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Dear Members,
As National President of the Submarines Association of Australia (SAA), I want to
take a moment to address an issue that could affect your financial wellbeing and
access to entitlements.
In recent times, there has been a rise in Service providers who offer to assist with
claims to Department of Veterans’ Affairs (DVA). While some of these organisations
may genuinely seek to help, I urge you to exercise caution. Many of these services
simply replicate what accredited advocates already provide—completely free of
charge. Worse still, some deliver a vastly inferior product that could delay or weaken
your claim.
Before signing any agreement with a “service provider” or paying for help with your
DVA claim, I strongly recommend you explore all avenues through accredited
advocates first. These advocates are properly trained, understand the complexities
of the DVA system, and provide their services at no cost to you.
Taking this simple step could save you significant money and ensure your claim is
given the best possible chance of success.
Please share this advice with your shipmates, especially those who may be
considering paid assistance. If you need help finding an accredited advocate, contact
your local RSL, Veterans’ Affairs office, or the SAA for guidance.
Thank you for your service and your continued support of our submarine community.
Yours aye,
Dave Strangward AM
National President
Submarines Association of Australia
10 May 2026
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To SAA Members
As you all maybe aware the Executive and State Branches have been actively driving a recruiting activity to attract new members, this has been quite a success on the back of the great work from Tony Vine our National Secretary. Letters were sent to all of the Senior Submariners within Navy asking them to pass on to their teams the document that Tony staffed outlining why submariners should join the Association.
I can say that we received nothing but positive responses to the letters and I can announce that the Commander Submarine Force, Commander CDRE Sutherland has signed on, and as he stated in his reply to the SAA he is the ‘first all Collins qualified Perisher graduate on the books’. This is on top of a couple of Collins submariners who marched with the NSWs Branch also joining (they must have enjoyed the warrie spinning).
On top of all of the great work Tony is driving I would like to share what I believe is a very important statistic, I asked Ray Kemp to provide an update on the number of submariners that he has assisted in working through the DVA system. To date Ray has assisted upwards of 800 members which I am sure you would all agree is a mighty effort. In due course I will also update you on the numbers from Andy Armes’ and his teams numbers.
I also hope to get numbers from SAA advocates around Australia who are also assisting submariners in their respective areas.
So as you can see the SAA is actively building relationships with the current submarine agencies to get the word out on what the SAA is about and the benefits of joining, and once again I thank Tony as the driving force behind this initiative.
Cheers
David Strangward, AM
SAA National President
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