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More veterans eligible for support

More veterans eligible for support

Today the Minister for Veterans, the Honourable Ron Mark, announced three new declarations of Qualifying Operational Service.

Now, regardless of mission or operation, veterans will eligible for support from Veterans' Affairs if they served in:

  • the Former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia — between 1 January 1992 and 31 July 2019
  • Timor-Leste — between 1 August 1999 and 31 July 2019
  • the Solomon Islands — between 1 April 2000 and 31 July 2019.

Read the Minister's full announcement on the Beehive website(external link)

The announcement comes following the conclusion of the first tranche of our deployment review project. As part of the project, we are reviewing deployments since 1 April 1974 to determine if they should be considered Qualifying Operational Service. This is to ensure that support is available to those who the Government intended us to support through the Veterans' Support Act 2014.

Find out more about our deployment review

Today’s announcement will affect around 1,600 people. While some will already qualify for support from other deployments, for others this will be the first time they are able to receive support from Veterans' Affairs.

It's easy to check if you're eligible online, and it only takes a few minutes. While you might not need the support now, you could in the future.

Check your eligibility now