OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY
Mr John Ryan OAM
National President
Australian Federation of Totally and Permanently Incapacitated Ex-Servicemen and Women
tpifedhq@bigpond.com
Dear Mr Ryan
With the escalating flooding crisis in Queensland and northern NSW, I am writing to let you know that
the Department is doing all it can to ensure the veteran community can continue to access our services
and that additional assistance is provided to ease hardship where required.
We have been monitoring the situation very closely for the past couple of weeks, with special
arrangements put in place between the Deputy Commissioners in Queensland and New South Wales.
With the temporary closure of our main Brisbane office, our Brisbane VVCS office and our
Toowoomba VAN, the Department has re-routed telephone enquiries through the Veterans’ Services
Centre to interstate offices.
If required, the veteran community can continue to access information on insurance, payments and
counselling by telephoning the usual numbers. Veterans who have their property insured with Defence
Service Homes Insurance and whose property has been affected by the floods are encouraged to contact
their local customer service officer on 1300 552 662. The VVCS (Veterans and Veterans Families
Counselling Service) may be contacted on 1800 011 046, 24 hours a day.
The Department is working with other Commonwealth agencies, State Governments and charitable and
community organisations to ensure a range of support services offering personal, emotional,
psychological and financial help is available.
Additional services will be required well into the future as the floods peak, dissipate and the clean-up
phase gets underway. In the meantime, I seek your assistance in letting us know of any member of the
veteran community that you feel needs urgent departmental assistance. Referrals can be made by
contacting the Deputy Commissioner’s office in each State.
Yours sincerely
Ian Campbell
Secretary
13 January 2011
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