EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
Defence Force (Home Loans Assistance) Act 1990
Declaration of warlike service – Cambodia and Somalia
The Defence Force (Home Loans Assistance) Act 1990 (the Act), together with the Agreement incorporated in the Act, provides for the payment of housing loan subsidies for certain members of the Australian Defence Force (the ADF).
Section 3C of the Act enables the Minister to declare duty to be warlike service for the purposes of the Act.
The purpose of this instrument is to declare the following service as warlike service for the purpose of the Act:
- the United Nations Advance Mission in Cambodia or the United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia after 19 October 1991 and before 8 October 1993; and
- the United Nations Operations in Somalia or the Unified Task Force after 19 October 1992.
This Declaration is a legislative instrument for the purposes of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003 (the LIA).
Paragraph 3(b) declares that the area of operation for service in Cambodia for the purposes of the Declaration as one or more of the following places:
- Cambodia, and
- areas in Laos and Thailand that are not more than 50 kilometres from Cambodia.
Paragraph 4(b) declares that the area of operation for service in Somalia for the purposes of the Declaration as one or more of the following places:
- Somalia,
- areas in Ethiopia and Kenya that are not more than 20 km from Somalia,
- areas in Djibouti that are not more than 10 km from Somalia, and
- territorial waters that are not more than 12 nautical miles from the coastline of Somalia.
The instrument takes effect from the 1 January 2008 in accordance with item 2 of the table in subsection 29(1) of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003.
The retrospective effect of the Declaration is required to enable members of the ADF who have rendered warlike service in Cambodia or Somalia and are already entitled to assistance under the Act and the Agreement, to certain additional benefits under the Act. The retrospective application of this Declaration does not affect the rights of any persons nor does it impose liabilities (other than on the Commonwealth) in respect of anything done before the date of the Declaration is registered.
These benefits entitle an eligible person who rendered warlike service to additional periods of housing subsidy as well as an exemption of the five year qualifying period of service. The entitlement to additional years of subsidy range from two additional years, for warlike service of less than three months, to five additional years for warlike service of more than nine months.
Consultation was considered unnecessary pursuant to section 18 of the LIA because the Declaration relates to the service of members of the ADF.
Authority: Section 3C of the Defence Force (Home Loans Assistance) Act 1990