime will mean it is easier for veterans and families to understand what they are entitled to and make it easier for veteran advocates to assist veterans and families with their DVA claims and simpler and quicker for DVA to process veteran and family claims so veterans and families receive the benefits and supports they need and deserve more quickly.

It is important to note the consultation with stakeholders that has occurred with regard to the development of this bill. I note that RSL Australia have welcomed the government's proposed legislation to simplify veteran entitlements legislation. The DVA ESO Roundtable, the main dialogue forum between the Department of Veterans' Affairs and the leadership of ESOs and Defence communities has also supported the proposed legislation.

It's important to note from the outset that no veteran will be worse off under this legislation and nobody will receive lower benefits than they are already receiving. Under revised arrangements, the VEA and the DRCA will continue in a limited form, grandparented to support the single-act model, but will be closed to new claims for compensation and rehabilitation from 1 July 2026. The bill also introduces a range of enhancements to the MRCA that will make access to entitlements easier and fairer for veterans. Many of the enhancements have been shaped by feedback provided from the community across two separate consultation periods in 2023 and 2024.

To conclude, we all come to this place in a position to do good for people that we represent in our communities. For me, that always means trying to understand my constituents as best as I can. I have taken very seriously understanding my local bases at HMAS Albatross and HMAS Creswell and, importantly, the fine Defence members and veterans that support our bases' capability and community. I have emersed myself at every opportunity to understand our local defence environment and that of our nation, from parachuting with the ADF Parachuting School at Nowra to flying in a Romeo helicopter simulator and doing damage control exercises off our south coast in the Collins class submarine HMAS Rankin. I am listening and I will always continue to listen to defence members and veterans. I hope this legislation goes some way to supporting veterans and their families, those same defence members and veterans that have put their lives on the line to protect us all. I commend the bill to the House.