Zed Seselja (ACT, Liberal Party, Assistant Minister for Finance, Charities and Electoral Matters) Share this | Hansard source

The Veterans Affairs Legislation Amendment (Supporting the Wellbeing of Veterans and Their Families) Bill 2020 addresses three key issues: it fully implements the government's commitment to create the Veteran Family Advocate, it provides changes to better support the transition from ADF service to civilian employment and it ensures that all recipients of the gold card are treated equally in terms of their benefits.

We recognise that in many ways the service of defence families on the home front is just as important as service on the front line. That is why the government has made engagement with veterans' families a priority over successive terms. We have established the Female Veterans and Veterans' Families Policy Forum and the Council for Women and Families United by Defence Service. We have listened to what's working and what needs improvement, and this bill will take our commitment further by establishing the Veteran Family Advocate. I'd like to congratulate Ms Gwen Cherne, who has been appointed as the inaugural Veteran Family Advocate and as a commissioner on the Repatriation Commission. This bill extends that appointment, so Gwen will also be appointed as a commissioner on the Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Commission. The government cannot solve the complex problems faced by veterans without the assistance of their families. Families understand how a veteran feels at a particular moment—the nature of their challenges and what needs to be done to best support them. By working together, we can achieve better results for our veterans and the families which support them.

The second part of this bill facilitates flexibility in the way programs can be designed to assist the transition from the ADF to the civilian workforce. This government has made significant improvements in transition and employment support. This bill will further support employment by allowing for the establishment of new programs such as the Support for Employment Program through the Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Regulations 2020. The regulations will contain the details of the employment assistance or benefits, as well as who they will be provided to and in what circumstances they can be provided.

I want to thank the Senate Committee for the Scrutiny of Bills for their work, and I note their comments in relation to the transition to civilian employment measure. In response, an addendum to the explanatory memorandum has been prepared—which I believe has been tabled—to address concerns by the Senate committee as to why it is most appropriate that details of the Support for Employment Program be placed in the Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Regulations 2020. Once established through the regulations, this program will provide eligible veterans with both pre- and post-employment assistance. This will ensure that similar employment support is available to veterans for up to five years, as is currently available to transitioning ADF members, including career advice, coaching, assistance with skills translation and resume and interview preparation and coaching to adapt to the structure and communication of civilian employment.

The final part of this bill fixes an unintended omission that has meant the energy supplement has not been payable to some gold card holders because they are covered under different legislation. This government acknowledges the importance of the gold card to the veteran community. This measure builds on our acknowledgement and extends the provisions in the energy supplement to Australia participants in the British nuclear tests and the British Commonwealth Occupation Force, and Australian residents who worked as part of Australian surgical medical teams in Vietnam. This ensures that all gold card holders are treated consistently.

Our veterans were prepared to make great sacrifices when we needed them. As the Australian Defence Veterans' Covenant states, 'For what they have done, this we will do'. This supports the wellbeing of veterans, their families and the wider veteran community, and I commend the bill to the Senate.

Question agreed to.

Bill read a second time.