Commonwealth of Australia Explanatory Memoranda

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SAFETY, REHABILITATION AND COMPENSATION LEGISLATION AMENDMENT (DEFENCE FORCE) BILL 2017

                              2016-2017




  THE PARLIAMENT OF THE COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA




                  HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES




SAFETY, REHABILITATION AND COMPENSATION LEGISLATION
         AMENDMENT (DEFENCE FORCE) BILL 2016


      SUPPLEMENTARY EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM




                             Amendments
              to be Moved on Behalf of the Government




     (Circulated by authority of the Minister for Veterans' Affairs,
                    the Honourable Dan Tehan MP)
 GOVERNMENT AMENDMENTS TO THE SAFETY, REHABILITATION AND
 COMPENSATION LEGISLATION AMENDMENT (DEFENCE FORCE) BILL
                           2016


OUTLINE

The Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation (Defence-related Claims) Act 1988 (DRCA)
creates a modified version of the Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 1988 (the
SRCA), applicable only to current and former Defence Force members.

Originally it was proposed that the DRCA would commence from 1 July 2017, however,
this is no longer a possibility and an amendment to the commencement provision is
required. The new proposed commencement of the DRCA Bill is 28 days after this Act
receives Royal Assent.

The second Government amendment is required as a consequence of the changes made by
the Comcare and Seacare Legislation Amendment (Pension Age and Catastrophic Injury)
Act 2017 (the Comcare Act).

The Comcare Act included amendments to the incapacity payment and related provisions
of the SRCA that were required as a consequence of the changes to pension age eligibility
under the Social Security Act 1991 (the pension age amendments). The pension age
amendments were also included in the DRCA Bill as contingent amendments. However,
as these amendments have been made to the SRCA these contingent amendments are no
longer required and Schedule 1, Part 3 of the DRCA is now redundant.


FINANCIAL IMPACT STATEMENT

None.




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                    Statement of Compatibility with Human Rights
Prepared in accordance with Part 3 of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act
2011
      SAFETY, REHABILITATION AND COMPENSATION LEGISLATION
               AMENDMENT (DEFENCE FORCE) BILL 2016
Human rights implications

These amendments are compatible with human rights because they promote relevant rights
and do not impermissibly derogate from human rights.

The Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation Legislation Amendment (Defence Force)
Bill 2016 (the DRCA Bill) 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.

Overview of the Bill

The amendments made by the DRCA Bill will create the Safety, Rehabilitation and
Compensation (Defence-related Claims) Act 1988 (the DRCA), a re-enacted version of the
Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 1988 (the SRCA) that is modified to apply
only to members of the Defence Force and their dependents.

The DRCA Bill also amends the SRCA to remove cover for members of the Defence
Force and their dependents from that Act.

The DRCA will apply in relation to an injury, disease, death, loss or damage that relates to
certain employment in the Defence Force that occurred before the commencement of the
Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 2004. The DRCA will commence 28 days
after Royal Assent.

Human rights implications

The Bill engages the right to social security under Article 9 of the International Covenant
on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) and the rights of people with
disability under Article 26(1) of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
Article 9 of the ICESCR states that "States Parties  ...  recognize the right of everyone to
social security, including social insurance". General Comment 19 by the Committee on
Economic, Social and Cultural Rights sets out the essential elements of the right to social
security, including that "States parties should  ...  ensure the protection of workers who are
injured in the course of employment or other productive work".

The pension age amendments promote the right to social security by ensuring that injured
employees covered by the DRCA will not be left without financial support prior to
becoming eligible for the age pension.

Conclusion

The Bill is compatible with human rights because it promotes human rights.
NOTES ON CLAUSES

Item 1 amends the commencement provision in section 2 of the Safety, Rehabilitation and
Compensation Legislation Amendment (Defence Force) Bill 2016 (the DRCA Bill).

Items 2 to 5 amend Part 3 of Schedule 1 to the DRCA Bill have been omitted as these are
no longer required.




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