A key element of our Strategic Outlook is our commitment to extending our consultation and collaboration with the South Australian veteran and Defence community.
Veterans SA is taking a proactive and collaborative approach to support planning through a new series of consultation forums.
The first forum, held on 3 May 2022, focused on former serving members under 50 years of age, current serving members and their families.
The full-day program included a panel session with the Veterans SA team who responded to questions around the agency’s 10-year Strategic Outlook, 2021 achievements and planned activities for 2022. Attendees also participated in an open discussion around topics and themes of importance to the Defence and veteran community.
Veterans SA Director, Chantelle Bohan, said the forum was an exciting opportunity to hear directly from young and contemporary members of the South Australian veteran and Defence families community.
“A key element of our Strategic Outlook is our commitment to extending our consultation and collaboration with the South Australian veteran and Defence community,” Ms Bohan said.
“We really want to understand the community’s thoughts on our past activities and plans for the future and be proactive in seeking input from the people these strategies will directly benefit.”
Key themes that were raised by the group included wellbeing and mental resilience, support for spouses and children, veteran and partner employment, veteran and partner identity and culture, proactive approaches to veteran and family support and veteran discount programs. The agency has released a preliminary summary of the key points for these issues, as well as the actions for each as proposed by the group.
To gauge the thoughts of the broader contemporary veteran community, an online survey is now open. Former serving members under 50 years of age, current serving members and their families are invited to provide input on the issues and proposed actions raised at the forum until 12 June 2022.
The results from the survey will be considered with the preliminary summary from the forum to inform the agency’s future planning activities.
While the forum was a first for the agency, Ms Bohan said it was an exciting starting point for the agency’s engagement and collaboration activities in 2022, with future forums to focus on other segments of the veteran community.
“We want to explore a number of themes of importance to South Australian veterans, current serving members and Defence families, and future forums and engagement activities will ensure that we hear from as many people as possible,” Ms Bohan said.
