EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
STATUTORY RULES 1985 NO. 268
Minute No. 18 of 1985 - Minister of State for Veterans' Affairs
Subject - Repatriation Act 1920
Repatriation Regulations (Amendment)
Under section 124 of the Repatriation Act 1920 (the Act), the Governor-General may make Regulations, not inconsistent with the Act, prescribing all matters which by the Act are required or permitted to be prescribed, or which are necessary or convenient to be prescribed for giving effect to the Act.
These regulations are consequential to the provisions of the Repatriation Legislation Amendment Act 1985 (No. 90 assented to 6 June 1985) which gave effect to the decisions of the Government announced in the Treasurer’s Economic Statement on 14 May 1985.
There are two provisions of the Repatriation Legislation Amendment Act 1985 which impacted on the Regulations. First, the criteria to be applied by Repatriation determining authorities in
determining whether a member of the Forces is eligible to receive the Special Rate or Intermediate Rate pension for total incapacity were amended. Under the Act as it existed prior to its amendment by the Repatriation Legislation Amendment Act 1985, an applicant for the Special Rate pension must have been blinded as a result of war service, or have been totally and permanently incapacitated from service-related disabilities to such an extent as to have been precluded from earning other than a negligible percentage of a living wage.
The Repatriation Legislation Amendment Act 1985 provided that an applicant for the Special Rate pension must be:
(a) blinded as a result of war service; or
(b) in receipt of, or eligible for, a pension at the maximum (100%) General Rate; totally and permanently incapacitated from service-related disabilities, which of themselves alone render the member incapable of undertaking more than 8 hours remunerative activity per week; and suffering a loss of salary, wages or earnings by reason of being prevented from continuing in remunerative activity by those service-related disabilities.
The second aspect of the Repatriation Legislation Amendment Act 1985 which affected the Repatriation Regulations is the abolition of future grants of pension to dependants of incapacitated members of the Forces, or deceased members of the Forces, other than pensions to war widows and orphans of deceased members. Previously, pensions were also payable to the widowed mother of a member, the parent of a deceased unmarried member or the aged parent of a member, who was without adequate means of support, as well as to the wife and child of an incapacitated member of the Forces.
Details of the Regulations are set out below.
Regulation 1 - Interpretation
Existing regulation 5 of the Repatriation Regulations contains definitions of terms used in the Repatriation Regulations.
Regulation 1 has removed the definition of “deceased unmarried member”, “widowed mother” and “widowed step-mother” from former sub-regulation 5(1) as these terms no longer have application in the Repatriation Regulations.
Regulation 1 has also amended the definition of “totally and permanently incapacitated” in former sub-regulation 5(1) to make the definition consistent with the provisions of Schedule 2 to the Repatriation Act 1920.
The definition of “wife” in former sub-regulation 5(1) has been amended by regulation 1 to omit the reference to a person eligible for a pension in respect of the incapacity of a member, as pensions may now be granted only in respect of the death of a member.
Regulation 2 - Interpretation
Existing regulation 6 of the Repatriation Regulations defines terms used in Part II of the Regulations.
Regulation 2 has amended paragraph (e) of the definition of “dependant” in former regulation 6 by deleting the reference to sub-section (3) of section 37 of the Act. Section 37 of the Act was repealed in 1978.
Regulation 3 - Repeal of Division 2 of Part II
The former Division 2 of Part II of the Repatriation Regulations provided for payment of income-support pensions to the widowed mother or aged parent of a deceased member or to the parent of a deceased unmarried member, subject to an income test. As a result of the Government’s decision to limit dependants’ pensions to the widow and children of a member whose death has been accepted as service-related, no further grants of pensions referred to in former regulations 32, 34 or 34AA will be made and regulation 34A has no application.
Regulation 3 has repealed Division 2 of Part II of the Repatriation Regulations.
Regulation 4 - Travelling expenses payable to applicants
Regulation 4 has amended former regulation 42 to enable an applicant appearing before the Veterans’ Review Board to receive a meal allowance in addition to an allowance for fares and accommodation expenses incurred.
Regulation 5 - Allowance while undergoing medical treatment
Regulation 71 of the Repatriation Regulations provides for the payment of a loss of earnings allowance to a member who actually loses earnings as a result of undergoing treatment for service-related disabilities or in certain other circumstances. Former sub-regulations 71(8)(b), 71(10) (a) and 71(11) referred to an additional allowance which was payable to the wife or child.
Following amendments to the Act by the Repatriation Legislation Amendment Act 1985, the Act no longer provided for the payment of pension to dependants of an incapacitated member. Former sub-regulations 71(8)(b), 71(10)(a) and 71(11) were amended to delete references to an allowance for the wife and children. However, it was necessary to maintain these provisions for an
additional allowance payable where the wife and child of a member are in receipt of pension under savings provisions contained in section 66(2) of the Repatriation Legislation Amendment Act 1985. These savings provisions provide for pensions which were in payment prior to passage of the amending legislation to be continued at the rate payable at 6 June 1985.
Regulation 5 amended former sub-regulations 71(8)(b), 71(10) (a) and 71(11) to enable an additional allowance to be paid in respect of a “prescribed relative” of a member, that is, a wife or child of a member who is receiving a saved pension under section 66(2) of the Repatriation Legislation Amendment Act 1985.
Regulation 6 - Allowances payable in respect of member in hospital
Regulation 72A of the Repatriation Regulations provides for a temporary incapacity allowance to be paid to a member who is receiving treatment as an in-patient at a hospital or similar institution, or is convalescing following such treatment, in respect of service-related incapacity. Former sub-regulations 72A(6) and 72A(7) described the conditions under which an additional allowance was payable if the member had a wife or child.
Following the amendments to the Act by the Repatriation Legislation Amendment Act 1985, the Act no longer provides for pensions to dependants of an incapacitated member. Former sub-regulations 72A(6) and 72A(7) have been amended to delete the reference to an allowance for the wife and child of a member. However, it was necessary to maintain these provisions for payment of an additional allowance in respect of claims applying to a period before 6 June 1985, or in respect of a period after that date where the wife and child of a member receive pensions under sub-section 66(2) of the Repatriation Legislation Amendment Act 1985.
Regulation 6 amended former sub-regulations 72A(6) and 72A(7) to enable an additional amount of temporary incapacity allowance to be paid where a member has a wife and child in receipt of pensions in accordance with the repealed Schedule 3 to the Act payable under sub-section 66(2) of the Repatriation Legislation Amendment Act 1985.
Regulation 7 - Medical treatment for widows, etc.
Sub-regulation 7(1) has amended former Repatriation Regulation 73 to remove the reference to widowed mothers and widowed step-mothers of deceased unmarried members, as pensions and other benefits such as treatment are no longer to be granted to such people.
Sub-regulation 7(1)(b) has removed the reference to sub-section 39(4) of the Act in former sub-regulation 73(2). This sub-section was repealed by the Repatriation Legislation Amendment Act 1985.
Sub-regulation 7(2) has maintained the entitlement to treatment of widowed mothers or widowed step-mothers of a deceased unmarried member who are receiving a saved pension under sub-section 66(2) of the Repatriation Legislation Amendment Act 1985.
Regulation 8 - Repeal of Regulation 176
Sub-regulation 8(1) repealed former Repatriation Regulation 176 which provided for an allowance to a widow who remarried and was again widowed, and who was without adequate means of support. No further grants of these allowances will be made.
Sub-regulation 8(2) has provided for the continuation of allowances granted under former Repatriation Regulation 176 and which were in payment immediately before the commencement of this Regulation.
Regulation 9 - Funeral expenses
Regulation 179 of the Repatriation Regulations provides for the payment of funeral expenses in respect of the funerals of certain dependants of members.
Regulation 9 has amended former sub-regulation 179(2) so that funeral benefits will no longer be granted to the widowed mother or widowed step-mother of a deceased unmarried member, unless that person was in receipt of a dependants’ pension under the savings provisions of sub-section 66(2) of the Repatriation Legislation Amendment Act 1985 at the time of her death.
Regulation 10 - Prescribed travelling expenses for the purposes of sub-section 29D(1) of the Act
Regulation 10 has amended former regulation 187A of the Repatriation Regulations to permit a claimant or applicant appearing before the Commission, or a delegate of the Commission, to receive a meal allowance in addition to an allowance for fares and accommodation expenses.
Regulation 11 - Prescribed expenses for the purposes of sub-section 107VZZA(1) of the Act
Regulation 11 has amended former regulation 188B of the Repatriation Regulations to permit a party to proceedings before
the Administrative Appeals Tribunal to receive a meal allowance in addition to an allowance for fares and accommodation expenses.
Regulation 12 - Extension of certain provisions to 1914-18 members (home service)
Former sub-regulation 194(2) of the Repatriation Regulations referred to regulation 176. Former regulation 176 was repealed by regulation 8 of these Statutory Rules. Regulation 12 has removed the reference to regulation 176 from sub-regulation 194(2).
Regulation 13 - Extension of certain provisions to women members of the Forces
Repatriation Regulation 196 extends certain of the Repatriation Regulations to female members of the Forces. Former sub-regulation 196(2) provided that a reference to a wife of a member was to be read as a reference to the husband of a female member of the Forces. As no benefits will be granted to husbands of female members, paragraph (b) to former sub-regulation 196(2) were removed by sub-regulation 13(1).
Former sub-regulation 196(2B) limited the assistance or benefit to be granted to the child of a female member of the Forces. The criteria expressed in former sub-regulation 196(2B) reflected those expressed in the repealed section 106 of the Act. Sub-regulation 13(b) replaced the existing criteria with those expressed in section 106 of the Act as amended by section 20 of the Repatriation Legislation Amendment Act 1985, that is, that assistance or benefits will no longer be granted to the child of a female member unless the child is without adequate means of support.
Regulation 14 - Extension of certain provisions to certain members of the Defence Force
Existing Repatriation Regulation 200 extends certain of the Repatriation Regulations to members of the Defence Force.
The reference to former Repatriation Regulation 176 has been deleted from former sub-regulation 200(2) by sub-regulation 14(a), as Repatriation Regulation 176 has been repealed by regulation 8 of these Statutory Rules.
Sub-regulation 14(b) has repealed paragraph (c) of former sub-regulation 200(2), as section 107P of the Act was amended by section 28 of the Repatriation Legislation Amendment Act 1985 to remove the references to the wife of a living member.
Former sub-regulation 200(3) has been amended by sub-regulation 14(c) to achieve consistency with section 106 of the Act as amended by the Repatriation Legislation Amendment Act 1985, that is, assistance and benefits will no longer to be granted to the child of a female member unless the child is without adequate means of support.
AUTHORITY: | Section 124 of the Repatriation Act 1920 |