Editors --- "The Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Act" [2004] AdminRw 35; (2004) 56 Admin Review 78

• The Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Act

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The Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Act

On 27 April 2004 an Act creating a new rehabilitation and compensation scheme for members and former members of the Australian Defence Force received Royal Assent. The scheme, which is due to start on 1 July 2004, will be administered by a new Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Commission, a five-member body drawn from the Repatriation Commission, Defence, and either the Safety Rehabilitation and Compensation Commission or the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations.

Although the Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 2004 generally seeks to unify compensation for members of the military—which is currently available under both the Veterans’ Entitlement Act 1986 and the Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 1988—it provides two alternative routes of review for decisions of delegates of the Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Commission. All MRCC determinations not specifically excluded can be internally reviewed, and determinations relating to rehabilitation made by a service chief can also be reviewed by the MRCC. In addition, determinations can be reviewed by the Veterans’ Review Board, although review by the Board is available only where review by the MRCC has not been sought and vice versa. Both review paths allow a subsequent application for review by the Administrative Appeals Tribunal.

The legislation as originally introduced into Parliament confined the jurisdiction of the Veteran’s Review Board to review of determinations relating to warlike or non-warlike service. The Senate Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Legislation Committee recommended, however, that the legislation be amended to provide the same review rights for all people making claims.^[1]

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^[1] Senate Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Legislation Committee 2004, Provisions of the Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Bill 2003 and the Military Rehabilitation and Compensation (Consequential and Transitional Provisions) Bill 2003, <www.aph.gov.au/Senate/committee/fadt_ctte/reports/index.htm>.