EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
Veterans’ Affairs (Treatment Principles) Amendment (Extension to Sustainability Payments) Determination 2026
EMPOWERING PROVISIONS
The Repatriation Commission and the Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Commission make this instrument under subsection 90(5) of the Veterans’ Entitlements Act 1986 (VEA) and subsection 286(5) of the Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 2004 (MRCA).
PURPOSE
This instrument amends the Treatment Principles (No. R52/2013) and the MRCA Treatment Principles (Instrument 2013 No. MRCC53) (the TPs).
OVERVIEW
The Veterans’ Home Care (VHC) and Community Nursing (CN) programs support veterans and war widow(er)s to access services to enable them to remain independent in their own home. The sustainability payments support the immediate viability of providers to deliver these programs, including essential care management, in the face of increasing market pressures. The sustainability payments ensure continuity of access to VHC and CN services for Department of Veterans’ Affairs (DVA) clients, while seeking to reduce the risk of provider withdrawal and DVA clients not being able to access care or experiencing significant disruption to their care.
This sustainability arrangement is a terminating measure, due to expire on 30 June 2026. As part of the broader ‘Continuing to Support Veterans and their Families’ 2025-26 Budget measure, this instrument accordingly amends the TPs to reflect an extension of the existing arrangements for sustainability payments to VHC and CN providers, for an additional two years to 30 June 2028.
EXPLANATION OF PROVISIONS
Section 1 states the name of the instrument.
Section 2 provides that the instrument commences on the day after the day it is registered.
Section 3 sets out the authority for the Repatriation Commission and the Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Commission in making the instrument, namely subsection 90(5) of the Veterans’ Entitlements Act 1986 (VEA) and subsection 286(5) of the Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 2004 (MRCA).
Section 4 is a standard provision that gives effect to the Items in the Schedules outlined below.
Schedule 1—Amendments
Treatment Principles (No. R52/2013)
Item 1
This item amends subparagraph 7.3AA.1(b) to reflect the extension of sustainability payments for the Community Nursing program with a revised end date of ‘30 June 2028’.
Item 2
This item amends paragraph 7.3AA.2 to reflect the extension of sustainability payments for the Community Nursing program with a revised end date of ‘31 March 2028’.
Item 3
This item amends subparagraph 7.3B.1(b) to reflect the extension of sustainability payments for the Veterans’ Home Care program with a revised end date of ‘30 June 2028’.
Item 4
This item amends paragraph 7.3B.2 to reflect the extension of sustainability payments for the Veterans’ Home Care program with a revised end date of ‘31 March 2028’.
MRCA Treatment Principles (Instrument 2013 No. MRCC53)
Item 5
This item amends subparagraph 7.3AA.1(b) to reflect the extension of sustainability payments for the Community Nursing program with a revised end date of ‘30 June 2028’.
Item 6
This item amends paragraph 7.3AA.2 to reflect the extension of sustainability payments for the Community Nursing program with a revised end date of ‘31 March 2028’ when describing the claim processed period.
Item 7
This item amends subparagraph 7.3B.1(b) to reflect the extension of sustainability payments for the MRCA Home Care Program with a revised end date of ‘30 June 2028’. The MRCA Home Care Program and the Veterans’ Home Care Program are different terms for the same program.
Item 8
This item amends paragraph 7.3B.2 to reflect the extension of sustainability payments for the MRCA Home Care Program with a revised end date of ‘31 March 2028’ when describing the claim processed period. The MRCA Home Care Program and the Veterans’ Home Care Program are different terms for the same program.
Consultation
DVA has engaged with providers to communicate the extension of the measure to 2028 and their continued eligibility to receive payments under this measure as a result of the MYEFO December 2025 announcement that extends this measure for two more years. DVA has not specifically consulted with existing DVA providers under the VHC and CN programs regarding the amendment process, as this is an administrative change to extend the duration of an existing measure.
Human rights implications
This instrument is compatible with the human rights and freedoms recognised or declared under section 3 of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011. A full statement of compatibility is set out in Attachment A.
Making the instrument
The instrument is made by the Repatriation Commission and the Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Commission. Under subsections 90(6) of the VEA and 286(6) of the MRCA, the Minister for Veterans’ Affairs must approve the instrument for it to have effect.
Attachment A
Statement of Compatibility with Human Rights
Prepared in accordance with Part 3 of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011
Veterans’ Affairs (Treatment Principles) Amendment (Extension to Sustainability Payments) Determination 2026
This Disallowable Legislative Instrument is compatible with the human rights and freedoms recognised or declared in the international instruments listed in section 3 of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011 (the recognised rights).
Overview of the Disallowable Legislative Instrument
The Veterans’ Affairs (Treatment Principles) Amendment (Extension to Sustainability Payments) Determination 2026 (the Instrument) amends the Treatment Principles (No. R52/2013) and the MRCA Treatment Principles (Instrument 2013 No. MRCC53) (the Principal Instruments) to enable sustainability payments to be made to providers under the Veterans’ Home Care and Community Nursing programs from 1 July 2026 to 30 June 2028.
Human rights implications
The Instrument engages and promotes the right to health (the right) contained in article 12 of the International Covenant on Economic Social and Cultural Rights (the ICESCR).
The right is to be understood as a right to the enjoyment of a variety of facilities, goods, services and conditions necessary for the individual to realise their highest attainable standard of health. This, in turn, means that payment for health care services, as well as services related to the underlying determinants of health, must be based on the principle that the services, whether privately or publicly provided, are affordable for all, including socially disadvantaged groups.
The United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights has said that accessibility is an essential element of the right to health.[1] For health facilities to be accessible, they should be made available to all, without discrimination on any of the prohibited grounds.
This Instrument is made to promote the very spirit of the right. It allows payments to be made to community nursing providers and approved providers of the Veterans’ Home Care Program so their cost of coordinating and managing care for eligible veterans would be partly covered. This will ensure that eligible veterans can continue to receive the care they are entitled to under the Principal Instruments.
Conclusion
The Instrument is compatible with the recognised rights as it promotes the right to health and does not limit any recognised rights.
Repatriation Commission
Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Commission
Rule-Makers
[1] Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, General Comment No 14: The right to the highest attainable standard of health (article 12 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, 22nd sess, UN Doc E/C.12/2000/4 (11 August 2000) 4–5 [12]–[13].