2025-2026 Federal Budget Delivers Funds for DVA Veteran Services

---- When did you last visit the Hut? Visit us most Fridays after 5 pm for our Happy Hours. ---- The Australian Government handed down the 2025-26 Federal Budget on 25 March 2025. 

The 2025–26 Budget builds on previous investments that have seen the demand for the Department’s services increase. 

$47.6 million in 2025–26 has been provided to increase resourcing in key service delivery areas of the Department. This includes funding for up to 120 service delivery staff in the following areas: 

1. the Veteran Access Network
2. Veteran Support Officers
3. Complex Case Management teams
4. Information Access teams, and 
5. mental health support teams. 

 A further $11.9 million in 2025-26 has been provided to support continued access to key health and support programs for veterans and families, including:  

1. extension of the Military and Veteran Psychiatry Training Program
2. extension of the Veterans’ Chaplaincy Pilot Program
3. supporting the delivery of the Veteran Employment Program
4. extension of the Veterans – volunteer training in suicide recognition and intervention program
5. supporting Invictus Australia 
6. supporting Kookaburra Kids. 

This additional funding builds on significant investments into the Department via the 2024–25 Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook (MYEFO) process, which included $34.9 million to provide DVA with additional resourcing as well as funding to support the Department’s implementation of the Government’s response to the Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide.  

To find out more about the 2025–26 Budget measures, please visit the 2025–26 Budget page on the DVA website.

Your Editor uses one of these notebooks every day!

Chivalry: Stories of the Royal Australian Air Force (Publication)

---- We open most Fridays from 5 pm. Everyone is welcome. ----Along with the many other things the Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA) does, it produces a range of publications for educators to use in schools, the public and of course, service and ex-service members.

One such publication produced primarily for students by the DVA in conjunction with the Australian War Memorial is "Chivalry".

In its 56 pages, it provides a historical review of the evolution of the contemporary RAAF from the Army Flying Corps in 1914 to today. RAAF members tell their stories and the publication is chock full of excellent photographs and  images of badges, medals, and a variety of military artifacts.

As an ex-RAAF service member, the editor found it very interesting and informative. He learned much that he didn't know about the junior service despite having read widely previously.

Chivalry can be read online HERE or downloaded as a Portable Document Format (PDF) file HERE and printed. Copyright permits reading/downloading provided it is used for non-commercial purposes.

Have a read when time permits and write a comment below to tell us what you thought of the publication.

Military Brotherhood Group Visits

---- We open most Fridays from 5 pm. Meals on first Friday of month ----

Our sub-branch was pleased to have a visit from a group of the Military Brotherhood Military Motorcycle Club (MBMMC) (Hills Murraylands Sub-Branch) members last Sunday.

Committee member, Marcus Beckett was approached by a member of the club and subsequently arranged this visit which included a barbecue and presentation from the group about its activities in helping veterans and their families with household chores. The club also has advocacy and counselling capacity.

The MBMMC is for serving and ex-serving members of the Australian Defence Force, Commonwealth and Allied forces, their families, friends and their supporter base. The MBMMC is open to both male and female members, whether service members or supporters and you don't have to own a motorcycle.

During the presentation, members, "Polly" and "Quey" told us that they are well equipped with resources including a log splitter and work tools they transport in a trailer so they can do helpful odd-jobs for people who need help with their home maintenance. This could include tree-trimming, gutter cleaning, wood stacking, and a variety of other jobs.

They work only on weekends and would attend Tanunda on maybe two occasions during the year as they travel to many other locations in South Australia where they provide similar support.

President Trevor suggested that before the team members attended Tanunda, we could canvass members to determine who needed help and what they required. 

You can read more about the MBMMC at the DVA site here or at the MBMMC site here.

Completing the "Saluting their Service" Programs

During 2020 and 2021 our sub-branch was fortunate enough to receive two separate annual grants from the Department of Veterans Affairs to:

1. Preserve Australia's wartime heritage and to involve people throughout the nation in a wide range of projects and activities that highlight the service and sacrifice of Australia's service personnel in wars, conflicts, and peace operations
2. Promote appreciation and understanding of the experiences of service and the roles that those who served have played in shaping the nation.

Thelma Zimmerman

Our programs focused on South Australian veterans and their families and were joint ventures with Christian Teusner's "The Emu Tree". Our sub-branch managed the grant and Christian did all the groundwork on our behalf recording hundreds of oral interviews and collecting hundreds of historical photographs. He also held displays at Ayres House, Adelaide, Tanunda, Port Pirie, Waikerie, Mount Gambier. 

Mrs Thelma Zimmerman, whose photo appears here served during World War II as did her husband. Mrs Zimmerman provided a very informative audo interview that reflects on life in her childhood. If you have a few minutes to listen to it, we highly recommend it - click here.

There are too many others who contributed to mention each of them, however, we appreciate every last one of them for allowing us to share their lives and helping make these programs a success.

We do have all of the audio recordings that can be searched here. You may even find a member of your family or someone you know.

The audio recordings and photographs will be distributed to a suitable agency for addition to our vast national collection of historical military resources. The DVA will advise whether the collection should be passed to the Australian War Museum, the National Archives, or some other relevant agency.

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