Josh Frydenberg (Kooyong, Liberal Party, Minister for the Environment and Energy) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That this bill be now read a second time.

I am pleased to introduce the Comcare and Seacare Legislation Amendment (Pension Age and Catastrophic Injury) Bill 2017.

The Comcare scheme is established by the Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 1988 (the 'SRC Act').It provides workers' compensation coverage for Australian and ACT government employees, and the employees of 34 licensed corporations. The SRC Act also covers members of the Australian Defence Force whose injuries are attributable to certain defence service before 1 July 2004.

The Seacare scheme is established by the Seafarers Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 1992 (the 'seafarers act') and provides workers' compensation coverage for a small, defined segment of the Australian maritime industry.

The bill will make minor but important amendments to the SRC Act and the seafarers act. The changes will align these two acts with the age pension qualifying age in the Social Security Act and the minimum benchmarks in the National Injury Insurance Scheme (the 'NIIS') for supporting catastrophically injured employees.

The changes contained in this bill are also contained in the Seafarers and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2016, but are now being progressed separately due to their time critical nature.

Currently, income replacement payments under the SRC and seafarers acts generally cease at 65 years of age. This means the cut-off age will no longer align with the qualifying age for the age pension, when it increases incrementally, from 1 July 2017.

The increase in the age pension to age 67, legislated by the previous government in 2008, recognises that Australians are now living longer and seeks to improve the long-term sustainability of the pension system.

The changes to pension age begin in July, when eligibility increases to 65½. Eligibility then increases by six months every two years, until it reaches 67 in 2023.

This bill will ensure that injured employees covered by the Comcare and Seacare schemes will not be disadvantaged when moving from incapacity payments to the age pension by aligning eligibility for income replacement to the increasing age pension age.

In other words, it ensures that those on income replacement payments will continue to get those payments until they reach the age when they can quality for the age pension.

Further to this, the bill will amend the SRC and seafarers acts to align with the minimum benchmarks recommended for the NIIS.

The NIIS is a federated model of separate no-fault schemes that provide lifetime care and support for persons who sustain catastrophic injuries in certain situations, including workplace accidents. This bill will also ensure that employees who are catastrophically injured are able to receive the level of benefits under the Comcare and Seacare schemes recommended by the NIIS.

The Comcare and Seacare schemes provide, and will continue to provide, generous income replacement payments until age pension age as well as rehabilitation support and reasonable lifetime medical payments.

This bill demonstrates the government's commitment to ensuring that injured employees covered by the Comcare and Seacare schemes will not be left without financial support prior to the employee reaching his or her age pension age, and that those employees who are catastrophically injured are able to maintain their independence and receive the care they need.

Debate adjourned.