Military Rehabilitation and Compensation (Members – War Artists and Entertainers - Service End Date) Amendment Determination 2015

Administered by Department of Veterans' Affairs

Legislation au F2015L02004 In force Legislative Instrument

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EXPLANATORY STATEMENT

 

Military Rehabilitation and Compensation (Members – War Artists and Entertainers - Service End Date) Amendment Determination 2015

 

The Military Rehabilitation and Compensation (Members – War Artists and Entertainers - Service End Date) Amendment Determination 2015 is made under section 8 of the Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 2004 (the Act).

Background

 

The Review of Military Compensation Arrangements (2009-2011)(MRCA Review) considered, among other issues, the process whereby civilians engaged to perform a service on behalf of the Defence Force (e.g. entertainers, war artists) should have access to workers’ compensation under the Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 2004 (MRCA).

 

Ultimately the Government decided it was more appropriate for workers’ compensation coverage to be provided to the civilians in question under the Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 1988 (SRCA) than the MRCA which should be restricted to coverage of military personnel.

 

Accordingly, the two determinations under the MRCA that provided MRCA coverage for entertainers and war artists needed to be “closed off” because it is contemplated that the Minister for Employment will make a legislative instrument under the SRCA providing workers’ compensation coverage to the civilians in question where they are not covered by any other statutory workers’ compensation scheme.

 

The attached instrument closes off MRCA coverage for entertainers and war artists who provided the relevant services for the Defence Force during the following periods:

 

Entertainers - 1 July 2004 to and including the day before the SRCA instrument commences.

War Artists - 1 February 2007 to and including the day before the SRCA instrument commences.

 

Subsection 26(1B) of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003 provides that the requirement for an explanatory statement to explain the purpose and operation of an instrument may be met by an explanation that the instrument replaces a specified earlier legislative instrument or a specified provision of an earlier legislative instrument and is the same in substance as the specified instrument or provision. 

 

The attached Determination amends the Military Rehabilitation and Compensation (Members) Determination 2006 (No.2) and the Military Rehabilitation and Compensation (Members) Determination 2007 by inserting into the determinations a closing date for coverage under the determinations and a new definition. The amendments only come into effect when the SRCA instrument commences.  Apart from these changes, the determinations remain the same.

 

Also, subsection 26(1D) of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003 provides that a single explanatory statement may relate to one or more legislative instruments – which is the case here.

Consultation

 

No consultation was undertaken as the issue of appropriate workers’ compensation coverage for civilians working for the Defence Force was previously raised as part of a series of public consultations held on the MRCA Review. 

 

The Steering Committee for the Review consulted the Veteran & Defence Community generally.  Consultation was via Australian Defence Force base public meetings, a dedicated WebPage, working party meetings with Ex Service Organisations and correspondence.

 

In any event, workers’ compensation coverage for the civilians in question is not being terminated, merely transferred to a different legislative scheme.

 

In these circumstances consultation was seen as unnecessary.

Documents incorporated by reference

 

No.

 

Human rights implications

 

No.  The attached legislative instrument is technical in nature and merely facilitates a change in the legislative basis for providing workers compensation coverage for a class of persons.  The instrument closes off workers compensation coverage under one statutory scheme to ensure there is no possibility of double-coverage under two statutory workers compensation schemes.

 

In conclusion, the Determination is compatible with human rights.

 

Regulatory Impact

 

The Determination will not have an impact on business activity or business competition and will impose no compliance requirements on beneficiaries.

 

Details of the Determination

Section 1 states the name of the Determination.

Section 2 is a commencement provision and provides that the Determination commences when the Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation (Definition of Employee – War Artists and Entertainers) Notice 2015 commences.

Section 3 is a saving and application provision.  The intention of this provision is to ensure that an entitlement of a person to compensation under the Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 2004 in respect of an act covered by the instruments being amended by the attached instrument (amended instruments) is not affected by the attached instrument where the act occurred during the period covered by the amended instruments.

Section 4 provides that the instruments mentioned in the section are amended, respectively, in accordance with Parts A and B of the Schedule.

Schedule

Part A amends the Military Rehabilitation and Compensation (Members) Determination 2006 (No.2).

Item 1 is a definitions section.

Item 2 substitutes Schedule 1.  The only new changes to the former Schedule 1 are:

  • a relevant act may be performed under the auspices of the Department of Defence in addition to the Forces Advisory Committee on Entertainment because the latter body has been disbanded since 15 December 2014;
  • the insertion of an end date for coverage of the acts described in the Schedule namely the day before the Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation (Definition of Employee – War Artists and Entertainers) Notice 2015 commences.

Part B amends the Military Rehabilitation and Compensation (Members) Determination 2007.

Item 1 is a definitions section.

Item 2 substitutes Schedule 1.  The only new change to the former Schedule 1 is the insertion of an end date for coverage of the acts described in the Schedule namely the day before the Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation (Definition of Employee – War Artists and Entertainers) Notice 2015 commences.

 

Overview

The Military Rehabilitation and Compensation (Members – War Artists and Entertainers - Service End Date) Amendment Determination 2015 was enacted to address the gap in the provision of workers' compensation coverage for civilians, specifically entertainers and war artists, who were previously covered under the Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 2004. This determination was made under section 8 of the Act and was introduced to align with the findings of the Review of Military Compensation Arrangements (2009-2011), which recommended that workers' compensation coverage for these civilians should be provided under the Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 1988 rather than the Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 2004. The objective of this amendment was to ensure there would be no overlap in coverage between the two legislative schemes. The determination, which does not impose any new compliance requirements or impact business activities, ensures that coverage under the Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 2004 for these civilians ceases when the new legislative instrument under the Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 1988 commences.

Scope and Application

The Military Rehabilitation and Compensation (Members – War Artists and Entertainers - Service End Date) Amendment Determination 2015 applies to civilians who were war artists or entertainers contracted to provide services to the Defence Force. Specifically, it pertains to those who performed such services between 1 July 2004 and the day before the Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation (Definition of Employee – War Artists and Entertainers) Notice 2015 commences, in the case of entertainers, and between 1 February 2007 and the same date for war artists. The Amendment Determination is made under section 8 of the Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 2004, and its primary function is to amend two previous determinations to close off coverage under the Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Act for these groups of civilians. This amendment ensures that these individuals will no longer be covered by the Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Act, instead receiving coverage under the Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 1988, as deemed more appropriate by the Government. The Amendment Determination does not affect any entitlements accrued under the Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Act for acts that occurred before the commencement of the Amendment Determination, preserving existing rights and obligations.

Key Provisions

The Military Rehabilitation and Compensation (Members – War Artists and Entertainers - Service End Date) Amendment Determination 2015 amends two existing determinations under the Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 2004 (MRCA) to close off coverage for entertainers and war artists who provided services to the Defence Force. The amendment introduces a closing date for coverage under the Military Rehabilitation and Compensation (Members) Determination 2006 (No.2) and the Military Rehabilitation and Compensation (Members) Determination 2007, which are effective until the day before the Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation (Definition of Employee – War Artists and Entertainers) Notice 2015 commences (sections 2 and 4). The amendments ensure that these civilians are no longer covered under the MRCA and instead receive workers' compensation under the Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 1988 (SRCA). The determination imposes specific obligations on the parties involved, ensuring that entitlements to compensation for acts occurring before the commencement of the SRCA instrument are preserved (section 3). It is designed to prevent any overlap or double coverage under the two statutory workers' compensation schemes. The amendment also includes a new definition to reflect changes in the administrative structure for managing entertainers' services, now under the Department of Defence (Part A, Item 2). Failure to adhere to the provisions of this determination could result in legal repercussions, although the determination itself does not explicitly outline specific offences, penalties, or consequences for non-compliance. The broader legislative framework under the MRCA and SRCA, however, could apply penalties for fraudulent claims or misrepresentation of facts. Additionally, the safety, rehabilitation, and compensation provisions under the SRCA may have their own set of penalties for non-compliance, though these are not detailed within the amendment determination itself. The primary focus of the amendment is to ensure a seamless transition of coverage for affected civilians from the MRCA to the SRCA without any legal gaps or overlaps.

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Sourced from the Federal Register of Legislation at 26 August 2026. For the latest information on Australian Government law please go to https://www.legislation.gov.au.