I known the are a few current or former members of the ADF and perhaps even the RAN on this forum. This was mentioned in a thread in the Soap Box recently. It probably did not get the exposure it deserves there, the soapbox being what it is (or was) so I thought I would give it a bit more publicity here.

Navy Clearance Divers Trust The Navy Clearance Diver Trust (NCDT) is a perpetual not-for-profit Trust fund which provides relief to current and former members of the Clearance Diving Branch of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) and their dependants, who become deceased, damaged or disabled in, or as a result of, their service or training.

RAN Clearance Divers routinely work in an inhospitable environment, undertaking varied tasks including explosive ordnance disposal, counter terrorist duties and high risk ship boarding’s. The risk to Clearance Divers being killed, badly injured and/or made permanently medically unfit to dive, in the course of their work is high. Sadly, like others in the Australian Defence Force (ADF), Clearance Divers are not well compensated through workers’ compensation schemes, or other industry based funds, and cannot access legal chains to remedy this. The NCDT aims to address this.

The east coast launch of the trust fund will be launched in Sydney 14th November. My wife was involved in setting up the NCDT trust fund and is presently on the board of trustees. If you have a connection with the RAN, past or present, please support it if you can by attending the launch - mix with Navy brass and Pollies for a night of - well, Navy stuff.

Further information on the Sydney launch is available here: Navy Clearance Divers Trust: Sydney Launch - 14Nov12