Wen's ADF and Police,Emergency Services Support Pages Information

Great to see.

In case you missed it - Police Reservists are making a comeback!

Over 450 former police have already expressed interest in stepping back into policing in a support capacity, helping free up valuable frontline resources.

After a 35-year career, retired Superintendent Pauline is among those who have expressed interest in the role. Pictured with her son Felix, a Sergeant based in Mordialloc, she is eager to return to a station and support frontline colleagues where needed.

In this role, reservists will take on a range of station-based duties, including answering phones, assisting with paperwork, taking crime reports, signing statutory declarations, and receiving exhibits into custody.

By taking on these essential tasks, they’ll allow sworn officers to spend more time out in the community detecting and preventing crime.

The opportunity is open to former police members with at least two years of service from Victoria Police or other Australian jurisdictions, as well as those who have served in New Zealand or the United Kingdom.

As they have prior experience behind them, training will be streamlined and tailored to the role - helping fast-track reservists back into the workforce.

This initiative forms part of a broader effort to reduce administrative demands on frontline police and increase visible policing across the community

Interested in returning to policing in a frontline support role? Find out more and register your interest here: https://www.police.vic.gov.au/register-your-interest-become-police-reservist-frontline-support-officer

Military Veterans with Spine Issues submitting IL claims with DVA Au

Thoracolumbar Spondylosis

I have just learnt that those of us with Aggavated Cervical Spondylosis. Who want to submit an IL claim for thoracic and lumbar spondylosis, you must lodge them as a single combined condition called Thoracolumbar Spondylosis. The Repatriation Medical Authority (RMA) legally combines the middle and lower back into a single Thoracolumbar Spondylosis Statement of Principles (SOP).

Which is what I’ll be spending most of tomorrow. Submitting an IL claiming dotting the i’s and crossing the t’s of linking it with service,etc. Time consuming but it needs to be done.

🤣

We have all these Veterans hubs and Wellbeing and whatever they call themselves for veterans. Some do receive the funding from DVA so use them approriately to your advantage. There are also the Service Organisations too. I see a lot of activities happening in this space. I even share their posts if they come up in my feed. You also have those Veterans Centres who are not funded by DVA and do an excellent above and beyond job. Beats me why DVA had to go and fork out money on new hubs and not fund those ones who have been doing that wellbeing support role for many years. I shared their pages in the past too. People can do their own research where to find these non government funded veterans hubs and wellbeing organisations too.

Veterans and Families Hub DVA Au

Be sure to make use of those Veterans and Familiy Services Wellbeing Hubs around the country too. I’d be using them to my full advantage if DVA’s funding them hopefully they do PROVIDE the services they are meant to provide. So far I am happy with Mates4Mates Stafford. You are well within your rights to make any complaints back to DVA if you are not getting the service expected to receive within their policy and procedure framework. At the same time no one deserves to be abused by veterans or families or entitled people.

Here is the link of all those current Veterans Hubs established and about to be established too. I am resharing this time to become familiar especially those of you who live a transient lifestyle.

DVA last updated 15 April 2026

Veterans’ and Families’ Hubs | Department of Veterans' Affairs About the Veterans’ and Families’ Hubs program and network

DVA Capped Funding $5000 Veterans need to monitor their own usage

I do this now 🤣 monitor my 12 visits and I’ll be doing the same when this takes affect.

I also can utilise Mates4Mates,Trojan Treks and all those wellbeing and healthcare Veterans type organisations. So nothing will change there for me.

When the annual cap or other DVA limits are reached, veterans have several avenues for ongoing and alternative care:
1. Additional DVA Funding (Clinical Need)
The DVA has confirmed that the annual monetary limit includes provisions to fund allied health services above the cap if there is a valid, clinically indicated need.

DVA
How it works: Your treatment and care needs must be verified by your usual GP or specialist as clinically required.
Tracking: Veterans can use their MyService portal to track their allied health expenditure in real time.

Services Australia
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Thank you

This Wear Orange Wednesday, we’re saying a huge thank you to all the incredible Queensland State Emergency Service volunteers supporting Queensland communities. Join us by wearing a touch of orange. 🧡

That’s what it means.

While it's great to see increased mental health awareness online, there's growing concerns of the risks that 'pop' psychology can pose.

Reducing psychological ideas or a diagnosis to a 30 second video can over-simplify mental health issues, leading to misinformation and inaccuracies.

Check out our latest article: https://www.mates4mates.org/news/staying-aware-of-pop-psychology to find out more about how to stay aware of social media therapists. If you're a veteran or family member looking for support, call us on 1300 4 MATES (62 837) for a confidential chat.

The month of May…

May is Domestic and Family Violence (DFV) Prevention Month in Queensland, focusing on raising awareness, supporting survivors, and taking action to end violence.

Healthy relationships rely on trust, respect and open communication. For people living with complex trauma, such as veterans, relationships can become harder to navigate.

It is important to understand the differences and similarities between behaviour resulting from trauma and behaviour intended to control someone else and how they may be related.

Check out our latest article: https://www.mates4mates.org/news/when-trauma-and-control-overlap-in-relationships for more information or call Mates4Mates on 1300 4 MATES (62 837) for a confidential chat.

Please reach out to Salute For Service if you wish.

This weeks Federal Budget announcement change impacting access to allied health services through the Department of Veterans’ Affairs are already having real-world consequences for the Veteran community.

At Salute For Service, we are already seeing firsthand the growing stress, uncertainty, and decline in mental wellbeing among veterans who are worried about losing access to the supports they rely on every week.

For many current and ex-serving ADF members, allied health is not a “luxury” service. It is ongoing psychological support, physiotherapy, exercise physiology, dietetics, social work, occupational therapy, and other essential interventions that help veterans stay functional, connected, employed, and alive.

When access becomes harder, capped, delayed, or reduced, the impact doesn’t just stop at appointments. It affects families, relationships, physical health, social isolation, and mental health outcomes across the board.

Many Veterans already face significant barriers in asking for help. Any reduction in accessible support risks pushing people backwards after years of progress.

We understand the need for responsible spending and system reform, but veterans should never feel like they are being punished for seeking treatment and support.

The Veteran community deserves a system that is sustainable, clinically informed, and centred on long-term wellbeing — not one that creates additional stress and uncertainty for those who have already sacrificed so much.

If you or someone you know is struggling, please reach out. Support matters, and early intervention changes lives.

Congratulations 🙏🏾🙏🏻🙏🏼🙏🏽🙏🙏🏿