I’ve recently spoken with the Australian Medical Association in Queensland, and I am deeply disturbed by a number of concerns they have raised. So I hope the Minister or the Minister’s staff are listening carefully, because after Senate estimates last week, they should expect probing questions on the matters I’m about to outline.
So, Minister, get your briefs ready.
First: the preferential arrangements around fees. Why do some service providers receive dramatically higher payments than others for delivering the same services? These aren’t minor discrepancies — I am talking about differences of orders of magnitude. There is no justification for such inconsistencies.
I’m told psychiatrists working within certain organisations can charge vastly more than psychiatrists working under a different tender, even when they are doing identical work. That is unacceptable, and you will be asked to explain it.
Second: the sustainability of specialist services. It simply isn’t sustainable for psychiatrists and other specialists supporting veterans to be paid far below what is paid in other jurisdictions. The NDIS has been mentioned; let me turn to WorkCover.
Under current DVA arrangements, a standard psychiatric assessment attracts $805. Under the proposed schedule, it would rise to $1,082. But in South Australia, WorkCover pays $2,047 for the same standard assessment — double the proposed DVA rate.
For complex assessments:
- DVA currently pays $1,500, proposed to rise to $2,000.
- South Australia WorkCover pays $2,800.
Additional reading time?
- South Australia WorkCover pays $618 per hour.
- DVA pays nothing — despite these being some of the most complex cases specialists handle.
And the discrepancies don’t end there. Under WorkCover Queensland, psychiatrists are paid per condition. Many veterans present with multiple, complex conditions, yet under DVA it makes no difference — one condition or ten, the fee is still $754.
Under WorkCover Queensland:
- 1 condition: $927
- 5 conditions: $4,600
- 10 conditions: $9,270
Under DVA? Still just $754.
How can a specialist afford to even open their door under those circumstances? The system is failing them, and as a result it is failing our veterans.
Finally, I want to address how health practitioners in this field are being treated. I have been told that specialists — people who take on this difficult work because they genuinely care about veterans — are sometimes treated like criminals. They receive conflicting advice from the department, and then are hit with letters that effectively accuse them of fraud. They are exhausted, frustrated, and many are considering walking away.
We should be supporting these specialists, not driving them out. Our veterans deserve nothing less.
