Our Patron
Commander 3rd Brigade, Brigadier David McCammon DSM and Bar
Homebase for the Veteran Community in Townsville
1 Staging Camp Ave, Oonoonba. Drop-in M-F 0900-1500, after hours upon booking
All closed on W/E and public holidays, unless booked.
[for GPS apps you may have better luck with 20 Darter Street, Oonoonba until actual is recognised on all platforms]
Oasis Program(s):
Something to Look Forward to
DVA Compensation will cost $100k in childcare
Earlier this year, a young veteran was medically discharged from the military. The veteran was assessed for permanent impairment by DVA and was issued with maximum impairment points. The veteran was paid a lump sum compensation amount. This amount is intended to last the veteran the rest of their life as they would never work again. The veteran has five children with their partner; a number of the children are special needs and are in daycare. Upon receiving the compensation, Centrelink considered the compensation amount as income. This meant the veteran and their family lost any eligibility towards childcare fees. Instead of heavily funded child care fees, the veteran was faced with a $100,000 bill for child care.
The veteran attended The Oasis, very distraught and presented with suicidal thoughts. A Planning Co-ordinator quickly reached out to experts in the field; this included a financial advisor from Evergreen Financial and Veteran Legal Services. The veteran was advised this would be looked into for them as a matter of urgency and someone from The Oasis would be in touch.
With the assistance of Evergreen Financial, Veteran’s Legal Services and the Planning Co-ordinator, an application for Additional Child Care Subsidy was submitted to Centrelink. An appeals representative from Centrelink contacted the Planning Co-ordinator from The Oasis and spoke at length about the veteran, their injuries and how all of this placed the children at risk and why they needed to be in care. The appeals representative asked for a support letter from The Oasis which was provided. The representative advised they would deliberate on the information and decide.
Outcome
Within a couple of weeks, the representative at Centrelink once again contacted the Planning Co-ordinator at The Oasis, this time to advise that the veteran would be approved for Additional Child Care Subsidy. Any childcare fees paid since the appeal began would be in credit, and no further costs would be accrued. The veteran was beyond happy with this outcome and commented that it had taken a huge amount of pressure off them and their family.