RSL Victoria support for Second World War widow featured on A Current Affair and The Australian
Following on from a report in The Australian newspaper, A Current Affair last week profiled the story of a 97-year-old Second World War widow, Dorothy Ritche, who RSL Victoria has been supporting in her pursuit of thousands of dollars she is owed following her late husband’s death from Parkinson’s disease.
In 2007 DVA linked Parkinsons to the chemicals Jim was exposed to during his service in New Guinea during the Second World War.
Dorothy was not able to access the war widows’ pension when Jim died in 2002 as the connection had not yet been established.
In a letter of support RSL Victoria said Ms Ritchie had “numerous inter- actions with DVA, assiduously reporting changes in her circumstances.” Despite this no one informed her she was newly eligible for the pension, depriving her of hundreds of dollars more she could have been receiving each fortnight.
Ms Ritchie’s daughter Michelle Wator has assisted her mother, pursuing every avenue she could find to have her mother access the pension to which she was entitled.
Ms Wator recently told the Australian newspapers that “Dad sacrificed his life – the ultimate sacrifice – for his country, and the Department of Veterans’ Affairs can’t get themselves to acknowledge that?” she asked.
“They acknowledge the fact Dad’s passed, but what are they doing to acknowledge that they weren’t proactive in their responsibility to Mum to make sure she was getting what she was eligible for?
“They need to acknowledge that there was a systematic failure and there was a moral harm done, and also financial harm.”
Dorothy had to pay almost $60,000 worth of private health insurance premiums and medical expenses that she would not have had to pay if DVA had told her she was eligible for the pension.
Ms Ritchie was eventually accepted for the pension in 2022, but DVA refused to backpay her fifteen years’ worth of payments saying she should have been aware of the SOP (statement of principles).
“DVA expects families to know what SOPs (statements of principles) are,” Ms Wator A Current Affair and the Australian. “They put blame on other organisations like Legacy and RSL, who should have informed Mum. They hide behind the legislation….They don’t take any accountability at all. I just wished DVA were as proactive as what RSL has been with me to support me during this time.”
RSL Victoria chief executive Sue Cattermole said Mrs Ritchie’s case was an “example of past gaps in the DVA system.”
“We acknowledge that DVA has improved many of those issues, but we support a reassessment of Mrs Ritchie’s case as soon as possible, and Mrs Ritchie back paid what she should have received for the last 18 years.”
