Bill Woods is joined by Thomas Bailey, founder of Veteran Benefits Australia, is working fill the gap left by the budget by helping Aussie veterans with exercise prescription to treat mental health

Consensus is that the veteran community is among the ‘winners’ of the latest Federal Budget.  Yet the Department of Veteran Affairs (DVA) has instigated a change that has left a percentage of the veteran community feeling blindsided.

Decades worth of research has proven there is a clear connection between movement and mental health, majority (89%) of all published peer-reviewed research between 1990 and 2022 found a positive, statistically significant relationship between exercise and mental health.

Despite this, the DVA has decided to cease or limit funding for Non-Liability Healthcare for White Card Holders. This decision leaves thousands of veterans who were exercising regularly to treat their mental health, with no funding and no clear explanation to why this has happened.

In response to this Veteran Benefits Australia (VBA), have pushed back with the rejected white card applications for exercise programs and are working with the DVA to ensure they recognise and cover exercise for the treatment of mental health.

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