Veterans Affairs committee  We in Veterans' Affairs don't have any direct programs to encourage employers to hire veterans. There's a lot of discussion about that within the broader defence community at the moment. I know that the defence force is actively dealing in the marketplace with companies to try to

Veterans Affairs committee  Thank you very much.

Veterans Affairs committee  Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. We'd be happy to see you down here. Thank you. Goodbye.

Veterans Affairs committee  We have our band network, our VAN network, our Veterans' Access Network, which are our offices around the country. We use a range of methods to contact veterans. We work very diligently through the veterans' organizations, but we make phone contact with our clients on a regular

Veterans Affairs committee  Mr. Chairman, we have about 10 minutes left. I just want you to keep that in mind and see whether we have anything else we could help you with.

Veterans Affairs committee  The point I wanted to make, if I may, is that we don't case-manage everyone. As Mr. Bayles said, a lot of claims will just get managed and resolved. But we do have some case-management arrangements for particular groups. We intensely case manage new war widows; we intensely case

Veterans Affairs committee  Thank you for your question. We engage directly with the Australian Defence Force in what I call the transition space, when people are leaving the defence force, when they are managing transition seminars and a range of processes that are arranged around the servicemen and wome

Veterans Affairs committee  It's around $6 billion.

Veterans Affairs committee  We do encounter a bit of that. There is an extensive ex-service community network in Australia, so veterans quite often get in touch with the ex-service community, which leads them back to us. But we are cognizant of the fact that some people do just leave the Australian Defence

Veterans Affairs committee  It's up to the veterans to determine whether or not they wish to make contact with the department. We do have arrangements in place to assist veterans or servicemen—veteran servicemen and women and veterans transitioning from the defence force—on every Australian Defence Force

Veterans Affairs committee  Within Australia over the last few years, the government has imposed an efficiency dividend across departments, varying from 1.5% to 3%. That dividend applies only to our operating costs, so it applies only to the $300 million. It doesn't apply to the administered amounts, and wh

Veterans Affairs committee  We haven't done that. We have reduced our footprint in particular offices and we've taken other austerity measures such as reducing travel costs and increasing the number of video conferences. Some of these measures have been taken for us given the fact that the money has been re

Veterans Affairs committee  Yes, that's correct.

Veterans Affairs committee  About $12.5 billion this year, of which about $300 million is to run the department, and more than the remainder is actually for the provision of benefits to veterans.

Veterans Affairs committee  Yes, it is. It's similar to the U.S. veterans administration's PTSD Coach, which we've taken and Australianized. It is self-assessment and, if you like, a personal management tool that you can use.