ADVICE TO SERVICEMEN

Te Awamutu Courier, Volume 71, Issue 6138, 19 September 1945, Page 6

ADVICE TO SERVICEMEN

DECENTRALISED FACILITIES REHABILITATION SET-UP “Although most ex-servicemen seeking rehabilitation assistance or advice take advantage of the department’s decentralised set-up and go with their problems to their local rehabilitation officer, there are numbers who do not,” says the Rehabilitation Department in a statement just issued. “These latter address their applications direct to the department’s head office and by so doing often cause delay in havingtheir cases finalised, since they are generally referred back to the local offices to be dealt with there. The reason for this* is that not only are more complete personal files held by the district offices, but the very nature of the decentralised machinery provided makes for a more efficient and expeditious handling of the case.” Throughout New Zealand there are nine rehabilitation district executive committees with power to authorise rehabilitation loans, continues the statement.' There are besides 112 local rehabilitation committees, situated in practically every town of any size in the Dominion, as well as subcommittees on farming, trade training and education. A knowledge of local conditions makes the work of these committees invaluable and it is to a serviceman’s advantage to use the facilities they offer. “A serviceman seeking financial assistance should first see his rehabilitation officer. His application is forwarded to the district executive and if it is turned down it is then referred to Wellington automatically for further consideration. The serviceman is thus safeguarded all the way and can be sure that he is going to get fair treatment. Similarly with farming and trade training applicants, should a serviceman want such assistance his application will be considered by the sub-committees set up specifically for that purpose. Should he, for instance, disagree with the grading given him by a farming subcommittee he is best advised to appeal through his district office rather than direct to head office. By doing so-he should be much more prompt reconsideration, since the district office is able to forward to head office the full facts of the case.”