Sean Macnamara estimates he has spent $4,000 to $5,000 a year on specialist medical issues since leaving the Royal Australian Air Force.
The 62-year-old is proud of his six years of service, during which he rose up the RAAF ranks.
But since leaving he has been in a bitter battle with the department of veteran affairs over whether his numerous medical conditions are related to his time in the air force.
In the last 10 years, the department has rejected all of his medical claims.
“If my claims went through I would be gold-carded, which means I would have no medical expenses.”
He is one of many former Australian defence personnel who say they are spending thousands of dollars every year to manage work-related injuries, as advocates warn the backlog of claims has blown out to more than 65,000.
Last week, the Department of Veteran Affairs secretary, Liz Cosson, conceded at the royal commission into defence and veteran suicide that the department was failing to meet the needs of past and present members because it relied heavily on labour-hire casual contractors to manage the complex case claims.
Former servicemen and women say they have been ignored by DVA, which they accuse of delaying legitimate claims in the hopes they will die before they are processed.
Macnamara has an array of medical conditions including diabetes insipidus, polyarthritis, Paget’s disease and has had multiple melanomas.
He relied on a parental allowance for four years before his first claim for a disability payment was approved. He continues to fight for the department to recognise the full breadth of what he believes are work-related injuries.
“I get paid something in the vicinity of $48k a year. I’ve got a wife and two kids. Without that, I would be gone.”
Macnamara challenged the rejection of his medical claims at the Administrative Appeals Tribunal, which has suggested he try again – but he says he has been waiting four months to even have them registered again in the DVA system.
“I’ve been trying to get my claims back into the system. They’re cutting back the number of advocates, so it takes longer to get linked up to get your claims back into the system.”
He runs an advocacy group to help veterans navigate difficult claims and is critical of the department’s use of casual labour-hire to deal with claims.
“What DVA are extremely good at is stopping an actual claim in its tracks by either running the veteran into the ground or running the advocates into the ground,” he said.
“It’s the classic, delay, deny, wait till we die.”
The claims process became an election issue before it was even called – with veteran affairs minister, Andrew Gee, threatening to quit cabinet days before the federal budget was handed down unless money was allocated to clear the growing list of claims. The government subsequently promised him $96m to help process claims faster.
“I have been very open in voicing my opinion that the backlog of claims is unacceptable,” Gee said.
“As a result, I have secured $96m for an additional 145 staff and other measures to further improve the claims process, reduce waiting times and cut the backlog.”
Gee admited “there are clearly issues” and the long pending claims list is one of them.
“There is still much more to be done, and I will continue to make sure our veterans and their families get the very best support our country can provide.”
On Sunday, opposition veteran affairs spokesperson, Shayne Neumann, promised an elected Labor government would commit $520m to employ 500 frontline staff to help the department handle the issue.
In announcing the package he said the handling of claims by the DVA had become “a national disgrace”.
Claims are meant to be processed within 90 days of the department receiving them, but figures revealed in the February senate estimates show the median time is now 207 days.
Community and public sector union deputy president, Brooke Muscat, said the government’s 2013 decision to freeze recruitment and then in 2015 to cap average staffing levels in DVA meant more casual staff were used.
“The Coalition government’s cap on permanent staffing means DVA is forced to use expensive and short-term external labour-hire contracts,” Muscat said.
Labour hire arrangements cost more, meaning fewer staff can be employed and delays and backlogs increase, she said.
A spokesperson from the Department of Veterans’ Affairs said each year the department invests more than $11.5bn to support more than 340,000 veterans and their families.
“In the last financial year alone DVA received 143,155 claims,” the spokesperson said.
“This growth is good as it means more veterans and their families are aware of and accessing support, however it has created a backlog of claims and longer wait times.”
But some veterans say they have been fighting DVA for years.
Wayne Craft was medically discharged from the navy in November 2009. He waited over a year before DVA started regular payments – living off just over $8,600 of super payments and the generosity of family members.
He had been training in the gym on a navy base when one of the disks in his neck shattered. He had two surgeries to remove two vertebrae, but the injury left him unable to work.
“When I first got discharged, it virtually left us homeless and no income,” Craft said. “If it wasn’t for (my parents) I don’t know where I would have ended up.”
DVA repeatedly denied any liability until he took it to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal in 2013, when they started to pay him regularly, he said.
He has been fighting ever since for a gold card and said it has gotten progressively harder.
“So help me god, if you try and get a gold card. You have to be able to get to 40 accepted points for your injuries – two spinal surgeries and I’m sitting on 39 points. I’ve been there for 10 years.”
“Years ago, there were people who went out of their way to help, then all of sudden the people who were helpful disappeared and got replaced by labour-hire people and they don’t know what they’re talking about.”
He said many in the veteran community felt the system was designed to hurt, not help them.
“It’s not our fault we are injured but we get punished for it,” Craft said.
