Parliament House Canberra ACT 2602
Telephone 02 6277 7820 Facsimile 02 6273 4140
The Hon Alan Griffin MP
Minister for Veterans’ Affairs
VA066
Monday 3 August 2009
$4 MILLION TO EX-SERVICE COMMUNITY TO SUPPORT VETERANS
The Minister for Veterans’ Affairs, Alan Griffin, today announced $4 million to help members of
the veteran community access their entitlements, and connect with community and government
services.
“Almost 200 ex-service organisations (ESOs) will receive a share of $4 million through the
Building Excellence in Support and Training (BEST) grant program,” Mr Griffin said.
“The Australian Government supports the vital work of ESOs, and funding from the BEST
program helps them deliver services to around 400,000 veterans and their partners, war widows
and widowers around Australia.”
Mr Griffin said the veteran community is rapidly changing with an ageing population and an
increasing number of younger veterans with different service experiences needing support.
“ESOs provide key pension and welfare assistance to individuals and families, and it is
important that we help them adjust to the shifting needs of the ex-service community,” he said.
“Concerns have been raised about the current program and there is a requirement to adjust to
changing needs into the future. The Government therefore intends to review the BEST
program.
“I will be consulting ESOs and other stakeholders in the coming months to ensure the needs of
the veteran community are being effectively met through this funding.”
Mr Griffin is writing to all organisations who applied for BEST grants. Information about grants
administered by the Department of Veterans’ Affairs is available on its website www.dva.gov.au
Media inquiries: Belinda Cole 0437 863 109
The VVCS – Veterans and Veterans Families Counselling Service can be contacted 24 hours a day, seven days a
week on 1800 011 046.
To receive the Minister’s media releases automatically by email subscribe at minister.dva.gov.au/subscribe.htm
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