6 years ago
DVA OVERSEES A 30 PER CENT INCREASE IN LEGAL FEES
AMANDA RISHWORTH MP
Last night during Senate Estimates the Department of Veterans’ Affairs (DVA) confirmed its legal fees have jumped by 30 per cent from the financial year 2016/17 to 2017/18.
In the financial year 2016/17 there was an expenditure of $10.27 million on legal fees.
In the financial year 2017/18 this increased by $3 million to $13.26 million.
Officials from DVA confirmed that this jump was predominantly towards preparing cases for the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT), with 25 per cent of this increase for litigation at the AAT.
“…In particular we’ve seen an increase in AAT litigation on VEA matters, which has essentially escalated 25% a year in. So it would be fair to say that a fair proportion of that expenditure has been on AAT legal matters.” (Wednesday, 24 October 2018)
The AAT is the last stop for veterans to have their cases or decisions reviewed. Last night in Senate Estimates, officials from DVA agreed that a good KPI would be not going to the AAT at all.
The government must explain why there has been a 30 per cent jump in legal fees associated with fighting veterans in the AAT.