Dealing with the Department of Veteran Affairs (DVA) can be a difficult experience for many. Most people have little trouble, and all goes smoothly. However, even if it goes smoothly, there may be DVA and other services you are eligible for, but unaware of. You may find out from a mate, years later that you could have had some further assistance for years.
And sometimes, things can go wrong. This can cause delays, stress and hardship for the veteran and family. For the DVA bureaucrat dealing with your issue, it is his or her day job – routine. For the claimant, it is new. There may be little feedback of what is happening, on what has gone wrong, what needs to be done to fix things and how long will it take.
An Advocate can help you avoid these situations and if problems do arise, can help you deal with it and assist in getting things back on track. They don’t have magic wands, but they can provide helping hands.
Advocates are trained under the Advocate Training and Development Program (ATDP).
Advocates can assist with identifying support services available to you and assist in getting them. They can also assist in completing claims and assist and advocate with appeals against DVA decisions at the Veterans’ Review Board (VRB) and Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT).
DFWAQ Advocates are volunteers and are covered by professional indemnity insurance. There is no charge for these services. We can support with face to face meetings, remotely or a combination of both. We can also assist in your finding another Advocate if workload, location or other factors mean that we cannot assist at that time.
How to request advocacy services from DFWAQ
Contact the branch in one of the following ways:
Phone
(07) 2102 9879 (Leave a message and we will get back to you)
Or fill in the contact form below: