David Shoebridge (NSW, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

I rise on behalf of the Greens to indicate we will be supporting the Military Rehabilitation and Compensation and Other Legislation Amendment (Incapacity Payments) Bill. The purpose of this bill is to make amendments to the Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 2004 as well as the Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation (Defence-related Claims) Act 1988.

There was a trial which ran up until 1 July 2022—indeed, it ended on 30 June 2022—which provided that the calculation of incapacity payments would be based on 100 per cent of normal weekly earnings for veterans engaged in approved full-time study under a DVA funded return to work rehabilitation program. As you would be aware, Deputy President, incapacity payments are compensation payments available under that 2004 compensation act as well as the defence claims act of 1988 for a loss of earnings incurred as a result of a service related physical or mental health condition. Many veterans who weren't part of this trial were literally making a choice between study and payments. Incapacity payment recipients are, in fact, required to participate in a DVA rehabilitation program wherever they have the capacity to do so. This bill proposes to extend what has been a four-year trial which was first implemented in the 2018-19 budget and which actually removed the longstanding step-down for incapacity payments for veterans who were undertaking approved study. Unfortunately, that trial ended on 30 June 2022.

For many veterans, being able to undertake further study to obtain qualifications to further their steps towards a career post defence is perhaps one of the most critical measures that they can take to get their life back on track and to get their career back on track. Of course, these are veterans who have suffered an injury. We've seen the scale of the injuries suffered by veterans too often. There are psychological injuries caused by some of the brutal conditions under which they served—some of them unnecessarily brutal, caused by the culture and nature of the Defence Force.

Application provisions in the bill will ensure that student veterans who should have been eligible to continue to receive the higher rate of payment from 1 July 2022, and those who received reduced payments after that date, will now be eligible to receive back payments to cover the period from 1 July 2022 until today. So one of the reasons the Greens have supported this bill moving as rapidly as possible through the parliament is that we've now had a number of these veterans engaged in study who haven't been receiving the full payment. That's tough, and the information that my officers heard from veterans organisations is that these veterans need this support now.

I do want to acknowledge the ongoing work of my colleague Senator Steele-John in relation to his support for veterans. When I took over the portfolio, he raised this issue directly with me and said that we need to do whatever we can to maintain those payments and to support the passage of this bill as rapidly as possible. I acknowledge his work and the connections that he's made to many veterans and veterans organisations in supporting their right for fair compensation and decency.

We support this bill. We support the bill rapidly passing through the Senate and we support the urgent restoration of these benefits to veterans.