EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
Issued by the authority of the Minister for Veterans' Affairs
Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 2004
Determination of pay-related allowances
The Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 2004 (the Act) provides for compensation and other benefits to be provided for current and former members of the Defence Force who suffer a service injury or disease.
Subsection 11(1) of the Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 2004 (the Act) requires the Defence Minister to make a written determination specifying which allowances paid under sections 58B or 58H of the Defence Act 1901 are pay-related allowances. The Military Rehabilitation and Compensation (Pay-related Allowances) Determination 2006 (No.1) is the second determination made for the purposes of the Act.
Determining an allowance as “pay-related” permits the allowance to be taken into account as part of the normal weekly earnings and actual earnings of members of the Defence Force who seek compensation under the Act.
Clause 1 cites the full title of the Determination.
Clause 2 provides that the Determination commences on 1 July 2004, the same day that subsection 11(1) of the Act commences.
Clause 3 states that the allowances specified in Schedule 1 are pay-related allowances for the purposes of subsection 11(1) of the Act.
Schedule 1 provides that hardship allowance is taken to be pay-related for the purposes of subsection 11(1) of the Act. Other allowances that are taken to be pay-related allowances for the purposes of section 11(1) of the Act are specified in Military Rehabilitation and Compensation (Pay-related Allowances) Determination 2004 (No.1) of 21 June 2004. When included in any calculation of compensation for incapacity under Chapter 4 of the Act, the allowances are payable only for the period they would have continued to be paid had the member not been incapacitated for service or work.
This Determination is a legislative instrument for the purposes of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003. There has been no consultation in the making of this instrument as it relates to the management of and the service of members of the Australian Defence Force.
The instrument will, after it has been registered, be taken to have commenced on 1 July 2004. Subsection 12(2) of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003 prohibits the making of an instrument with a retrospective operation if such an amendment has the effect of adversely affecting the rights of a person or imposing a liability on such a person (other than the Commonwealth), for acts done before the notification of the instrument on the Federal Register of Legislative Instruments. As this instrument would not operate in such a manner, the retrospective commencement of the instrument would not be prohibited by subsection 12(2) of the Act.