Code of Claimant's Rights

Your rights

The spirit of the Code is a positive partnership — working together with trust, respect, and understanding.

You have the right to:

• dignity and respect
• fair treatment and consideration of your views
• respect for your culture, values and beliefs
• a support person or persons
• effective communication
• full information
• respect for your privacy
• complain.

These rights are set out by Veterans’ Support (Code of Veterans’ and Other Claimants’ Rights) Notice 2015. 

Veterans’ Support (Code of Veterans’ and Other Claimants’ Rights) Notice 2015 [PDF, 157 KB]

If you think we're not meeting the Code

Raise a concern

If you find our service falls short of these standards, tell the staff member concerned or their manager. They have to:

• work with you to address your concern, and
• let you know how they have addressed it.

If your concern can’t be dealt with under the Code, we may be able to suggest other ways of resolving it.

• Review — if you disagree with a decision about whether you qualify for an entitlement or service.
• Health & Disability Commissioner(external link)(external link) — if you're concerned about the quality of your health and disability services.

Make a complaint under the Code

If talking to a staff member doesn’t resolve your concern, you can lodge a complaint under the Code.

Our complaints service will look into your concern and decide whether we breached the Code.

Use the Complaints Form to lodge your complaint.

Complaints Form [PDF, 220 KB]

Get a complaint reviewed under the Code

If you’re unhappy with our decision, you can seek a review under the Code. You must:

• use our form for review under the Code, and
• get it to us within 3 months of the complaint decision unless the delay was beyond your control.

An independent review officer — appointed by the Chief of Defence Force — will:

• review your complaint, and
• issue a decision within 30 days of us getting your application.

If we uphold your complaint

If your complaint is upheld at the complaint or review stage, we may be told to do a combination of these:

• apologise to you
• explain to you what happened
• send you more information
• meet with you
• give you access to an interpreter
• give you access to your file
• help you get answers to any further questions or requests
• do other things to resolve the issue.

We’ll also make sure that our staff learn from your complaint.