Darren Chester (Gippsland, National Party, Deputy Leader of the House) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That this bill be now read a second time.

I'm pleased to introduce the Defence Legislation Amendment (Miscellaneous Measures) Bill 2020. This bill demonstrates the commitment this government makes to put veterans and their families first and to assist veterans transitioning from military to civilian life. As part of the government's election commitments, this bill will amend the Defence Home Ownership Assistance Scheme Act 2008 to extend access to the Defence Home Ownership Assistance Scheme from two years to five years after a member leaves the Australian Defence Force.

The bill will also amend the Australian Defence Force Superannuation Act 2015 to clarify that former ADF members can make contributions to their ADF super accounts. These amendments will mean better outcomes for veterans and their families.

Schedule 1 of the bill will amend the Defence Home Ownership Assistance Scheme Act 2008. This scheme is designed to assist current and former ADF members and their families who choose to purchase a home of their own to live in by providing a subsidy. It recognises the additional difficulties ADF members and their families have in purchasing a home due to the nature of their service. At present, a veteran generally has access to the scheme within two years of leaving the Australian Defence Force. The amendments in this bill will extend the time after a veteran leaves the ADF when they can apply for a subsidy certificate to five years. The extension of two years to five years will assist veterans transitioning to civilian life by allowing additional time to look for suitable accommodation before applying and accessing the scheme. The current two-year limitation is not always enough time for veterans and their families, and this change seeks to ensure they carefully consider their options after leaving the ADF, without being rushed into purchasing a home for fear of losing their entitlement to the subsidy. This will benefit some 5½ thousand ADF members who leave each year.

Schedule 2 of the bill will amend the Australian Defence Force Superannuation Act 2015 to clarify that when an ADF member leaves the ADF they can continue to make contributions to their ADF super account. The Australian Defence Force Superannuation Act 2015 introduced a new superannuation scheme for ADF members from 1 July 2016. This scheme is an accumulation fund, and Defence makes contributions, for permanent ADF members and reserve members rendering continuous full-time service who are ADF super members, at 16.4 per cent of their salary.

At present, when a veteran leaves the ADF, they can no longer make contributions to ADF Super. Any superannuation contributions from a subsequent civilian employer, for example, must be made to a different superannuation fund.

The bill will clarify that ADF Super members who have left the ADF, and who provided continuous full-time service for an uninterrupted period of at least 12 months, can continue to make contributions to ADF Super. This is consistent with similar changes that have been made to the Public Sector Superannuation Accumulation Plan for Australian government employees. This change will be implemented through changes to the ADF Super Trust Deed, to take effect on 1 May 2020.

Minor consequential amendments will be made to the Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Act 1993 to require ADF Super to obtain relevant insurance products for ADF Super members who are no longer serving in the ADF.

This bill moves to make some small but significant changes to defence legislation that will benefit veterans and their families.

I commend the bill to the House.

Debate adjourned.