Veterans dedicate their careers to defending our nation, often away from home, in challenging and highly technical roles.
Their focus on national security means that for some, finances aren’t always a priority, which can lead to challenges once they transition to civilian life.
The newly released Veteran Transition Action Strategy highlights the importance of financial wellbeing as one of six key pillars for veteran wellbeing and sets out action items to empower veterans and families to achieve a sense of security and an ability to meet financial needs.
Some of the key action items include:
· 5.1.2 Encourage veterans and families to plan early and develop self-agency to enable them to adapt to changes in financial circumstances and achieve their financial goals across different ages, career pathways and circumstances.
· 5.2.2 Promote financial support services for the financial wellbeing of veterans and families over their entire transition journey, and into their life after service.
· 5.3.1 Provide quality impartial and targeted financial education through their ADF career and in life after service
The full Veteran Transition Action Plan can be found here Veteran Transition Action Plan
Bravery Trust has a crucial role providing tailored and direct support for the small number of veterans who don’t succeed financially.
The Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide reported risk factors for suicide and suicidality cut across many domains, including housing and financial security, family and interpersonal relationships, access to services and supports, and psychosocial factors such as feelings of purpose and belonging.
Bravery Trust provides free and independent financial assistance – both direct assistance to assist to deal with immediate situations such as keeping veterans in their homes, and also longer term building confidence and new skills through financial counselling and mentoring.
Bravery Trust CEO Garth Callender said finances can be a tough conversation to start.
“Finances are not something most people commonly talk about. It can be a tough conversation to start.
“But healthy finances extend into so many other parts of life.
“We recognise that financial circumstances can be complex, especially for those who have limited earning capacity due to illness or injury.
“Our service is veteran specific, we understand the nuances of service life, and we work closely with veterans and their families to provide timely support and guidance, including advocating on behalf of veterans to a variety of creditors including landlords, banks, financial agencies and essential service companies.”
