Three complex laws governing Australia's veteran support system have been rolled into one through legislation that passed the parliament on Thursday.
Urgently simplifying the compensation and rehabilitation scheme was a recommendation made by the Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide in its interim report.
The changes will apply from July 2026, a year later than recommended by the inquiry.
More veterans will be eligible for a Gold Card, which provides treatment for all medical conditions in Australia.
No veteran will experience a cut to their current payments.
Former ADF personnel under existing programs will be be transferred to the new scheme and will be able to appeal Department of Veterans' Affairs decisions to the Veteran Review Board for the first time from April.
The changes marked the most significant legislative reform to the support system in a century, Veterans' Affairs Minister Matt Keogh said.
"Simplifying this into one system ... will make it easier for veterans to know what they're entitled to, make it easier to lodge their claims, it means they can get their claims processed faster," he said.
Mr Keogh thanked people involved in the "historic reform" which he said would benefit veterans and their families for generations to come.
The coalition was disappointed the rules will come into effect a year later than recommended, opposition frontbencher Barnaby Joyce said.
"It is a pity ... that Labor tried to rush through an unrelated bill to establish the Defence and Veterans' Services Commission. While we support the establishment of the commission, the underhanded way Labor tried to pursue this was shameful," he said.
"Veterans and their families deserve better."
Projections in the 2024 federal budget show payments for rehabilitation and compensation claims are expected to grow by $6.5 billion over the next five years.
Lifeline 13 11 14
Open Arms 1800 011 046
23°C