The Australian Government continues to honour its promise to ensure that all Australian Defence Force (ADF) personnel are ready for the opportunities of post-service life.

Helping our former Defence personnel find meaningful post-service careers is one of the best ways we can honour their service and sacrifice.

Today we launch the inaugural Veterans’ Employment Awards, which will celebrate Australian businesses that are employing veterans as well as veterans who are making a significant contribution to their workplace.

Any Australian business, large or small, that is a leader in veterans employment should nominate for the awards.

The awards, which contain nine categories, are part of the Prime Minister’s Veterans Employment Program, that was launched last year to help recognise the talents of our veterans and to encourage the private sector to take advantage of that expertise.

An Industry Advisory Committee (IAC) on Veterans’ Employment was formed earlier this year to increase employment opportunities for veterans in the private sector. They have been instrumental in developing the Veterans’ Employment Awards.

IAC chair and Chief Executive Officer of Westpac’s Consumer Bank George Frazis today updated the Government on the committee’s progress developing strategies to improve the pathways for veterans from the Australian Defence Force into post-service employment.

Each year, around 5,200 people will leave the ADF and the Government’s aim is to ensure our personnel can transition to civilian life effectively and smoothly.

Significant work has already been undertaken to improve veteran employment in the Australian Public Service (APS) with the development of a practical toolkit to support veterans to enter the APS that includes a guide aligning ADF ranks to APS classifications.

Since the Government added a “Defence Force Experience Desirable” flag on its jobactive website in September 2016 more than 1500 positions have been advertised as Defence desirable, connecting job seekers with employers.

Mr Frazis said: “As a former RAAF Officer, I am proud to share the progress of the Committee with the Prime Minister and Minister for Veterans’ Affairs today.

“The Committee has made positive progress in achieving its aspiration to help veterans and their families gain meaningful employment during and after their service.  It has established the foundation for its ongoing efforts to overcome barriers to employment for our veterans, those serving in the Reserves and their spouses.

“The Committee has found that businesses are very keen to employ veterans, and some already have specific programs in place to assist veterans.  The challenge is ensuring that businesses interested in employing veterans are able to attract veterans and have programs in place that support veteran employees as they adjust to civilian workplaces.

“We encourage all organisations to recognise and take advantage of the talents and skills of our veterans, such as leadership, resilience, agility and the ability to operate in complex environments.”

Nominations for the Veterans’ Employment Awards are open until 22 December 2017 and can be submitted at www.veteransemployment.gov.au.

PRIME MINISTER:

I want to congratulate the co-Chairs of Parliamentary Friends of Prostate Cancer, Warren Entsch and Jason Clare. I know this is very bipartisan. Bill Shorten will be here shortly, I gather.

I want to acknowledge Associate Professor Anthony Lowe, the CEO of the Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia, Jim Hughes, the National Chairman who is not here as Steve was saying, but thank him for his work in his absence. And of course Jim Lloyd, our old friend and colleague, as Ambassador for the Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia.

Warren Entsch of course is not known for being shy and he encourages all of the men here and around Australia to stop being shy about asking the doctor for a check-up. Don’t run away in fear when you hear the snap of the rubber glove.

This is the time to recognise that there are 16,000 new cases of prostate cancer diagnosed every year. Sadly, 3,000 men die from it each year.

We can improve those statistics, which means more men will survive prostate cancer if more men get a check-up and that might be a physical check-up or it could be the blood test that is available upstairs in the Reps Alcove.

As Warren said: ‘Nothing to be afraid of’.

We encourage everyone to have that test, if you haven’t had that PSA test recently.

As Steve said, we recognise the fantastic work the prostate cancer nurses do and the care and support they provide both to patients and families.  So we are, as Steve acknowledged, extending the funding for the 14 prostate cancer nurses we already fund, $5.9 million over three years and we’re doubling the funding over the next three years to increase the number of Commonwealth funded nurses to 28.

[Applause]

So they will be able to assist up to 8,000 men with prostate cancer over the next three years. So I want to encourage everybody, particularly the men, not to be frightened. The doctor won’t hurt you, I promise. He won’t hurt you and he might save your life. So fire up the barbie on this cold day and remember awareness, taking care of yourself, making sure you get that check-up, that could save your life.

Thanks very much and have a great day.

[ENDS]