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AAP
AAP
Politics
Tess Ikonomou

Veteran, defence records made easier to access

Minister Matt Keogh hopes new information access units will benefit defence personnel and veterans. (Lukas Coch/AAP IMAGES) (AAP)

New information access units will be set up for defence force personnel, veterans, and their families to streamline processes which were found not to be "fit for purpose".

The royal commission into defence and veteran suicide interim report found under the information access system, people experienced difficulty getting a hold of their own records, as did the families of dead former servicemen and women.

The Albanese government will on Tuesday announce the establishment of the units within the defence and veterans' affairs departments to improve the accessibility of information.

People can ask for help from dedicated teams within the units - designed to act as a single point of contact for applicants - when placing a request.

The units will be linked to each other, and will work together after a request has been lodged, saving people from having to contact both departments.

Both government department websites were updated last week with publicly available information about the changes.

Veterans' Affairs Minister Matt Keogh said the royal commission's interim report made clear the information access process "wasn't fit for purpose".

"The government has been working to address this as quickly as possible," Mr Keogh said.

"Following a comprehensive co-design process with defence personnel, veterans and their families, DVA and Defence are implementing a raft of improvements to make sure the system is easier to navigate."

Mr Keogh said the changes would give serving personnel, veterans, and their families a better understanding of the process, who will have the option of getting help if they need it.

The changes implement a further five recommendations from the interim report.

Last month, the government announced it would overhaul laws governing how military veterans are compensated after their service.

The government is investing $233.9 million to hire 500 new frontline DVA staff to deal with compensation claims.

An additional $9.5 million has been committed for public consultation on finding a pathway to reforming the compensation legislation.

The interim report recommended DVA clear its backlog of claims by March 31 next year.

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