Many psychiatrists are deeply reluctant to take on the care of veterans because of the paperwork required, the complexity of cases and the low pay, an inquiry has heard. 

The demands of treating veterans are so challenging and the work so poorly paid, there is a chronic shortage of psychiatrists for those with serious psychiatric injuries, a royal commission has been told. 

Geoff Lazar, a lawyer with Legal Aid NSW’s Veterans’ Advocacy Service, told the Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide that psychiatrists were already carrying large workloads and were “flat out”.

The added complexities of having to deal with the legal requirements of the Department of Veterans’ Affairs (DVA) made them deeply reluctant to take on veterans.