The former government was told to simplify claims processes for veterans three years ago, but made no decision to adopt the "significant" recommendations, a royal commission has heard.
Former veterans' affairs and defence personnel minister Darren Chester — who held the portfolio from March 2018 to July 2021 — presented evidence at the inquiry into Defence and Veteran Suicide, holding hearings in Townsville this week.
During his time in the role, the number of veterans' claims before the Department of Veterans' Affairs grew from 12,000 to more than 57,000.
Mr Chester told the royal commission the growth was due to the department being "a victim of its own success" in encouraging veterans to make compensation claims.
The former government had expanded programs allowing veterans to make claims, as well as accepting online submissions at that time.
Despite this, the commission heard, only supplementary departmental funding was awarded by the former government to deal with the increasing number of claims.
Counsel Assisting Peter Singleton questioned Mr Chester on the government's reasoning.
"If you were actively encouraging veterans to come forward with their claims, and you saw that it just kept growing very steeply after at least a couple of years, [you would consider] that this was a long-term problem," Mr Singleton said.
"You treated it as temporary and you came up with a temporary solution."
During his examination, Mr Chester said repeatedly, he could not speak about discussions that had taken place in cabinet.
"I agree a longer-term solution would have been a desirable outcome to deal with the backlog of claims," Mr Chester said.
"I took a view that a demand-driven funding model, for want of a better phrase, was the right way to get on top of what were the departmental funding issues."
In his written submission to the commission, Mr Chester said the Productivity Commission Report, A Better Way to Support Veterans, was the "most significant" veterans-related report provided to the government during his time as minister.
But Mr Singleton told the commission three years after the report was handed to the government, no decision was made on three key recommendations.
Those recommendations related to the "harmonisation" of entitlements across three veterans' acts to further simplify the claims process.
When asked whether he believed the complexity of the current system contributed to delays, errors and/or "significant mental health issues and suicidality" for some veterans, Mr Chester said he did not disagree but could not "point to a single case" where the claims process had been the sole contributing factor.
The later minister for veterans' affairs and defence personnel, Andrew Gee, told the commission on Tuesday there was a "clear connection" between delays in processing veterans' claims and suicidality.
The first internal workshop to consider the Productivity Commission's recommendations relating to the harmonisation of legislation did not occur until December 2021.
When it was put to Mr Chester that there was no decision made about the recommendations during his time as minister, he told the commission he had asked the Department of Veterans Affairs to create a roadmap on how they could be implemented.
He requested the roadmap one year and 10 months after the Productivity Commission report.
Calls for ESORT to be disbanded
The revelations come as a mother of a veteran who died by suicide launched a campaign calling for the ESORT (Ex Service Organisation Round Table) to be disbanded.
Julie-Ann Finney was one of the most high-profile campaigners who called for the royal commission, after her son David took his own life in 2019.
Outside the inquiry's hearings in Townsville, Ms Finney told the media she drafted a letter to the new Minister for Veterans Affairs to call for ESORT to be scrapped.
"Ministers throughout time have been advised by ESORT — they are not up to date, they do not look at what needs to be done," she said.
Ms Finney said a key issue regarding ESORT was that members on the advisory body had a lifetime tenure, which was out of date and in need of subject experts.
"We are not engaging with the veterans on the ground, the veterans who are suffering and the families of the veterans who are no longer here," she said.
Ms Finney was barred from speaking at the royal commission earlier this year when it was revealed she intended to run as a Senate candidate.
Commissioner James Douglas asked Mr Chester about his experience dealing with ESORT.
"It's been suggested to us that one of the structural problems government has in dealing with these issues is the fragmented nature of the ex-service organisations and their lack of sophisticated policy development," Commissioner Douglas said.
Mr Chester said ex-service organisations sometimes had "competing views".
"It is hard to get a united view in relation to veterans issues because of the desperate nature of the veteran community," Mr Chester said.
