Air force veteran Anne Taylor has been grappling with multiple health conditions while waiting two-and-a-half years for the Department of Veterans' Affairs to process her claims.
The 61-year-old has scars both physical and emotional from her three decades of service, including scarring on the lungs, occupational asthma and post-traumatic stress disorder.
"You get exposed to stuff," Ms Taylor said.
Attending a critical incident involving an F-18 aircraft crash with no survivors took a heavy toll.
"It was something that I had buried for a lot of years and finally caught up with me after I lost other mates in aircraft crashes," she told The Canberra Times.
Ms Taylor is among veterans raising concerns about DVA's claims processing times, which the Albanese government has claimed to have fixed.
"These delays impact on your mental health and wellbeing," she said.
"I go through an advocate because I find it very confronting, and it brings on a lot of anxiety when dealing directly with DVA."
While Australians who need assistance from Services Australia can access support through a shopfront, Ms Taylor said, "you have to plan your day around calling DVA".
"It's very hard to get a human to pick up," she said.
"Everything's faceless. There's a portal where you can put in an inquiry, concern or complaint, but you may not get a response."
She did not blame the staff working in the agency, who were "doing the best they can," but took issue with the systems and processes that forced veterans to keep re-submitting the same information, and delays that led to being told fresh medical evidence was needed.
Ms Taylor said she had been advised that her claims could take another 18 months to finalise, meaning as long as four years in the DVA system from lodgement to finalisation.
"That's just not acceptable," she said.
"I'm speaking up because there are so many people in the same boat as me.
"In the Air Force, you say 'we're flying blind' ... That creates uncertainty and it does play on your mental health."
ACT independent senator David Pocock said he commended Labor for trying to improve DVA processing times but that "clearly some veterans are still waiting far too long".
Waiting two-and-a-half years with potential for another year of delay was not "the level of service we should provide any Australian, especially people who have served our country".
Veterans laid down their medals on the lawn outside Parliament House on Monday before meeting with Veterans' Affairs Minister Matt Keogh and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.
Mr Albanese told parliamentary question time ahead of his meeting: "Our veterans have stepped up for us, and we must step up for them."
The government has so far resisted calls to scrap plans to impose a $5000 cap on veterans' allied health services.
Opposition veterans' affairs spokesperson Michael McCormack pressed the issue in question time, saying the minister "has been unable to name a single ex-service organisation" that supported the changes.
Mr Albanese said that his government "continues to consult" on the allied health changes, while defending the policy and saying it would not remove care over the cap where there was a clinical need.
Senator Pocock has written to Mr Keogh proposing alternative policy options and asking the minister to attend a roundtable to hear first hand from veterans.
"I am yet to receive a response," he said.
ACT Liberal Senate candidate Nick Tyrrell said ACT Labor senator and Finance and Public Service Minister Katy Gallagher had told reporters during the 2025 election campaign that veterans' claims were being processed "in a matter of months".
"Veterans tell me otherwise: they're being left on hold, and left waiting," Mr Tyrrell said.
"And they'll be left begging if Labor goes through with its $5000 cap on allied health care."
Ms Taylor also said her son's DVA education assistance took about eight months to be approved, compared with a study assistance application through Services Australia taking six to eight weeks.
She called for an external, independent review of DVA claims processing and service delivery, along with "transparency, realistic timeframes, and accountability".
"We need to ask whether the system is delivering the timely and prompt service that DVA itself says veterans should receive."
The Prime Minister said his government's priority "is ensuring that veterans receive high-quality care that supports their health and their wellbeing".
"The debt that we owe our veterans isn't one that can be paid in gratitude alone," he said.
"It has to be paid by making sure that they get the services that they need."
A DVA spokesperson said the agency did not comment on individual cases due to privacy considerations but had a process to prioritise claims where a veteran was "vulnerable or at risk, including where they are experiencing homelessness, financial hardship, a serious or life-threatening illness or a mental health crisis."
"DVA encourages any veteran experiencing vulnerability, hardship or a change in circumstances to contact the department so their case can be reviewed for possible priority processing," the spokesperson said.
"The department values the feedback provided by clients, advocates and families of veterans and is working to ensure feedback including complaints received via email or online form is acknowledged by the department within two to five days.
"We know the wait for a decision can be difficult for veterans and families. DVA is working hard to improve claims processing and will continue to explore opportunities to build on these improvements."
In 2025-26, DVA determined 238,389 initial liability conditions, a more than 19 per cent increase on the year before, with 98 per cent allocated to a claims officer within 14 days.
The average processing time for a Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Act (MRCA) Initial Liability (IL) claim received in the last 12 months was 145 days, comprising 99 days with DVA for processing and 46 days waiting for external information.
This is the process DVA undertakes to establish that a veteran's health condition or injury is service-related so they can access medical care and compensation.
