EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
Veterans' Affairs (Peacetime Service Eligibility for Non-Liability Health Care) Amendment Instrument 2016 (Instrument 2016 No.R2)
EMPOWERING PROVISION
Subsection 88A(2) of the Veterans’ Entitlements Act 1986 (VEA).
PURPOSE
The attached instrument (Instrument 2016 No.R2) varies the Veterans’ Affairs (Peacetime Service Eligibility for Non-Liability Health Care) Instrument 2014 (Instrument 2014 No. R18) (“Peacetime Service Instrument”) to remove the requirement that a diagnosis for a mental health condition be renewed every 12 months in order for DVA-funded treatment for that condition to continue.
The Peacetime Service Instrument enables the Department of Veterans’ Affairs (DVA) to pay for treatment of various mental health conditions, on a non-liability basis, for certain eligible members and former members of the Defence Force who provided peacetime service on or after, or before and on or after, 7 April 1994 (“peacetime service personnel”).
The treatment is known as “non-liability health care” because it need not be linked to a condition arising from the service of the eligible person.
The Peacetime Service Instrument specifies the treatment that is available for peacetime service personnel suffering from a range of mental health conditions, namely alcohol use disorder, substance use disorder, anxiety disorder, depressive disorder, or posttraumatic stress disorder.
Prior to the attached instrument, the Peacetime Service Instrument required an eligible person to have a certificate or other document of diagnosis signed within the previous 12 months in order for the person to be, or remain, eligible for treatment for the relevant mental health condition. This meant that a client was required to obtain a new certificate of diagnosis every year in order for the relevant DVA-funded treatment to continue.
The attached instrument amends the Peacetime Service Instrument to remove this requirement thus bringing the diagnosis requirements in this instrument in line with the requirements within other non-liability health care legislative arrangements within the DVA portfolio.
The proposal implemented by the attached instrument is part of a suite of measures designed to expand and streamline access to treatment for mental health conditions within the non-liability health care regime.
CONSULTATION
Section 17 of the Legislation Act 2003 requires the rule-maker to be satisfied that any consultation that is considered appropriate and reasonably practicable to undertake, has been undertaken.
The amendments made by the attached instrument remove the requirement for 12-monthly renewal of a diagnosis for a mental health condition for “peacetime service personnel”. The amendments align the diagnosis requirements for mental health care treatment for this group with the non-liability health care arrangements in place for other DVA clients.
The amendments impact on a relatively small group of DVA clients. They are beneficial in nature in terms of their impact on affected clients and interested parties could reasonably be expected to agree to it.
Consultation in respect of the attached instrument was considered. Given the beneficial nature of the amendments, external consultation was not considered necessary in this instance. According, it is considered that the requirements of section 17 of the Legislation Act 2003 have been fulfilled.
RETROSPECTIVITY
None.
DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED-BY-REFERENCE
No.
REGULATORY IMPACT
Nil. These amendments remove the burden on clients to obtain renewed diagnoses every 12 months and provide time savings.
HUMAN RIGHTS STATEMENT
Prepared in accordance with Part 3 of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011.
The attached legislative instrument engages and promotes the Right to Health contained in article 12(1) of the International Covenant on Economic Social and Cultural Rights.
The attached instrument removes a significant barrier to mental health treatment within the non-liability health care regime. By streamlining access to mental health treatment, the attached instrument has the effect of advancing the health of the peacetime service personnel concerned.
Accordingly, it is considered that the attached instrument is compatible with Human Rights, specifically the Right to Health.
Repatriation Commission
Rule-Maker
FURTHER EXPLANATION OF PROVISIONS See: Attachment A
Attachment A
Veterans' Affairs (Peacetime Service Eligibility for Non-Liability Health Care) Amendment Instrument 2016
Section 1
This section set out the name of the instrument - Veterans' Affairs (Peacetime Service Eligibility for Non-Liability Health Care) Amendment Instrument 2016.
Section 2
This section provides that the instrument is to commence on the day after it is registered on the Federal Register of Legislation.
Section 3
This section provides that the legislative authority for the instrument is subsection 88A(2) of the Veterans’ Entitlements Act 1986.
Section 4
Section 4 provides for the variations to the Veterans’ Affairs (Peacetime Service Eligibility for Non-Liability Health Care) Instrument 2014 (Instrument 2014 No. R18) in the Schedule to have effect.
Schedule
The Schedule varies the Veterans’ Affairs (Peacetime Service Eligibility for Non-Liability Health Care) Instrument 2014 in accordance with the variations in the following five items:
Item 1
Item 1 removes the 12 month diagnosis validity requirement from the eligibility provisions dealing with non-liability health care treatment for peacetime personnel for alcohol use disorder.
Item 2
Item 2 removes the 12 month diagnosis validity requirement from the eligibility provisions dealing with non-liability health care treatment for peacetime personnel for substance use disorder.
Item 3
Item 3 removes the 12 month diagnosis validity requirement from the eligibility provisions dealing with non-liability health care treatment for peacetime personnel for anxiety disorder.
Item 4
Item 4 removes the 12 month diagnosis validity requirement from the eligibility provisions dealing with non-liability health care treatment for peacetime personnel for depressive disorder.
Item 5
Item 5 removes the 12 month diagnosis validity requirement from the eligibility provisions dealing with non-liability health care treatment for peacetime personnel for posttraumatic stress disorder.