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1998-1999-2000
THE
PARLIAMENT OF THE COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
VETERANS’ AFFAIRS LEGISLATION AMENDMENT (BUDGET MEASURES) BILL 2000
EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM
(Circulated by the authority of the Minister for
Veterans’ Affairs,
The Honourable Bruce Scott MP)
ISBN: 0642 438951
Table of Contents
Outline and Financial Impact
.................................................... ii
1 Short Title
...........................................................
iv
2 Commencement ..................................................... iv
3 Schedules
............................................................iv
Schedule
1 – Amendments relating to the provision of specified
treatment to veterans, veterans’ dependants and
former dependants of veterans ..................................
1
Schedule 2 – Amendments extending access to the
Veterans’
Children Education Scheme
..................................... 4
Schedule 3 – Amendments
relating to the income test treatment of
payments under the ABSTUDY Scheme ......................
7
Schedule 4 – Amendments relating to service entitlement
anomalies ... 9
Schedule 5 – Amendments relating to
calculation of payment of
certain pensions and
allowances ................................ 15
Outline and Financial Impact
Schedule 1 – Amendments relating to the
provision of specified treatment to veterans, veterans’ dependants and
former dependants of veterans.
These amendments to the Veterans’ Entitlements Act 1986
(VEA) will extend access to psychiatric assessment and counselling services
to certain dependants and former dependants of Vietnam veterans.
Expenses ($m)
|
2000-01
|
2001-02
|
2002-03
|
2003-04
|
Health and Aged Care |
$0.7
|
$0.7
|
$0.7
|
$0.7
|
Veterans’ Affairs
|
$8.2
|
$7.0
|
$7.2
|
$7.1
|
TOTAL
|
$8.9
|
$7.7
|
$7.9
|
$7.8
|
Schedule 2 – Amendments extending access to
the veterans’ children education scheme
These amendments to the VEA will extend access to the Veterans’
Children Education Scheme (VCES) to certain children and former children of
Vietnam veterans who would not otherwise be eligible for the Scheme.
The financial impact is included in the financial impact of Schedule
1.
This proposal will exclude ABSTUDY from the income test applied to a
partner’s income support pension or supplement. It will also preclude a
person from receiving an income support pension or supplement in addition to an
income tested ABSTUDY allowance.
This proposal has negligible financial impact.
These amendments will grant veterans eligibility for qualifying service
and operational service in respect of various service in South-East Asia between
1955 and 1975.
Expenses ($m)
|
2000 - 2001
|
2001 - 2002
|
2002 - 2003
|
2003 - 2004
|
Family and Community Services
|
-$12.9
|
-$26.6
|
-$27.2
|
-$27.8
|
Health and Aged Care
|
-$0.8
|
-$1.5
|
-$1.5
|
-$1.5
|
Veterans’ Affairs
|
$16.6
|
$36.4
|
$36.9
|
$36.8
|
TOTAL:
|
$2.5
|
$8.3
|
$8.3
|
$7.5
|
These amendments will align the payments of grants and variations of
pensions and allowances payable under Parts II, IV, VI and VIIA and sections
115D to 115F of the Veterans’ Entitlements Act 1986, with the
arrangements that apply to the payment of income support under Parts III and
IIIA.
Expenses ($m)
|
2000 – 2001
|
2001 - 2002
|
2002 - 2003
|
2003 - 2004
|
Family and Community Services
|
$0.0
|
$0.1
|
$0.1
|
$0.1
|
Veterans’ Affairs
|
$0.9
|
-$2.3
|
-$2.5
|
-$2.8
|
TOTAL
|
$0.9
|
-$2.2
|
-$2.5
|
-$2.7
|
Clause 1 sets out how the Act is cited
Clause 2 sets out the various commencement dates of the provisions
in the Act.
Schedule(s)
Clause 3 provides that
the Act specified in a Schedule to this Act is amended as set out in the items
of that Schedule.
Amendments relating to the provision of specified treatment to
veterans, veterans’ dependants and former dependants of
veterans.
These amendments to the Veterans’ Entitlements Act 1986
(VEA) will extend access to psychiatric assessment and counselling services
to certain dependants and former dependants of Vietnam veterans.
In response to these findings, the Department commissioned a further
validation study to accurately and reliably determine the incidence of selected
conditions.
The Validation Study demonstrated that the incidence of
prostate cancer and melanoma is higher in Vietnam veterans than the community
norm. Preliminary data also suggested higher rates of motor neurone disease
(MND) and multiple sclerosis (MS) in Vietnam veterans.
The Study also
confirmed that the children of Vietnam veterans have higher rates of suicide,
accidental death, spina bifida manifesta, cleft lip and cleft palate.
As part of the 2000-01 Budget, the Government will provide a package of
assistance for Vietnam veterans and their families. Preventive health regimes
already available under the VEA will be expanded and enhanced through both
physical and mental health initiatives. For veterans’ dependants, the
initiative provides health care and support to supplement community care already
available.
These changes to the VEA will enable the Repatriation
Commission to provide:
• condition-specific treatment for Vietnam
veterans diagnosed with clinical depression and anxiety
disorder;
• condition-specific treatment for Vietnam veterans diagnosed
with MND or MS, if validation confirms a higher incidence of these
diseases;
• access to psychiatric assessment, psycho-educational
programmes and counselling from the Vietnam Veterans Counselling Service (VVCS)
for children, up to the age of thirty-five, of Vietnam veterans, where the child
is experiencing significant mental health conditions resulting from the
veteran’s operational or warlike service;
• access to psychiatric
assessment, psycho-educational programmes and counselling from the VVCS for
partners and those who have been the partner of a Vietnam veteran in the
preceding five years and who are experiencing significant mental health
conditions resulting from the veteran’s operational or warlike service.
The counselling services are generally provided by the Vietnam Veterans
Counselling Service (VVCS). Although access to the services of the VVCS is not
dependant on there being a relationship to the veterans’ operational or
warlike service, access is not currently available to as broad a group as that
being provided for in this initiative.
The health costs for these
conditions is limited to future health costs. No reimbursement will be made for
past health costs associated with these conditions.
Currently, section
88A of the VEA enables the Repatriation Commission to determine, in writing,
that the class or classes of veteran specified in the determination will be
eligible to receive treatment of a kind specified in the
determination.
These amendments will extend the scope of section 88A of
the VEA to allow the Repatriation Commission to provide, by written
determination, treatment of a kind specified in a determination for, not only
veterans of a specified class, but also for a specified class of dependants and
former dependants of a (Vietnam) veteran.
These provisions will enable
the Repatriation Commission to provide treatment to Vietnam veterans, their
dependants and former dependants. Treatment for certain conditions will be
provided to the veteran regardless of whether or not the condition is accepted
as war-caused. Persons in the specified class of dependants and former
dependants, who would not otherwise be eligible for treatment, will be eligible
for specified treatment of a kind specified as per the Repatriation
Commission’s written determination.
Item 1 repeals subsection 88A(1) and substitutes a new subsection
88A(1). The new subsection provides that the Repatriation Commission may, by
written determination, specify that certain persons are eligible for treatment
of a specified kind. The kind of treatment available to them will also be
specified in the written determination.
Paragraph 88A(1)(a) maintains
the current provision in relation to the Repatriation Commission being able to
provide treatment of a specified kind to a specified class of veteran, by a
written determination. This provision will enable Vietnam veterans with certain
conditions, who would not otherwise be eligible for treatment because their
condition is not accepted as war-caused, to be eligible for treatment for those
conditions.
New paragraphs 88A(1)(b) and (c) will extend the
powers of the Repatriation Commission and enable them to also provide treatment
to those dependants and former dependants of a veteran who are in a class
specified in a determination under paragraph 88A(1)(a). These dependants and
former dependants would not otherwise be eligible for treatment for their
conditions under the VEA.
The section heading will be amended to include
“and others” after “veterans”.
Item 2
repeals section 92 and substitutes a new section 92.
Section 92
currently provides that the Repatriation Commission may, with the approval of
the Minister, arrange for the provision of counselling services for veterans and
the dependants of veterans. The amendments to section 92 will enable counselling
services to be available to the broad range of persons in the target group,
being Vietnam veterans with no relevant war-caused conditions, partners and
ex-partners of Vietnam veterans and children and former children, up to the age
of thirty-five, of Vietnam veterans. In addition, those dependants and former
dependants will be eligible to be provided with psychiatric
assessments.
New subparagraph 92(1)(a)(i) will maintain the
current provision giving access to services to veterans and dependants of
veterans. In this context “dependant” is limited to persons as
defined in section 11 of the VEA, generally being the current partner or child
of a veteran, that child being either, less than 16, or less than 25 and in full
time education.
New subparagraph 92(1)(a)(ii) will enable the
Repatriation Commission to provide counselling services to a person in a class
in respect of which a determination has been made under paragraph 88A(1)(c).
This will allow the Repatriation Commission to provide these services, by way of
a written determination, to the ex-partners and former children, the former
children being under 36 years of age, of a Vietnam veteran.
New
paragraph 92(1)(b) will enable the Repatriation Commission to provide
psychiatric assessment services to a person in a class in respect of which a
determination has been made under paragraph 88A(1)(b) or (c). This will allow
the Repatriation Commission to provide these services, by way of a written
determination, to the partners, ex-partners, children and former children, the
former children being under 36 years of age, of a Vietnam veteran.
Subclause (1) provides that this Schedule commences on Royal
Assent.
Schedule 2
Amendments Extending Access to the Veterans’ Children Education
Scheme
These amendments to the VEA will extend access to the Veterans’
Children Education Scheme (VCES) to certain children and former children of
Vietnam veterans who would not otherwise be eligible for the Scheme.
One initiative of the Government’s 2000-01 Budget in relation to
the package of assistance for Vietnam veterans and their families is to extend
eligibility for the Veterans’ Children Education Scheme (VCES) to the
child of a Vietnam veteran, where that child is identified as being at risk of
suicide.
These amendments will extend eligibility to the VCES to an otherwise
ineligible child or former child of a Vietnam veteran, where that child is
identified as being at risk of suicide.
The current definition of an
eligible child of a veteran is limited to a specific group of
children as provided for in section 116(1). The definition of an
“eligible child of a veteran” will be amended by adding an
additional criterion for eligibility. This additional criterion will be that of
a person the Repatriation Commission decides is in a class of persons that has
been determined by the Repatriation Commission, in a disallowable instrument, to
be an “eligible child of a veteran” under new paragraph (e) of that
definition.
The Repatriation Commission will determine in writing, an
additional class of persons that will be considered to be an “eligible
child of a veteran”. This class of persons will be those children and
former children of Vietnam veterans identified as being at risk of suicide.
This determination will be a disallowable instrument.
The Repatriation
Commission will decide whether a particular child or former child falls within
such a class of persons. If the person is determined to be within such a class
of persons, then they will be considered to be an “eligible child of a
veteran” for the purposes of new paragraph (e) of that definition in
section 1116(1) and so eligible to participate in the VCES.
Item 1 adds a new eligibility criterion to the definition of
“eligible child of a veteran” in subsection 116(1) by virtue of new
paragraph (e). New paragraph (e) provides that a person, decided under
new subsection 116C(2) to be included in a class of persons, being a class of
persons as determined by the Repatriation Commission under new subsection
116A(1), is an “eligible child of a veteran”.
Item 2
adds four new sections after section 116.
New subsection 116A(1)
provides that the Repatriation Commission may determine, in writing, a class of
persons that would by virtue of paragraph (e) of the definition of
“eligible child of a veteran” be a class of persons, a member of
which is an “eligible child of a veteran”.
New subsection
116A(2) provides that the Repatriation Commission may vary or revoke a
determination under subsection (1). The variation or revocation must be in
writing.
New subsection 116A(3) provides that a determination made
under subsection (1) is a disallowable instrument for the purposes of section
46A of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901.
New section 116B
stipulates the application requirements to initiate a determination in
respect of an individual under new subsection 116C(2). In accordance with
paragraph (a) of new section 116B, if the child (as defined in
subsection 5F(1) of the VEA) or former child of the veteran is over 18 years of
age, the application may be made by either:
• the child;
or
• another person, with the approval of the child;
or
• another person approved by the Repatriation Commission where the
child is unable to make the application for themselves.
As per new
paragraph (b) of new section 116B, if the child of a veterans is under 18
years of age, the application may be made, on behalf of the child, by
either:
• a parent or guardian of the child; or
• another
person approved by the parent or guardian of the child; or
• by another
person approved by the Repatriation Commission, where there is not parent or
guardian of the child alive or willing and able to make or approve a person to
make such an application on behalf of the child.
New section 116C
enables the Repatriation Commission to decide that a particular person is a
member of a class of persons determined under new section 116A.
New
subsection 116C(1) provides that if an application is made for a person
under section 116B, the Repatriation Commission must decide whether the person
falls within the class of persons determined by the Repatriation Commission
under new subsection 116A(1), a member of which is an “eligible
child of a veteran”.
New subsection 116C(2) requires the
Repatriation Commission to make a written determination that the person is
included in the specified class if it decides the person is within the class of
persons determined by the Repatriation Commission under new subsection
116A(1).
New subsection 116C(3) also requires the Repatriation
Commission to provide the person with written notice of its decision under
new subsection 116C(1).
New section 116D makes provision
for the review of decisions made under new subsection
116C(1).
New subsection 116D(1) provides that a person who is
dissatisfied with a decision of the Repatriation Commission under subsection
116C(1), may make a written request, asking the Repatriation Commission to
review the decision.
New subsection 116D(2) stipulates that if a
written request is made to review a decision under new subsection 116C(1), then
the Repatriation Commission must review the decision, or have a delegate review
the decision. However, the decision cannot be reviewed by the person who made
the decision.
New subsection 116D(3) provides that the
Repatriation Commission must record its decision on the review, in
writing.
New subsection 116D(4) requires the written record of the
review decision to include the following information:
• the
Repatriation Commission’s findings on material questions of fact;
and
• the evidence or other material upon which those findings were
based; and
• reasons for the review decision.
New subsection
116D(5) provides that if the review decision affirms or sets aside a
decision made under subsection 116C(1), the person who requested the review
decision must be given:
• a copy of the Repatriation
Commission’s review decision; and
• subject to new subsection
116D(6), a copy of the statement about the review decision; and
• a
statement that the person has the right to apply to the Administrative Appeals
Tribunal for a review of the review decision.
Item 3 inserts a new subsection at the end of section
175.
New subsection 175(5) provides that a person may, subject to
section 29 of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal Act 1975, apply to the
Administrative Appeals Tribunal for a review of a decision affirmed or set aside
by the Repatriation Commission under new subsection 116D(2).
Subclause 2(2) provides that this Schedule commences or is taken to have
commenced on 1 January 2001.
Schedule 3
These amendments to the Veterans’ Entitlements Act 1986 (the
VEA) will exclude ABSTUDY from the income test applied to a partner’s
income support pension or supplement. They will also preclude a person from
receiving an income support pension or supplement in addition to an
income-tested ABSTUDY allowance. This will place an ABSTUDY recipient and where
applicable, their partner in the same position as that of other income support
recipients and their partners. These amendments are required because of changes
made, with effect from 1 January 2000, to the ABSTUDY Scheme which include the
removal of the “dependent spouse allowance” component of the Scheme.
Background
The VEA applies an income and
asset test to the calculation of a rate of service pension and income support
supplement. The income test takes into account a person’s “ordinary
income”, which includes a person’s “income”, as defined
in section 5H of the VEA.
Subsection 5H(1), in defining
“income” excludes those amounts set out in subsection 5H(8).
Included among the amounts excluded for the purposes of defining income are
income support pensions paid under Parts III and IIIA of the VEA (at paragraph
5H(8)(a)) and payments under the Social Security Act 1991 (at paragraph
5H(8)(h)).
Explanation of the Changes
The
amendments do not involve any changes to the income test. ABSTUDY payments are
to be included as an item of income that, under subsection 5H(8) of the VEA,
will be excluded from the calculation of a person’s ordinary
income.
In addition, multiple entitlement exclusions provisions are being
added so that a person will be unable to receive a service pension or income
support supplement at the same time that the person is a full-time student
receiving a living allowance under the ABSTUDY Scheme.
Explanation
of the Items
Item 1 inserts new paragraph (ha) in
subsection 5H(8) . New subparagraph 5H(8)(ha) provides that a payment under the
ABSTUDY Scheme is to be included as a payment that is excluded from the
calculation of a person’s ordinary income.
Items 2 to
5 insert new sections 36CA (age service pension), 37CA (invalidity service
pension), 38CA (partner service pension) and 45DA (income support supplement)
into the Act. Each of these new sections precludes the payment of the relevant
pension or income support supplement for any period in respect of which a
payment has been made to a person under the ABSTUDY Scheme, on the basis that
the person is a full-time student and the payment includes an amount that is
identified as living allowance.
Commencement
This
Schedule commences, or is taken to have commenced, on 1 January 2001.
These amendments will grant veterans eligibility for qualifying service and
eligibility for operational service in respect of various service in South-East
Asia between 1955 and 1975.
The service being recognised has regard to
recommendations made by the report, Review of Service Entitlement Anomalies
in Respect of South-East Asian Service 1955-75, and to evidence about
various operations that came to light during that
review.
Background
In 1999, in response to
representations to reconsider the classification of various service in
South-East Asia, an independent review of service during the period 1955-1975
was undertaken by Major General R.F. Mohr, resulting in a report, Review of
Service Entitlement Anomalies in Respect of South-East Asian Service 1955-75
.
Having regard to the recommendations in the Report, and evidence
obtained in the course of the review, the Government
decided to extend
eligibility for qualifying service to veterans who had served:
• with
the Royal Australian Navy, in the Far East Strategic Reserve, in Malaya and
Singapore during the period of the Malayan Emergency from 1955 to
1960;
• as radio operators on HMS Terror and HMS Kranji during the
period from 11 May 1960 to 31 July 1960;
• along the Thai-Malay border
after the end of the Malayan Emergency, from 1 August 1960 until 27 May
1963;
• as Army Air Dispatch personnel attached to 55 AD Coy RASC or
FARELF for service in the Thai-Malay border area during the period from 1 August
1960 to 27 May 1963;
• in Malaysia and Singapore during and after the
Indonesian Confrontation from 17 August 1964 to 30 September 1967;
• on
secondment to the Royal Malaysian Armed Forces during the Indonesian
Confrontation;
• in Thailand at Ubon RAAF Base from 26 June 1965 until
31 August 1968; and
• as merchant mariners on HMAS Boonaroo and HMAS
Jeparit on visits as commissioned vessels to Vietnam during the period from 31
July 1962 to 11 January 1973.
The Government also decided that the
service of veterans aboard HMAS Sydney, Vampire, Parramatta and Yarra in
Malaysian waters during the Indonesian Confrontation was to be regarded as
operational service for the purposes of the Veterans' Entitlements Act 1986
(the VEA).
Some dates of operational service in the VEA had been
determined by the commencement of legislation rather than the actual operations.
The Government decided to remove some of the inconsistencies in the dates of
service. No veteran will be adversely affected by this adjustment.
Not all
of the service now being recognised will require amendment to the VEA. The
Government’s decision relating to the following service will be
implemented through determinations of service as warlike and non-warlike, and by
the allotment for duty of units and individuals:
• qualifying
service for radio operators on HMS Terror and HMS Kranji during the period from
11 May 1960 to 31 July 1960;
• qualifying service for service on the
Malay Peninsula (including Singapore) during and after the period of the
Indonesian Confrontation from 17 August 1964 to 30 September
1967;
• qualifying service for Defence Force personnel on secondment
with the Royal Malaysian Armed Forces during the period of the Indonesian
Confrontation;
• qualifying service for Army Air Dispatch personnel on
Thai-Malay border for service during the period from 1 August 1960 to 27 May
1963;
• qualifying service for service at the Ubon RAAF base in
Thailand for the period from 25 June 1965 to 31 August
1968;
• qualifying service for merchant mariners on HMAS Boonaroo
and HMAS Jeparit for service during visits as commissioned vessels to
Vietnam during the period from 31 July 1962 to 11 January 1973;
and
• operational service for service on HMAS Sydney, HMAS Yarra, HMAS
Parramatta and HMAS Vampire during and after the period of the Indonesian
Confrontation.
Explanation of the Changes
Amendments
are being made to those provisions of the VEA which relate to the two types of
service which determine the range of repatriation benefits for which a veteran
may be eligible.
One type of service is operational service which is post
World War 2 service that entitles a veteran with any disease or injury resulting
from that service to claim compensation in the form of treatment and/ or a
pension.
Operational service is defined (in sections 6 to 6F) in terms of
certain overseas service by Defence Force members within defined areas in a time
of war or during warlike operations. The relevant sections relating to service
in South-East Asia are:
• section 6C which defines operational
service as service in the operational areas detailed in Schedule 2 of the VEA
where a member has been allotted for duty during a certain period of
time;
• section 6D which defines operational service as service in
particular areas and periods of time not covered by Schedule 2 and for personnel
who served but were not allotted for duty in those areas and periods of time
that are set out in Schedule 2; and
• section 6F which defines
operational service as service that has been determined by the Minister of
Defence to have either been service that was “warlike” or
“non-warlike”.
Additional repatriation benefits are available
to Defence Force personnel with service that is regarded as being qualifying
service. Those members of the Defence Force with qualifying service will be
eligible to claim an income and assets tested service pension.
Qualifying
service post World War 2 requires a member to have been allotted for duty and to
have served in an operational area defined in the VEA or to have rendered
“warlike” service. The relevant circumstances in which qualifying
service will have been rendered by members who served in South-East Asia
are:
• in the operational areas and periods set out in Schedule 2
of the VEA where members were allotted for duty (subparagraph 7A(1)(a)(iii));
or
• where the service is the subject of a determination by the
Minister of Defence that it was warlike (subparagraph 7A(1)(iv)).
The
amendments are intended to align service in South-East Asia with the objective
criteria used to determine whether the service was either “warlike”
or “non-warlike”. The amendments will result in service that was not
previously regarded as being operational being recognised as such. Some service
that may have already been included in the 1997 amendments (as operational) will
now also be recognised as qualifying service.
The recognition of Naval
service for the period from 1955 to 1960 as being qualifying service comes
through the use of objective criteria and removes an anomaly that existed when
comparing past deployments.
Associated with the amendments necessary to
bring about these changes will be the provision of certificates of allotment and
determinations by the Minister of Defence of “warlike” and
“non-warlike” service
Naval service in the Far East Strategic
Reserve during the period from 1955 to 1960 was regarded as operational service
as personnel had been assigned for service rather than allotted for duty in the
operational areas covered by Items 2 and 3 of Schedule 2. The service was
recognised as operational service by the operation of paragraph
6D(1)(b).
Service by other Defence Force personnel during that period
is recognised under Items 2 and 3 as qualifying service provided members
were allotted for duty, served in the specified area and had qualified for a
medal (subsection 7A(1A) operates to make ineligible for qualifying service
those Defence Force members who had been allotted for duty and who had not
qualified for the award of the British General Service Medal with Clasp
Malaya).
Naval personnel who served in the operational areas during the
period from 1955 to 1960 will now be allotted for duty. Service during that
period will be regarded as qualifying service following that allotment and the
repeal of subsection 7A(1A) which had referred to the need to have qualified for
the general service medal. Associated with those changes is a change to the end
date of Item 3.
The inconsistency in the service dates of Item 3 has been
corrected and section 6D has been amended so that the VEA will more closely
reflect the actual service conditions faced by the Defence Forces in the period
following the end of the Malayan Emergency. The provisions of the VEA have
always applied so that service during that period was regarded as operational
service but the provisions will now be more explicit in defining it as
such.
An exception has been made for those personnel who served along the
Thai-Malay border in the period following the end of the Malayan Emergency. They
are to be given qualifying service by amending the start date of Item 5 of
Schedule 2 so that it commences from 1 August 1960. They already have
operational service for the period which ended on 27 May 1963 by the operation
of Item 3 which has now been amended to end on 31 July 1960.
The period
covered by Item 5 had previously commenced from 28 May 1963 and ended 19 April
1967. Along with the amended starting date the end date has been amended to 16
August 1964. Service after that date will be covered by Item 7 which covers the
period of the Indonesian Confrontation.
The other exception is service in
Borneo and Brunei during the Brunei Rebellion. Service in Borneo and Brunei
during the Rebellion and the Indonesian Confrontation is covered by Item 6 of
Schedule 2. In order to simplify the operation of Schedule 2 the end date for
Item 6 has been amended to 27 May 1963. Service after that date which coincides
with the start of the Indonesian Confrontation will be covered by amendments to
the operational area of Item 7 of Schedule 2.
Service in that area during
the Indonesian Confrontation had previously been covered by Items 5, 6 and 7 of
Schedule 2. With the amendments to Items 5 and 6 all service during the period
of the Confrontation will be covered by Item 7. In line with the increased
coverage amendments have been made to the operational area of Item 7 so that it
covers all of the areas previously covered by Items 5, 6 and 7. The amendments
will result in a more user friendly description of the operational
areas.
In 1997 service at the Ubon RAAF base in Thailand was recognised
as operational for the period from 1962 to 1968. The Government has agreed with
the recommendations of the Report concerning service at Ubon from June 1965 to
1968 as qualifying service. The period from 1962 to 1965 was not recommended as
satisfying any of criteria for qualifying service and will be
unchanged.
The change in the classification of the later service arose as
a result of the build up by the United States Air Force at the Ubon base which
was associated with increased commitments in Vietnam. The change in
classification is justified on the basis of the potential threat of retaliation
against the base and a change in the “rules of
engagement”.
Qualifying service for the period from June 1965 to
August 1968 will be brought about by a determination by the Minister of Defence
that service during that period was “warlike” in nature. As a
consequence the period of operational service at Ubon, referred to in
subparagraph 6D(1)(a)(iii) is being amended so that the inclusive end date is 24
June 1965.
Explanation of the Items
Item 1
amends subparagraph 6D(1)(a)(iii) which defines service in North-East
Thailand including the Ubon base as operational service for the period from 31
May 1962 to and including 31 August 1968. The period of operational service
defined by subparagraph 6D(1)(a)(iii) will now conclude on 24 June 1965 with the
period from 25 June 1965 to and including 31 August 1968 being classified as
qualifying service. Service by Defence Force members during that period will be
the subject of a determination by the Minister of Defence that the service is
“warlike” resulting in the service being both operational service
under the provisions of section 6F and qualifying service under the provisions
of subparagraph 7A(1)(a)(iv).
Item 2 repeals paragraph 6D(1)(b)
which defined service in the Far East Strategic Reserve during the period from 2
July 1955 to and including 27 May 1963 as operational service. Defence Force
members who served in the FESR during the period from 2 July 1955 to and
including 31 July 1960 are to be granted qualifying service through an amendment
to section 7A (see item 5) and Schedule 2.
A new paragraph
6D(1)(b) is being inserted which will define service by all Defence Force
members in the area comprising the territory of Singapore and the country then
known as the Federation of Malaya as operational service for the period from 1
August 1960 to and including 27 May 1963. The new paragraph continues the
provisions of the repealed paragraph but only in respect of service from 1
August 1960. Service by Naval FESR personnel, who had previously been granted
operational service from 2 July 1955 to and including 31 July 1960 under the
repealed paragraph will now be allotted for duty and derive continued
eligibility for operational service under section 6C.
Item 3
amends subparagraph 7A(1)(a)(iii) by removing the reference to subsection
7A(1A) (this subsection is being repealed by item 5).
Item 4
amends paragraph 7A(1)(b) which defines qualifying service by Commonwealth
veterans during periods of hostilities (as defined by subsection 5B(1) of the
VEA). The amendment will remove an exception to qualifying service relating to
service in the Far East Strategic Reserve during the period from 31 July 1962 to
27 May 1963. The exception was necessary because without it an overlap of one
“period of hostilities” with the period relevant to Item 3 of
Schedule 2 of the VEA would have otherwise provided qualifying service to
Commonwealth veterans in circumstances where it was not available to members of
the Australian Defence Force. The change to the end date of Item 3 of Schedule 2
of the VEA (by item 6) will remove that overlap and mean that there is no longer
any need to provide for the exception.
Item 5 repeals subsection
7A(1A) which had provided that Defence Force members who had been allotted for
duty in the operational area and the corresponding period of time defined in
Item 3 of Schedule 2 of the VEA could only be regarded as having rendered
qualifying service if they were eligible for the award of the British General
Service Medal with Malaya Clasp. The period in Item 3 of Schedule 2 of the VEA
is being amended to conclude on 31 July 1960 (by item 6) and those veterans who
had service during that amended period will have qualifying service, without
regard to the medal. The British General Service Medal with Clasp Malaya was
not awarded for any service after 31 July 1960. The requirement that qualifying
service is dependent on eligibility for the medal has been
abolished.
Item 6 amends Item 3 of Schedule 2 which defines the
operational area and the period relating to service in Malaya and Singapore
during the period of and after the end of the Malayan Emergency. The end date
has been amended so that the period will cover the actual period of the Malayan
Emergency, which ended on 31 July 1960.
Item 7 amends Item 5 of Schedule 2
which defines the operational area and period relating to service in operations
along the Thai-Malay border. The period is repealed and a new period
substituted that will commence on 1 August 1960, which is immediately after the
conclusion of the period in Item 3 of Schedule 2. This maintains the continuity
between the period covered by the two items in Schedule 2.
The new end
date for Item 5 of Schedule 2 will be 16 August 1964, which is the day before
the start of the Indonesian Confrontation. Personnel allotted for duty in the
area after that date will be covered by Item 7 of Schedule 2 (as amended by item
9).
Item 8 amends Item 6 of Schedule 2 which defines the
operational area and period relating to service in operations during the period
of the Brunei Rebellion commencing 8 December 1962, and cross-border incursions
in Borneo by Indonesian Forces from April 1963. The Brunei Rebellion concluded
on 17 April 1963 while operations in Borneo continued during the period of the
Indonesian Confrontation.
The inclusive end date of the period in for
Item 6 of Schedule 2 is amended to 16 August 1964 which is the day prior to the
start of the Indonesian Confrontation. . Operations in Borneo after that date
will be covered by the expanded operational area of Item 7 of Schedule 2 (as
amended by item 9).
Item 9 amends the description of the area
covered by Item 7 of Schedule 2. The period of time described in Item 7 covers
the period during and after the Indonesian Confrontation..
The
description of the area covered by Item 7 has been simplified so that it will
refer to the territories of Malaysia and Singapore and adjacent waters. The
amendment will consolidate the description of the operational area during the
period of and after the Indonesian Confrontation. Before the amendments in this
Bill, the description of an operational area relating to the period of the
Indonesian Confrontation was covered by Items 5, 6 and
7.
Commencement
This Schedule commences, or is taken
to have commenced, on 1 January 2001.
Schedule 5
Amendments relating to calculation of payment of certain pensions and
allowances
These amendments will align the payments of grants and variations of
pensions and allowances payable under Parts II, IV, VI and VIIA and sections
115D to 115F of the Veterans’ Entitlements Act 1986 (the
VEA), with the arrangements that apply to the payment of income support
under Parts III and IIIA.
Background
In July 1999
the payment of service pensions and income support supplements was changed from
a pension payday based regime to a pension period based regime with fortnightly
payments being calculated in arrears and on a daily entitlement.
Each 14 day
pension period starts 2 days before a pension payday and ends 2 days before the
next pension payday. The amount a person is paid on a pension payday is the sum
of the amount of pension the person was eligible to receive during the preceding
pension period.
This Schedule will align the grant, increase, reduction
and on-going payment of disability pensions and allowances with the arrangements
in place for the payment of income support.
Explanation of
the Changes
From 1 July 2001 payments under Parts II, IV and VI
of the VEA will change from the current payday based cycle to a period based
cycle. The changes will bring the system of calculating instalments of payments
generally into line with the changes to the payment of service pensions and
income support supplements that took effect from July 1999.
The
amendments provide for pensions and allowances to be payable on the basis
that they are calculated on a daily basis in arrears. Payments will be
calculated for a pension period comprising the 14 day period ending two days
prior to each pension payday.
The amendments will also change the date of
effect rule so that grants and variations of disability (including war widow/er
pension) payments will commence, or will be varied from the actual date of
effect rather than from the next pension payday. The date of effect had
previously been defined so that payments were calculated and made from the
pension payday following the actual date of effect.
The change from a
payday based regime to a payment regime based on pension periods will require an
amendment of the definition of “pension period” in subsection 5Q(1).
The term had been defined with two different meanings which depended on the type
of payment being made. A pension period would either be from payday to payday or
be for the period from two days before a payday to two days before the next
payday. With the changes being made the payday to payday definition is no longer
required and has been repealed.
The date of effect of a determination had
been defined in section 5S. The section has been repealed. There is now no need
to define the date of effect as being the pension payday following the date
specified as the date of effect, as the amendments will now allow for payments
to be calculated from the actual date of effect.
Section 19 has been
extensively amended. The section details the procedures to be followed by the
Repatriation Commission in making determinations involving claims for a pension
under section 14, applications for an increase in pension under subsection 15(1)
or applications for the payment of a pension due to increased incapacity under
subsection 15(2).
The amendments provide a detailed specification of the
processes that are to be followed for the determination of claims and
applications for pensions and increases in pensions. The amendments have
simplified the process of making determinations by providing in the legislation
a step-by-step guide to the processes which are to be followed in making a
determination that a pension is payable or is payable at a higher
rate.
Within the changes to the date of effect rules the exception for
attendant allowances has been retained. Subsection 98(4) has been amended so
that attendant allowance will not be payable in respect of the period commencing
from the first day of the next pension period following the admission of the
veteran to a hospital or other institution where the veteran is receiving care
at public expense. The amendment maintains the principle in the existing
provisions, adapted to the new payment regime. No change will be made to
existing provisions that allow for the immediate resumption of the allowance
after the veteran has been discharged.
In keeping with the changes to the
date of effect rules paragraph 114(2)(b) has been amended so that payment of an
attendant allowance, clothing allowance and recreation transport allowance may
commence from the date on which the application is received.
The payment
of disability payments in fortnightly instalments is the subject of section 121
of the Act. Amendments to that section have been made to provide for payments to
be made in arrears, calculated on daily entitlements. Generally, an instalment
will be payable to a person in respect of the number of days during each pension
period for which the person is eligible for the payment and the pension or
allowance is payable to the person.
The daily rates of pensions and
allowances will be determined by dividing the fortnightly rates by a factor of
14. In doing so the need to make amendments to those sections specifying the
amount of pension or dealing with the calculation of the value of fortnightly
pensions and allowances is avoided.
An exception to the general operative
provisions of section 121 arises where the pensioner ceases to be eligible for
payment, by death of the pensioner or otherwise. In these circumstances an
instalment of pension will not be payable for the pension period during which
the pensioner died or otherwise ceased to be eligible for payment.
Part
IVA of the Act relates to the vocational rehabilitation scheme. The rates of
pension payable under Parts II and IV may be reduced if a veteran has received
income from employment resulting from participating in a vocational
rehabilitation program under the scheme.
Amendments to sections 115A,
115D and 115F of Part VIA have been made to reflect the changes in the method of
paying pensions under Parts II and IV. The changes required the replacement of
the term “pension paydays” with the term “pension
periods” and changes to the formulas to provide for daily rather than
fortnightly pension reduction rates.
A provision has been made for the
transitional arrangements that are needed to change the recipients of pensions
and allowances from a payday-based payment regime to period-based payments. The
arrangements are designed to ensure that there will be the minimum disruption to
and no disadvantages to existing pensioners. The arrangements will be provided
for in clauses 25 to 29 of new Part 4 in Schedule 5 of the VEA.
The
transitional period will be from 28 June 2001 to 12 July 2001 with the last
payday-based pension payment under current rules being paid on 28 June 2001. A
transitional payday-based payment will be made on 12 July 2001 based on the rate
of pension or allowance payable on 9 July 2001.
The new period-based
payment arrangement of fortnightly instalments in arrears, based on accrued
daily entitlement, will commence on 10 July 2001. The first pension period will
be from 10 to 24 July and the first period-based pension payment will made on
the payday of 26 July 2001.
Explanation of the
Items
Item 1 repeals the definition of “pension
period” included among the general definitions listed in subsection 5Q(1),
and substitutes a new definition. With a standard pension period now applying to
all pensions and most allowances, there is no need for the separate definition
of a “pension period” as being the period from pension payday to
pension payday that had previously applied to payments under Parts II, IV, VI
and VIIA and sections 115D to 115F of the VEA. The new definition provides that
a pension period means a period of 2 weeks that starts 2 days before the
beginning of a pension payday and ends 2 days before the beginning of the next
pension payday.
Item 2 repeals section 5S which had defined the
actual date of effect of a determination granting a pension or allowance as
being the next pension payday. The operative part of this definition applied
only to those payments now being transferred to the pension period regime. The
date of effect of a determination will now be defined within the relevant part
of the VEA.
Items 3 and 4 amend subsection 19(1) by omitting the
reference to the determination of an application under subsection 19(4) in
paragraph (b) and inserting new paragraphs 19(1)(c) and (d). The deleted
reference refers to the determination of applications made under section 15 of
the VEA. The new paragraphs distinguish the actions that
follow:
Ø an application made under subsection
15(1), where the veteran is in receipt of a pension and applies for an increased
pension, and
Ø an application made under subsection 15(2)
where the veteran does not receive a pension for service related incapacity and
applies for a pension on the ground that incapacity has increased.
The new
paragraphs provide that the Repatriation Commission shall, subject to other
continuing provisions in the section, determine an application made under
subsection 15(1) in accordance with new subsection 19(5D) that is being inserted
by item 6 or an application under subsection 15(2) in accordance with subsection
19(5) that is being repealed and substituted by item 6.
Item 5
amends paragraph 19(3)(b) by replacing the reference to subsection 19(5)
with a reference to new subsections 19(5A), (5B), (5C) and (5D) that are being
inserted by item 6. Paragraph 19(3)(b) refers to a determination on a claim for
pension that a claimant is entitled to be granted a pension and refers to the
procedures that are to be followed in the assessment of the rate of the pension
to be paid. The procedures that had been set out in subsection 19(5) for both
claims for the pension and for applications for an increased pension are now set
out in the new subsections.
Item 6 repeals subsections 19(4) and
(5) and inserts subsections 19(4), (4A), (5), (5A), (5B), (5C), (5D), (5E) and
(5F). The repealed subsection 19(4) provided that applications under section 15
were to be determined under the procedures set out in subsection 19(5). The
repealed subsection 19(5) applied to both claims for pension and applications
under section 15 and provided for the Repatriation Commission to assess the rate
of pension payable in accordance with whichever of sections 22, 23, 24, 25, 27
and 30 was applicable. The repealed subsection also provided that, subject to
subsection 19(6), a determination approving the payment of the pension was to be
made in accordance with that assessment.
New subsection 19(4)
refers to an application for a pension under subsection 15(2). The new
subsection provides that the application must be determined in accordance with
the provisions of subsection 19(5).
New subsection 19(4A) refers
to an application for an increase in pension under subsection 15(1) and provides
that it must be dealt with in accordance with new subsections (5A), (5B) and
(5C), and then determined under new subsection 19(5D).
New section
19(5) provides that an application made under subsection 15(2) must be
determined by firstly determining whether the claimant is entitled to a pension
in respect of the incapacity. If such a determination is made then the
Repatriation Commission is directed to proceed according to the procedures set
out in new subsections (5A), (5B), (5C) and (5D).
New subsection
19(5A) provides that where paragraph (3)(b) applies in respect of a claim
for a pension, or subsection (4A) applies in respect of an application made
under subsection 15(1), or paragraph (5)(b) applies in respect of an application
made under subsection 15(2), then the Repatriation Commission must assess the
matters set out in new subsection (5C).
New subsection 19(5B)
provides the Repatriation Commission must assess the matters set out in
subsection (5C) in accordance with whichever of sections 22, 23, 24, 25, 27 and
30 are applicable in the particular case.
New subsection 19(5C)
refers to the matters that must be assessed by the Repatriation Commission.
The Commission must assess the rate or rates at which a pension would have been
payable during the assessment period and, subject to subsection (6), the rate at
which the pension is payable. The determination to be made under new subsection
19(5B) and the assessment period reflect provisions in the repealed subsection
19(5). An assessment period is defined in subsection 19(9).
New
subsection 19(5D) provides that after making an assessment as required in
subsection (5C), the Repatriation Commission must determine that pension is
payable at the rate assessed.
New subsection 19(5E) provides that
a pension is payable from the date of effect of the determination made under
subsection 19 (3) on a claim for pension, or made under subsection (5D) or
paragraph (5)(a) on an application under subsection 15(1) and 15(2)
respectively.
New subsection 19(5F) provides that a determination
of a claim or an application will take effect from the date on which the
determination was made or an earlier or later if specified in the
determination.
Items 7 and 8 amend subsection 19(6) by replacing
the redundant reference to paragraph (5)(a) with a reference to new subsection
(5C) and by removing the words “from the date of the determination”
which will not be required following the insertion of new subsections (5E) and
(5F).
Items 9 and 10 amend section 20 by removing the words
“approve payment of the pension from and including” from subsections
(1) and (2). The words “specify as a date that a determination under
subsection 19(3) takes effect in respect of the claim” will be substituted
and will more correctly describe action taken by the Repatriation Commission on
a claim for a pension.
Item 11 repeals subsection 20(3) and
inserts a new subsection that provides that the date of effect of a
determination of a claim for a pension cannot be any earlier than the date on
which the person became eligible to be granted the pension. The new subsection
limits the power of the Commission to “specify as a date” a date
before the date the person was eligible to be granted the pension, this is a
more appropriate description of the limitation of power than “approve
payment” as provided in the repealed subsection 20(3).
A note
amends the heading of section 20 to read “Dates of effect that may be
specified in respect of grant of claim for pension”. This more
appropriately describes the purpose of the section.
Items 12 and
14 amend subsections 21(1) and (2) by removing the words “approve
payment of the pension at the increased rate, or payment of pension, from and
including” from subsections (1) and (2). The words “specify as a
date that a determination of an application made under section 15 takes effect
in respect of a person” will be substituted. This more correctly
describes the effect of the grant of an application for either an increased
pension or the payment of a pension under section 15.
Items 13
and 15
A reference to the determination of an application under the
provisions of section 19 will be made in notes to be inserted after subsections
21(1) and (2).
Item 16 repeals subsection 21(3) and inserts a new
subsection 21(3). New subsection 21(3) provides that the date of effect of a
determination of an application made under section 15 cannot be any earlier than
the date on which the person became eligible to be granted the pension or the
increase in pension. The new subsection limits the power of the Commission to
“specify as a date” the person was eligible a date before the date
that the person became eligible to be granted the increased pension, or pension.
This is a more appropriate description of the limitation of the power than
“approve payment”, as provided in the repealed subsection 21(3).
Item 17 inserts a note after subsections 21(3) to refer to
the determination of an application under the provisions of section 19.
Item 18 amends subsection 98(4) by replacing the words
“first pension payday” with “day of the first pension
period”. The amendment will adapt to the new pension payment regime
existing provisions that allow a veteran to continue to receive attendance
allowance for a period after his or her admission to a hospital or other
institution, where the veteran is being cared for at public expense. No change
is being made to the existing provisions for the immediate resumption of the
allowance after the veteran is discharged.
Item 19 amends
paragraph 114(2)(b) to provide that the date of effect for the payment of an
allowance will be the date on which the application was received at an office of
the Department of Veterans’ Affairs. The omitted words referred to the
first pension payday following the receipt of the application, as provided for
in the previous pension payment regime.
Items 20 and 21
amend section 115A by repealing the definitions of “CPI indexation
day” and “CPI payday” which had been used in sections 115D and
115G of Part VIA. Part VIA relates to the vocational rehabilitation scheme. The
rate of pension under Parts II and IV and invalidity service pension may be
reduced if a veteran receives income from employment resulting from
participating in a vocational rehabilitation program under the scheme. The two
definitions had been necessary because of the two different pension payment
regimes. With a single payment regime a single definition is required. The new
definition of “CPI indexation day” comprises the terms of the
repealed definitions.
Items 22 to 30 amend section 115D. The
amendments reflect the change from fortnightly to daily entitlements based on
pension periods. Amendments are necessary for each formula used in the
calculation of the pension reduction amounts, to convert them from fortnightly
to daily rates. Other amendments relate to the change from a reference to
“CPI paydays” to “CPI indexation days”.
Item
31 amends subsection 115F(2) by replacing the term “pension
payday” with “pension period”. The amendment reflects the
change from pension payday based adjustments to adjustments based on daily
entitlements and pension periods.
Item 32 repeals section 121 and
inserts a new section 121 that provides for the payment by instalments of
pensions and allowances.
New subsection 121 (1) provides that
pension is payable in arrears and by instalments relating to each pension
period.
New subsection 121(2) operates subject to new subsections
121(3) and 121(4) and describes the amount of pension payable as an instalment
of pension, as the total amount of pension payable to the person for each of the
days in that period on which pension was payable to the person.
New
subsection (3) provides a general policy that where a pensioner is
ineligible for payment of a pension or an allowance on the last day of
the pension period that no amount is payable to the person as an instalment of
pension in relation to the pension period. For example, a person who ceased to
be eligible for, say, a clothing allowance during a pension period would not be
paid any allowance for that period. This would not affect the veteran’s
payment of other pensions or allowances for which there was continuing
entitlement during that pension period. This general provision does not
override the operation of specific provisions, such as those relating to
attendant allowance (see item 18) or bereavement payments.
New
subsection (4) provides that, if the pensioner dies during the pension
period no instalment of pension will be payable for any part of the pension
period.
New subsections (5) and (6) provide that an instalment of
pension is payable on the next pension payday following the end of the pension
period, and that the daily rate of pension is to be calculated by dividing the
fortnightly rate by fourteen.
New subsection (7) replaces repealed
subsection (5) and provides that a reference to “pension” in section
121 will also include allowances except those to which section 58A (that is,
income support payments) applies. Also excepted from these arrangements are a
Victoria Cross allowance under section 103, a temporary incapacity allowance
under section 107 and a loss of earnings allowance under section 108. The
Victoria Cross allowance is an annual amount paid to recipients by arrangements
outside these fortnightly payments. A temporary incapacity allowance and loss
of earnings allowance is payable for each of the days in a specified period
(that is unrelated to pension periods) that a veterans is
entitled.
Item 33 provides for the transitional arrangements to
change the recipients of pensions and allowances from a payday-based payment
regime to period-based payments with minimum disruption and no disadvantage to
existing pensioners. The arrangements will be provided for in clauses 25 to 29
of new Part 4 in Schedule 5 of the VEA.
The transitional period will be
from 28 June 2001 to 12 July 2001 with the last payday-based pension payment,
under current rules, being paid on 28 June 2001.
Clause 25 adds
definitions of the Act and pensions referred to in these transitional
provisions.
Clause 26 provides that, until and including 9 July
2001, any question as to whether a pension is payable to a person shall be
determined by the provisions that were in force immediately before 1 July 2001.
Also that instalments of pension up to and including payday 12 July 2001 are to
be paid in accordance with the arrangements in force immediately before 1 July
2001.
The table and further explanation that follow clause 29 below
illustrate the effect of this clause.
Clause 27 provides for a
transitional payday-based payment to be made on 12 July 2001 based on the rate
of pension or allowance payable on 9 July 2001. This clause also maintains the
arrangements that were in force immediately before 1 July 2001 in relation to
any cancellation, suspension or variation in the rates of pensions until and
including 9 July 2001. If a cancellation, suspension or variation was to
commence on 12 July 2001, it will be regarded as taking effect from 10 July 2001
(the first day of the pension period under the new regime).
See the
table and explanation that follow clause 29 below.
Clause 28
specifies that a pension period under this amending Act commences on 10 July
2001, and not earlier.
Clause 29 provides a safety net provision,
allowing regulations to be made if needed to ensure that no one is disadvantaged
during the transitional period.
The new period-based payment arrangement
of fortnightly instalments in arrears, based on accrued daily entitlement, will
commence on 10 July 2001. The first pension period will be from 10 to 24 July
and the first period-based pension payment will made on the payday of 26 July
2001.
Clause 26 specifies the procedures for commencement of a pension during the transition period:
Commencement date
|
Date of effect
|
Payment
|
If a pension becomes payable to a person on or before 9 July 2001
|
date of grant
|
Payday-based – full fortnightly instalment of pension on the next
payday (up to and including the payday of 12 July)
|
If a pension becomes payable to a person on or after 10 July 2001
|
date of grant
|
Period-based – person paid for the actual number of days entitled
during the pension period on next payday
|
A person who is receiving a pension and has no change of amount or rate of pension or allowance during July 2001 will continue to receive his or her full (and regular) amount of instalment for each of the paydays on 12 and 26 July.
v If the variation, suspension or cancellation takes effect on or before 9 July 2001, then the current payday-based payment arrangements apply;
v If the variation, suspension or
cancellation takes effect on or after 10 July 2001 then the new period-based
payment arrangements apply.
Put another way, for events occurring before, during or after the transitional period the following rules apply:
Date of event
|
Date of effect rules
|
Payment |
on/before 9 July 2001
|
• If notify before 10 July – current date of effect rules
determine date of effect
|
Payday-based – full payment/instalment varied next payday (12 July
2001 being the last payday where such a payday-based variation may be
made)
|
• If notify on/after 10 July (or fail to notify) – new date of
effect rules determine date of effect
|
• If date of effect is before 10 July, payday base - full
payment/instalment varied up to and including payday of 12 July (daily
entitlements commence from the first pension period beginning 10 July)
|
|
• If date of effect on/after 10 July – new period-based
payments – daily entitlements – variation, suspension or
cancellation takes effect from the actual date of effect
|
||
on/after 10 July 2001
|
new date of effect rules apply
|
New period-based payments – daily entitlements – variation,
suspension or cancellation takes effect from the actual date of effect
|
Commencement
This Schedule commences on 1 July
2001