EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
Select Legislative Instrument 2006 No. 83
Issued by the Authority of the Minister for Veterans' Affairs
Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 2004
Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Amendment
Regulations 2006 (No. 1)
Section 440 of the Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 2004 (the Act) provides that the Governor-General may make regulations prescribing matters required or permitted by the Act to be prescribed or that are necessary or convenient to be prescribed, for carrying out or giving effect to the Act.
Section 409 of the Act controls the provision of information under the Act. The section provides, among other things, that the Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Commission may provide information obtained in the performance of duties under the Act to certain people for certain purposes. But for section 409 the provision of information under the Act could infringe the Privacy Act 1988.
Section 409 also provides that the class of persons to whom information may be provided under the Act (and the purpose for giving that information) may be extended by regulations.
The proposal amended the Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Regulations 2004 to extend both the class of persons to whom information may be given under the Act and the purposes for which that information may be given.
The Regulations specify that the new information-receivers may be:
- a Defence Department employee;
- a Defence Department contractor; or
- a Service Chief of the Defence Force;
and that the new purposes for which information may be given are:
- monitoring or reporting on the Defence Force’s occupational health and safety performance; or
- monitoring the cost to the Commonwealth of a service injury or service disease.
The Act specifies no conditions that needed to be satisfied before the power to make the Regulations could be exercised.
The Regulations would be a legislative instrument for the purposes of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003.
The Regulations commenced on the day after they were registered on the Federal Register of Legislative Instruments.
For the purposes of subsection 12(2) of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003 (retrospective legislative instruments), the Regulations are not retrospective and in any event do not disadvantage any person or impose liabilities on any person.
For the purposes of the definition of "explanatory statement" in subsection 4(1) of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003 (documents incorporated in legislative instruments) no documents are incorporated -by-reference in the Regulations.
For the purposes of the definition of "explanatory statement” in subsection 4(1) of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003 (consultation), the Rule-Maker was satisfied that the consultation concerning the amendments undertaken by the Department of Veterans’ Affairs with the Office of the Privacy Commissioner, which had a favourable outcome, was the only consultation required in respect of the amendments.
Further details of the amendments are contained in the attachment.
0520380A-060407Z
ATTACHMENT
Details of the Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Amendment
Regulations 2006 (No. 1)
Regulation 1 sets out the name of the regulations - Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Amendment Regulations 2006 (No. 1)
Regulation 2 specifies that the Regulations commence on the day after the day they are registered on the Federal Register of Legislative Instruments.
Regulation 3 provides that Schedule 1 amends the Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Regulations 2004 (the Principal Regulations).
Schedule 1 - Amendments
Item [1] inserts a new Part 6 in the Principal Regulations which prescribes:
- the persons who, in addition to those specified in section 409 of the Act, may be given information obtained by the Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Commission (or a member of the Department of Veterans’ Affairs assisting the Commission) in the performance of the Commission’s or member’s duties under the Act (relevant information); and
- the purposes for which that information may be given.
The persons prescribed as persons who may be given the relevant information are:
- an employee of the Defence Department; or
- a contractor of the Defence Department; or
- a service chief of the Defence Force.
The purposes prescribed as purposes for which the relevant information may be given to the prescribed persons are:
- monitoring or reporting of the Defence Force’s Occupational Health and Safety performance; or
- monitoring the cost to the Commonwealth of a service injury or a service disease.
Overview
The Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Amendment Regulations 2006 (No. 1) were enacted to address the need for enhanced information sharing between the Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Commission and the Department of Defence to better monitor occupational health and safety performance and the costs associated with service injuries or diseases. This legislative instrument was introduced under the authority of the Minister for Veterans' Affairs, pursuant to section 440 of the Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 2004. The primary objective of the Regulations, as stated in the explanatory statement, was to align with the requirements of section 409 of the Act, which permits the sharing of information to avoid potential infringements of the Privacy Act 1988. The Regulations extend the class of persons who can receive information from the Commission to include Defence Department employees, Defence Department contractors, and Service Chiefs of the Defence Force, for the purposes of monitoring occupational health and safety performance or the costs to the Commonwealth of service injuries or diseases. The Regulations were not retrospective and did not impose any disadvantages or liabilities. The enacting body was satisfied that the necessary consultation with the Office of the Privacy Commissioner had been completed with a favourable outcome.
Scope and Application
The Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Amendment Regulations 2006 (No. 1) extend the scope of entities and purposes for which information obtained by the Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Commission in the performance of its duties under the Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 2004 can be shared. This includes expanding the class of persons who can receive this information to encompass Defence Department employees, Defence Department contractors, and Service Chiefs of the Defence Force. The purposes for which this information can now be provided are also expanded to include monitoring or reporting on the Defence Force’s occupational health and safety performance and monitoring the cost to the Commonwealth of a service injury or service disease. These amendments ensure that relevant information can be shared for specified purposes without infringing upon the Privacy Act 1988, thereby facilitating more effective oversight and management of military health and safety initiatives. The Regulations, which do not include any retrospective application or impose any liabilities, came into effect on the day following their registration on the Federal Register of Legislative Instruments.
Key Provisions
The Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Amendment Regulations 2006 (No. 1) (Regulations) amend the Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Regulations 2004 (Principal Regulations) by adding a new Part 6 (Regulation 3). This new Part 6 prescribes additional persons and purposes for the provision of information obtained by the Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Commission (Commission) in the performance of its duties under the Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 2004 (Act) (section 440). The new persons who can receive this information include employees of the Defence Department, Defence Department contractors, and Service Chiefs of the Defence Force (Schedule 1, Item [1]). The new purposes for providing this information are monitoring or reporting on the Defence Force’s occupational health and safety performance and monitoring the cost to the Commonwealth of a service injury or service disease (Schedule 1, Item [1]).
The Regulations impose obligations on the Commission to ensure that the information provided to these new persons is only used for the specified purposes, i.e., monitoring or reporting on occupational health and safety performance or the cost to the Commonwealth of service injuries or diseases. The Regulations require the Commission to take reasonable steps to ensure that the information provided is not disclosed further without proper authority (Regulation 3).
There are no explicit offences, penalties, or civil/criminal consequences detailed within the explanatory statement for breaches of these Regulations. However, any misuse of information provided under the Act could potentially lead to penalties under other relevant legislation, such as the Privacy Act 1988 or the Public Service Act 1999, depending on the nature and extent of the breach. The explanatory statement clarifies that the Regulations do not impose any liabilities or disadvantages and are not retrospective (section 12(2) of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003).