Karen McNamara (Dobell, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to support the Veterans' Affairs Legislation Amendment (2015 Budget Measures) Bill 2015. The bill provides effect to several Veterans' Affairs 2015 budget measures that will enhance the operation of the Veterans' Vocational Rehabilitation Scheme under the Veterans' Entitlements Act 1986. It will also create a single path of appeal under the Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 2004. It will also expand regulation-making power under the Defence Act 1903 to include the provision and maintenance of a grave of a service dependant interred at the Terendak Military Cemetery.

Since coming to office the government has honoured its commitment to acknowledge the unique nature of military service. For the 2,652 Department of Veterans' Affairs clients in Dobell, I assure you this government is focused on early intervention to ensure veterans and their families get the help and assistance required when they need it. The 2015 budget continues to deliver on the government's acknowledgement and understanding of the unique nature of service and delivers more than $12 billion in services for Veterans' Affairs, including $6.5 billion for pensions and $5.5 billion for healthcare.

Despite an overall reduction in DVA clients, largely due to the sad but inevitable decline in the number of World War II veterans, we are seeing increased numbers of claims from veterans of recent wars who have multiple conditions including at least one mental health condition. Additional case coordinators will be appointed to assist in improving the processing times for these complex claims. The budget delivers $10 million to boost the number of case coordinators in DVA. The increasing complex nature of claims being made to the DVA requires a more tailored approach. This funding will expand existing case coordination services to ensure improved timely and tailored service delivery for veterans and their families. Swift resolution of claims is a vital part of early intervention. Progress has been made and we recognise that we need to continue to focus on making further reductions to claim times as early intervention leads to better long-term outcomes for our veteran community. Greater focus on complex case management and coordination, rehabilitation, reducing claims processing times and improving long-term health impacts through early intervention are key initiatives of the budget for the DVA. Our investment in the expansion of case coordination for those with complex needs, in addition to the measures in this bill to assist those undertaking vocational rehabilitation, are designed to provide veterans with the best opportunity in their postservice lives.

The first measure within this bill will benefit veterans through enhancements to the Veterans' Vocational Rehabilitation Scheme, the VVRS, under the Veterans' Entitlements Act—$700,000 will be spent on improving the scheme's operation, which will benefit participating veterans, particularly those in receipt of disability pension at the intermediate and special rates. The proposed measures seek to encourage workforce participation and provide better outcomes for veterans through a whole-of-person approach to their rehabilitation.

We know that many veterans who have been injured, wounded or are ill want to get back to work. These changes will ensure their pension safety net better reflects their transition back into work. Getting back to work is an important part of the recovery process. The VVRS is a voluntary vocational rehabilitation scheme for persons eligible under the Veterans Entitlements Act. The scheme is designed to assist veterans to find or continue in suitable employment. The scheme also provides incentives for participants in relation to the work thresholds for special or intermediate rate disability pension and the treatment of income from paid work on invalidity service pension. There is no penalty if a person does not complete a rehabilitation program. Persons participating in the scheme who withdraw from the workforce for any reason, including retirement, will return to the rate of disability pension they received prior to their participation in the VVRS.

Effective as of 20 March 2016, the enhancements to the scheme will, firstly, expand the range of services currently available through the scheme to include the provision of medical management and psychosocial services, and remove disincentives to participation in the scheme through a more favourable adjustment of pension payments for those who are in receipt of above general rate pensions, such as the special rate or TPI. Medical management services will be involved in the monitoring of treatment to restore or maximize an individual's physical and psychological functionality. Psychosocial services include comprehensive individually-tailored rehabilitation interventions that assist in promoting recovery and optimal functioning levels. Psychosocial services can include pain management, adjustment to disability counselling, family support and education. More favourable adjustments of pension payments mean that intermediate rate recipients who participate in the VVRS will not receive less disability pension than an intermediate rate recipient who does not participant in the VVRS.

Special rate disability pension recipients who participate in the VVRS and who undertake less than 20 hours paid work per week will not receive less pension than an intermediate rate recipient who does not participate in the VVRS. A more reasonable pension reduction regime will follow any prolonged absence from the workforce and will avoid disadvantage to participants who start in the VVRS but experience lengthy absences from the workforce. An amount equivalent to the permissible earnings for special and intermediate rate recipients will be disregarded for VVRS participants when determining whether the person's reduced daily pension amount should be increased and they will be given the same benefits from permissible earnings as received by a nonparticipant of the VVRS.

The bill will also increase the threshold for intermediate rate disability pension recipients to no more than 20 hours per week before their paid work affects the rate of disability pension in accordance with the threshold for paid work for intermediate rate under section 23 of the Veterans' Entitlements Act. This will mean that an intermediate rate recipient who has participated in the scheme will not receive less disability pension than an intermediate rate recipient who did not participate in the scheme. These adjustments will also result in certain special and intermediate rate disability pensioners having a smoother step down in disability pension whilst in the scheme and will encourage veterans to remain or continue in the workforce. Improvements to the VVRS will allow veterans to take the important step of returning to the workplace with the support of the compensation system should they need to take a further break from employment.

The second measure in the Veterans' Affairs Legislation Amendment 2015 Budget Measures Bill will simplify and streamline the appeal process under the Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Act by changing to a single appeal path. Under the existing arrangements the two pathways for a reconsideration or review of an 'original determination' under chapter 8 of the Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Act are: first, internal reconsideration by the Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Commission under part 3; or, second, review by the Veterans' Review Board under part 4.

Currently a claimant may see a first-tier right of reconsideration or review through either but not both. If the claimant is dissatisfied with the reconsideration of the MRCC or the review by the VRB, they have a second-tier right of review by the Administrative Appeals Tribunal, referred to as a 'reviewable determination'. In 2011 the Review of Military Compensation Arrangements recommended that the MRCA appeal process be refined to a single pathway. The amendments proposed in this bill give effect to this recommendation.

Following the changes proposed by this bill, the first-tier right of review will be to the Veterans' Review Board The second-tier right of review to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal is not changing. The change to a single appeal path will avoid the complexities that claimants currently face relating to different time limits for the submission of appeals and different times taken to determine the review and the choice they make impacting on entitlement to legal aid and the awarding of costs for appeals that progress to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal. The single appeal path will remove internal consideration by the MRCC for claimants and enable a claimant to appeal an original decision of the MRCC to the VRB with a second tier of appeal to the AAT.

Currently, applicants that choose reconsideration by the MRCC are not able to access legal aid at the AAT. While the removal of reconsideration by the MRCC will have the consequent effect of not being able to apply for award cost at the AAT, the single appeal path through the VRB will mean that all applicants will have access to legal aid at the AAT, subject to the usual legal aid eligibility criteria.

In 2015-16, $900,000 will be provided to align the MRCA appeals process with the VEA process. This will affect claimants under the MRCA who have a primary decision made on or after 1 January 2016. The first level of appeal will be to the Veterans' Review Board.

Thirdly, under schedule 3, the bill will amend the Defence Act 1903 to expand the act's war graves regulation-making power to include graves of service dependents buried in Terendak Military Cemetery in Malaysia. On 25 May this year, 50 years after the arrival of the first troops of the 1st Battalion Royal Australian Regiment in South Vietnam, the Prime Minister offered to repatriate the remains of 25 Vietnam veterans from Terendak Military Cemetery in Malaysia and Kranji War Cemetery in Singapore to the families of the deceased. This offer was also extended to the families of three other servicemen and eight service dependents also buried in the Terendak Military Cemetery.

Until 21 January 1966, the bodies of Australians who died in war were buried in war cemeteries close to where they fell. From this date, with the consent of the families, remains were repatriated to Australia. This decision was not retrospective. Of the 521 Australian who died in the Vietnam War, 25 remain interred overseas. The families of those 25 Vietnam veterans now have the opportunity to bring their loved ones home.

Because of the limited access for families of the deceased at Terendak due to the cemetery being on a large-scale high-security military base, the offer of repatriation has also been extended to the families of all Australians interred in the Terendak Military Cemetery. This includes the families of the eight service dependents who died whilst accompanying their fathers or husbands on service in Malaysia. The amendments in this bill will enable the war graves regulation made under the Defence Act to authorise the repatriation of these service dependents if requested to do so by their families. The government acknowledges the Malaysian government's offer to provide any assistance towards repatriation. The government also thanks the Malaysian government for their care for and maintenance of these graves over many years.

The 2015-16 budget also includes: $3.7 million to extend the in-home telehealth trial for veterans and war widows, an initiative aimed at keeping veterans in their own home and community for longer; providing further funding for the Centenary of ANZAC program to support additional events commemorating battles that occurred on the Western Front during the First World War and key anniversaries of other conflicts; and extending tax deductibility status for the National Boer War Memorial and the Australian Peacekeeping Memorial projects. The DVA budget for mental health will remain uncapped and be driven by client demand. Over the past 12 months, the government has expanded access to the Veterans and Veterans Family Counselling Service, making it easier for veterans dealing with depression, post-traumatic stress disorder and anxiety, plus substance and alcohol use disorders, to access free and immediate treatment for their condition, regardless of whether they are related to service.

This government is delivering on its commitment to honour our veterans and the unique nature of military service. I commend this bill to the House.

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