Mr. Neil Richardson:

To respond to the Senator's question, the Defence Forces' relationship with GPs over the past 20 or 30 years is as clear as mud. The following is still the case but will be done away with in the very near future: new recruits have to go to their GPs to get medical certification to confirm they are sufficiently fit to undertake the entrance fitness test. Should they successfully pass that entrance fitness test, the Defence Forces' medical system takes over. That is where the issues start to arise. There simply are not individuals within the Defence Forces to test them, or they are few and far between. As a result, delays start to kick in.