Veterans' Affairs Legislation Amendment (Partner Service Pension and Other Measures) Bill 2019

I write on the Veterans Affairs Legislation Amendment (Partner Service Pension and Other Measures) Bill 2019. It is with this change to legislation that we hope the government is able to show its admiration and appreciation for the service and sacrifices of all veterans and those around them. My electorate of Mackellar is home to the RSL War Vets retirement village, which is the home of nearly 1000 residents who are Veterans of the families of our veterans. Only a few weeks ago I attended their annual luncheon to thank some of the staff for all the hard work they do and I congratulate CEO Laurie Leigh for her and her teams work, in looking after our veterans in their retirement.

For too long, partners of veterans have not been duly recognised for their relationships with our veterans. And these significant members of our nationwide community and their former partners have faced gross inequality when receiving the Partner Service Pension compared to veterans that have remained married to their partners, and/or widowed.

This Bill will significantly improve the equity of all partners of veterans, be them married or not, through the payment of the Partner Service Pension to eligible partners, former partners, widows and widowers.

Former partners include: Former de facto partners of a veteran, Persons who were formally in a registered relationship with a veteran; and Persons divorced from, or separated but still legally married to, a veteran.

The sacrifice made by any man or woman married to a veteran cannot be underappreciated. While they may not have been on the front line of battle – they were absolutely on the front line when the veterans returned home. After all, when governments of the past failed to care for the veterans of some wars, it was the partners who picked up the slack.

The amendments would ensure that all partners, be them former, current or widowed would receive up to 12 months of continued Partner Service Pension after the end of the relationship with the veteran, or until the partner begins a new relationship. And in some Special Domestic Circumstances these payments would continue past the 12 month deadline.

The government has already provided $6.2 million over the forward estimates for this measurer and pending the passage of legislation, the measure will commence on 20 September 2019.

The impact of this amendment will significantly streamline the eligibility of partners for the Partner Service Pension and remove the inequities that were previously there. In particular, it ultimately helps former de facto partners of veterans achieve a semblance of equality in comparison to married partners of veterans. But this amendment also details what would happen if the veteran was to die during the 12 month period while the partner was still receiving the Partner Service Pension and not in a new relationship. In this circumstance, the partner would continue to receive the Partner Service Pension until they entered into a new relationship.

So long as the partners inform the Department of Veterans Affairs, they can still receive their Partner Service Pension so long as the separation is on or after the 20th of September this year. For separations that occurred before, it is still the same that only married partners would be able to receive the compensation of the pension. As an estimate, the government has provided $6.2 million for these measures.

In the case of the Special Domestic Circumstances, there are three criteria that must be met to be considered eligible for the continued Pension. The Department of course wants to respect the Partners wishes and keep it as confidential and compassionate as possible. The three criteria that must be considered are:

-        that the former partner must not reside at the same address as the veteran,

-        the veteran must have a mental illness that has been recognised by the Department of Veterans Affairs and

-        the partner must have found the veterans behaviour unsafe or even abusive towards them or a child under their care.

To determine whether or not someone is eligible for the Special Circumstances criteria, they receive a short non-invasive questionnaire that they can fill in as requested to determine their eligibility.

And in the case of domestic violence, the Department of Veteran Affairs has laid out extensive groundwork to support the victims. These include crisis payments, access to the Open Arms Counselling and of course, the Department is working with the whole of the Government Fourth Action Plan to reduce violence against women and children. It is this framework that helps guide the policy making within.

Not only does this bill rectify the inequality that was a part of the Partners Service Pension but it also looks into a change that stems from the review of the Veterans’ Entitlements Act 1986 by the Department of Defence. It wants to extend the service on Submarine Special Operations between 1 January 1993 and 12 May 1997 and to class it as an operational and qualifying service.

The Submarine Special Operations are highly classified and sensitive, and the natures of these operations are not publically disclosed. Yet the review would allow for the participants in those operations to have greater access to treatment benefits, compensation and income support. It would even allow for the veterans of the Submarine Special Operations to gain access to Service Pension at the age of 60 and the gold card when they turn 70.

Yet due to the change in classification for the activities that were performed as part of these operations, the rest of the period… meaning 13th of May 1997 to the 30th of June 2006 is classified as non-warlike instead of an operational and qualifying service. Non-warlike meaning peacekeeping, rescue evacuations, military observer activities, service-protected and counter piracy operations. Those submariners who performed in the non-warlike period will also receive benefits, just different ones to those classified within the operational and qualifying service.

And lastly this legislation hopes to amend the definition of widows and widowers of veterans. Following the change with the Marriage Amendment Act 2017, the definition of widow and widower of a veteran would be amended through the removal of gendered references of a former partner.

Although not having previously impacted the widows and widowers of our nation, since any issues should have been amended by the 2017 Marriage Amendment Act, it will be a technical amendment that would align the existing definitions with those in Australian Marriage Law. And thus modernise our legislative definitions. If possible, and where appropriate, the government should routinely make technical legislative amendments in similar situations and thus keep our legislative law and its definitions up to date.

And as such the amendments would align the Veterans’ Entitlements Act 1986 and the Defence Service Homes Act 1918 with Australian Marriage Law, making it overall a lot more cohesive.

In Australian politics we see great bipartisanship on a number of issues, but none more fitting than Veterans Affairs. Compared to the United States, where Veterans and Veteran related policies are often highly politicised – it is great to see members on both sides, speak in support of this bill. We should not equivocate when it comes to supporting our Veterans and their families. They have made great sacrifices for their country; the onus is now on us to support them.

I am proud to support this bill.