Commonwealth of Australia Explanatory Memoranda

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VETERANS' AFFAIRS LEGISLATION AMENDMENT (DIGITAL READINESS AND OTHER MEASURES) BILL 2017

                            2016-2017




THE PARLIAMENT OF THE COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA


                             SENATE




   VETERANS' AFFAIRS LEGISLATION AMENDMENT
(DIGITAL READINESS AND OTHER MEASURES) BILL 2017


   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 VETERANS' AFFAIRS
           LEGISLATION AMENDMENT (DIGITAL READINESS
                 AND OTHER MEASURES) BILL 2017


OUTLINE
The amendments would remove all of the public interest disclosure provisions from the
Bill.


FINANCIAL IMPACT STATEMENT
None.




                                           1
                    Statement of Compatibility with Human Rights
Prepared in accordance with Part 3 of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny)
Act 2011
             VETERANS' AFFAIRS LEGISLATION AMENDMENT
          (DIGITAL READINESS AND OTHER MEASURES) BILL 2017


Human rights implications
The amendments engage the following human right:
Privacy
The right to privacy and reputation is contained in article 17 of the International Covenant
on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR.)
These amendments are consistent with the right to privacy. The use and disclosure of a
person's personal information by the Department will be undertaken in accordance with
the Privacy Act 1988.
These amendments are compatible with human rights because they are consistent with the
right to privacy.




                                             2
NOTES ON CLAUSES


All amendments to Schedule 2 will be contingent on the passage of the Safety,
Rehabilitation and Compensation Legislation Amendment (Defence-related Claims) Bill
2016 (DRCA.) Various references to this legislation in the following notes refer to the
both the Bill and Act names at a given point of time.


Item 1 provides for a new commencement clause for Schedule 2 of the Bill. The new
commencement will be either the day after the Act receives Royal Assent, or immediately
after the commencement of Part 2 of Schedule 1 to the Safety, Rehabilitation and
Compensation Legislation Amendment (Defence Force) Act 2017.


Item 2 omits the heading "Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 2004."


Item 3 removes items 1 and 2 from the Bill which are the public interest disclosure
provisions in the Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 2004.


Item 4 removes item 7 from the Bill which are the public interest disclosure provisions in
the Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation (Defence Force) Act 1988.


Items 5 and 6 amend subitem 8(2) of the Bill (application provision) so that it now only
refers to item 5 and replaces "those items" with "that item." The reference to item 7 is no
longer required because it is the application provision relating to the Safety, Rehabilitation
and Compensation Legislation Amendment (Defence-related Claims) Bill 2016. public
interest disclosure provisions.


Item 7 removes items 10 to 14 from the Bill which are the public interest disclosure and
related provisions in the Veterans' Entitlements Act 1986.




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