A pregnant war widow will be allowed to stay in her government-owned house for another year, as the federal government and defence officials attempt to hose down a row about compensation arrangements for the loss of her soldier husband in Afghanistan.
The government has ordered an urgent departmental investigation into the circumstances facing Breeanna Till, who is also looking after two of Sergeant Brett Till's children from a previous relationship.
Ms Till was facing the loss of her southern Sydney home, which is owned by the Defence Housing Authority.
Under defence policy she would have lost her right to the home in September, six months after her husband was killed in an explosion.
After her concerns were made public on Sunday, Australian Defence Force chief Angus Houston announced Ms Till would be allowed to stay in her home until September 2010.
"I feel this is the only reasonable course of action," Air Chief Marshal Houston said in a statement.
"It will allow Ms Till more time to deal with her husband's tragic loss and the arrival of a new baby."
Ms Till had been assured previously by the chief of army that her tenancy of the residence would be extended until March 2010, Air Chief Marshal Houston said.
Ms Till is receiving an indexed pension of about $335 a week, an amount she reportedly told a government review was the same benefit a single mother on the dole was paid.
The art teacher has been able to supplement her income with part-time work but will soon have to give it up for the birth of her first child.
Her federal MP Scott Morrison says Ms Till has been "extraordinarily patient" about negotiations with defence officials but the issue of a permanent tenancy needs to be settled.
"We'll continue to work on that with the minister's office," he said, adding discussions had been held on a weekly basis for some time.
He said he wanted to ensure she stays in the house she is in and that the children stay in the schools they are at.
Veterans Affairs Minister Alan Griffin says he wants to ensure Ms Till receives all the support to which she is entitled as a war widow.
"To be honest I don't think I'm in a position to understand the horror that she's going through having lost her life partner," he told reporters in Melbourne.
"Nothing financial is going to replace the loss of a loved partner."
Under present compensation arrangements, partners of soldiers killed in action are entitled to an initial lump sum payment of about $122,000.
They can then choose either to be paid a further one-off payment of about $507,000 or receive an indexed pension of about $335 a week. The pension is uncapped and not taxed.
Dependants receive about $73,000 as a lump sum, an $81-a-week payment while they are dependants and education support.
Widows and dependants also receive a gold card, which entitles the holder to departmental funding for all healthcare services.
The government expects to receive a report from a review of the compensation arrangements early next year, a deadline the opposition says should be brought forward.
The opposition's veterans affairs spokeswoman Louise Markus says Ms Till's case highlights the need for urgent reform.
"We have a responsibility to ensure that the process of providing compensation to veterans and family members is straightforward and user friendly," she said in a statement.
Opposition treasury spokesman Joe Hockey was scathing of the lack of support for war widows at a time when the government was spending millions of dollars on stimulus measures.
"Who was more deserving of money from taxpayers: a recently widowed woman who is raising the children of a dead digger or the pink bats program going to people on a non-means tested basis?" he said on ABC Television.
Air Chief Marshal Houston has also given an undertaking to reimburse Ms Till for the cost of equipment her bomb disposal expert husband purchased personally for use in Afghanistan.
Sgt Till died instantly when an explosive device he was defusing went off. He was one of 11 Australian soldiers to die so far in Afghanistan.
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