South East Asian Treaty Organisation (SEATO)
SEATO nurses were members of the civilian surgical and medical teams sent to Vietnam as part of Australia’s strategic and military commitment to the Vietnam war between 1964 and 1972. Many of the nurses have suffered similar war related illnesses and medical conditions as the Vietnam veterans. The ANF has over a number of years campaigned to enable SEATO nurses who served in Vietnam the right to claim benefits under the Veterans’ Entitlements Act 1986. Successive federal governments have failed to redress this anomaly on the basis that the teams were not under the command of the Australian Defence Force.