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Free legal help to open up ‘end of line’ for veterans
Veterans who have been refused a disability pension will be able to access free legal help to appeal the decisions, Queensland Legal Aid said.
Naomi Neilson
Queensland Legal Aid has reminded all veterans, and especially those who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, that free legal help is available to those who have had their requests for a disability pension or other disability entitlements denied.
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Chief executive Nicky Davies said she was concerned that veterans who were applying for the monetary aid may not know they can access the free legal service for assistance.
“It’s important veterans, including their widowers/widows and dependents know about this free service because having a disability pension application refused is not the end of the line,” Ms Davies said, adding that veterans do not have to pay to appeal the decision and can still access high-quality legal support.
To access the service, Legal Aid said that either veterans or their widows need to prove that they performed service during war times or overseas operations and suffered a disability, disease or died as a result.
“Veterans will need to have had the Veterans’ Review Board decide against their war-caused claim or pension assessment and be at the point where they intend to appeal that decision to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal,” Ms Davies said.
“It’s at this point where we can step in to provide specialised legal support.”
