Expanded Access to the Acute Support Package for the Families of Veterans

At Melbourne Legacy, we are proud to announce a major advocacy win that will make a real difference to the lives of families of veterans across Australia. Thanks to collaborative efforts with Legacy Clubs, Ex-Service Organisations (ESOs), and the Department of Veterans’ Affairs (DVA), 12 of Melbourne Legacy’s key recommendations to improve the Defence, Veterans’ and Families’ Acute Support Package (ASP) have been implemented, addressing systemic barriers and expanding access for families in need.

What is the DVA Acute Support Package?

The Acute Support Package (ASP) offers short-term, flexible assistance to help families of veterans navigate sudden challenges or crises. This includes practical help like access to childcare, household assistance, counselling, and transport support. The aim is to provide immediate help when families face challenging situations that could significantly disrupt their lives.

For example, when a primary caregiver is hospitalised following service-related impacts over time, a family of a veteran may be left with substantial financial and caregiving burdens. While the program’s purpose is not designed to provide financial support and therefore doesn’t cover expenses such as rent, school fees or utility bills, the ASP is designed to ensure these families can access essential services to get back on their feet. Learn more about the ASP here.

Inconsistent Policy Interpretations

At Melbourne Legacy, we were noticing a troubling trend: seemingly eligible families were being denied access to crucial ASP funding time and time again. This wasn’t an isolated issue. Melbourne Legacy compiled and presented the DVA policy team with 17 de-identified cases of our families of veterans being denied access to ASP support to highlight the scope of the problem.

Together with other Legacy Clubs and fellow Ex-Service Organisations (ESOs), we identified ambiguity in the policy and inconsistencies in how the policy was interpreted by DVA Delegates and DVA Case Managers that left many families without the vital support they deserved.

When Kate* reached out to the Department of Veterans’ Affairs in March 2023, she was hopeful. Referred to the ASP by her Case Manager, Kate was seeking relief during an overwhelming time for her family. Balancing the needs of her two children—both requiring costly assessments for ASD, ADHD, and other conditions—had taken a heavy toll financially and emotionally. Jane was told to await an intake call to begin the process.

For a year, she remained in limbo. Kate clung to the hope that the ASP would provide the short-term, intensive assistance her family so desperately needed. But in March 2024, after a prolonged wait, her application was declined. The response she received from was disheartening: “I have considered the eligibility requirements under the ASP and have determined that ASP is not the appropriate support to meet the challenges presented by you. The ASP is not intended to be used as a substitute for other long term supports, nor is it an income support. The evidence provided of the circumstances of the family does not align with the intent of the package to be short term, intensive support for new and challenging circumstances”

Kate was told her application failed to demonstrate specific “capacity-building goals” or align with the ASP’s intent. This explanation did little to acknowledge the reality of her situation: a parent managing a household burdened by extraordinary challenges and further exacerbated by the ongoing impacts of service.

Collaborative Advocacy with Tangible Results

Following the provision of these cases, the DVA Policy team and the Veterans’ Family Advocate (VFA) Commissioner worked closely with specific invited representatives and uncovered that many of the issues reported were resultant of ambiguities in the policy.

Melbourne Legacy and others were invited to provide direct feedback on the ASP policy document. Legacy Clubs across Australia submitted 22 recommendations, and we are proud to report that 12 of these have now been implemented. These changes clarify eligibility criteria, ensuring fairer and more consistent funding decisions that ensure our families of veterans are no longer excluded based on policy misinterpretations.

A Landmark Moment

On November 14, 2024, the Acute Support Package – Amendment Instruction 2024 was officially passed by the Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Commission (MRCC), a body that provides compensation and other benefits for current and former ADF members who suffered injury through service, or the dependants of ADF members whose deaths were the result of injury through service after 1 July 2004.

This amendment directly addresses the eligibility concerns raised by Melbourne Legacy and other ESOs, making access to ASP funding fairer and more inclusive.

This advocacy win means families facing sudden crises or long-term challenges now have a stronger safety net. Families like can now rely on clearer, more inclusive eligibility criteria, ensuring they are supported when they need it most.

What’s Next?

While this is a significant milestone, our work is far from over. The remaining policy recommendations that were either not supported or not implemented offer clear pathways for Melbourne Legacy’s future advocacy.

Some of these recommendations, for example, were excluded due to policy and ASP process documentation misalignment. While some recommendations will require broader legislative updates, we can continue to advocate for these more straightforward, administrative clarifications in the short-term.

This win demonstrates the power of collaboration and the importance of giving a voice to families who have been previously overlooked. We are grateful to all Legacy Clubs, the ESO community, and support from the DVA and Veterans Family Advocate Commissioner for helping us achieve meaningful progress.

At Melbourne Legacy, we will always fight for our families—to ensure they can access the support they need, when they need it most.

*Name changed to protect privacy.