How do the changes impact you

Benefits of the Bill

Moving to a single ongoing Act will provide greater clarity for veterans and their families regarding their benefits and entitlements, and address the perception of the inequitable treatment of veterans under the different Acts. Adopting an improved MRCA as the single ongoing Act will mean veterans are treated equitably and not disadvantaged because of when they served. 

Those receiving benefits immediately prior to when the new arrangements commence will continue to do so under ‘grandparenting’ arrangements without any reduction in payments. This is a key feature of the new model that is designed to give financial certainty to veterans and their families. The provisions also operate to ensure that any payments being received will continue to be indexed annually. 

The approach will provide greater accessibility to rehabilitation and compensation entitlements that also recognise the unique nature of Australian Defence Force service.

• I’m currently covered under the MRCA
  • Veterans currently with MRCA only coverage would continue to have their compensation and rehabilitation benefits governed under the improved MRCA.
• I’m currently covered under the VEA
  • Veterans with previous coverage only under the VEA may now become eligible for incapacity compensation payments, which were not available under that Act. Incapacity compensation payments are paid to veterans under pension age who are incapacitated for service or work due to service related conditions, and are calculated based on pre-injury earnings. Under the new arrangements, veterans with VEA eligibility may also be eligible to receive compensation in respect of impairment/functional loss paid as a lump sum under the MRCA. Previously this was not possible under the VEA. 
• I’m a partner of a deceased VEA veteran
  • Partners of deceased VEA veterans whose death is due to service would also benefit, as they would have the choice to receive compensation as an age-based lump sum and receive increased compensation, compared to claims made under the VEA.
• I’m currently covered under the DRCA
  • DRCA veterans would also be potentially eligible for increased incapacity compensation payments (i.e. income replacement payments), as incapacity payments under the MRCA include a remuneration loading and are not reduced by a notional superannuation amount. DRCA veterans may also become eligible for the Special Rate Disability Pension (SRDP) and the Gold Card under certain circumstances.
  • The draft legislation also proposes that DRCA veterans would be able to appeal adverse decisions to the Veterans’ Review Board (VRB).

The draft legislation would also streamline the administration of the legislation through merging of the Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Commission (MRCC) into the Repatriation Commission (RC), removing duplication of responsibilities, and providing greater administrative clarity about governance matters.

Over time, the changes proposed in the draft legislation would reduce the burden on veterans and their families, advocates and DVA associated with submitting and processing claims ensuring better service for veterans and families.

What the changes mean

Single ongoing Act – amendments

The key objective of this Bill is to simplify and harmonise the legislation governing rehabilitation and compensation for veterans. This will be achieved by adapting the Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 2004 (MRCA) so that it is the ‘single ongoing Act’ for veterans’ rehabilitation and compensation.

The Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation (Defence-related Claims) Act 1988 (DRCA) and the Veterans’ Entitlements Act 1986 (VEA) will be closed to new liability and compensation claims from 1 July 2026. The MRCA will be open to claims arising from service prior to 1 July 2004, which previously would have been determined under either the DRCA or the VEA.

Various provisions which had previously operated differently across the MRCA, the DRCA and the VEA will be standardised. This includes retaining war widow/er auto-grants, and posthumous grants of Permanent Impairment compensation [Schedule 1].

Single ongoing Act – enhancements

Proposed changes will see the MRCA enhanced for various entitlements. Enhancements include:

1. The introduction of a new Additional Disablement Amount (ADA), similar to the Extreme Disablement Adjustment (EDA) available under the VEA. Like EDA, the ADA would compensate veterans who are Age Pension age or older and who have a high degree of incapacity due to service-related
   conditions.
2. The introduction of ‘presumptive liability’ which means the Repatriation Commission would be able to specify injuries and diseases that can be determined on a presumptive (in other words automatic unless proven otherwise) basis where they are known to have a common connection with military service.
3. Consolidation of household and attendant care, travel for treatment, and retention of automatic granting of VEA funeral benefits in the MRCA.
4. An increase to $3,000 for funeral allowance for previous automatic grant categories under the VEA, and the availability of reimbursement of funeral expenses up to $14,062 for all service related deaths.
5. The availability to all veterans of the higher travel reimbursement amount, regardless of kilometres, when a private vehicle is used to travel for treatment.
6. Standardisation of allowances and other payments, including: acute support packages, Victoria Cross and decoration allowances, education schemes, prisoner of war ex gratia payments, and additional compensation for children of severely impaired veterans.
7. Enhancement of the Commission’s ability to grant special assistance to veterans and their dependants [Schedule 2].

Review of compensation decisions

An important benefit of this reform would see the review of compensation decisions standardised across the three Acts. This includes aligning appeal pathways for decisions under the DRCA, to the MRCA. This means that from commencement, initial review of decisions made under the DRCA would be through the Veterans’ Review Board (VRB), rather than the Administrative Review Tribunal (ART) [Schedule 3]. 

Merging commissions

It is proposed that the powers and functions of the Repatriation Commission and the Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Commission are consolidated, with the Repatriation Commission (originally established in 1920) continuing. This change would give administration of all veterans’ rehabilitation and compensation legislation to the Repatriation Commission [Schedule 4].

Repatriation Medical Authority and Specialist Medical Review Council

To enable the change, governance of the Repatriation Medical Authority (RMA) and the Specialist Medical Review Council (SMRC) would need to be transferred into the MRCA. Importantly, there would be no change to the functions or powers of either body [Schedule 5].

Disability compensation payments

When a veteran receiving a disability compensation payment (DCP) dies, the payment and allowances stop at the end of the fortnightly pay period before the date of death. Schedule 6 changes the final date of payment of DCP (and associated allowances) to be the veterans’ date of death [Schedule 6].

Application and transition

The interaction between the law now, and the law as it will be once reforms commence, are contained in Schedule 7. In addition, transitional provisions are also included, which help the transition from one set of rules to another. For example, the transitional provisions outline how undetermined claims on the day of commencement will be handled [Schedule 7].

Consequential Amendments

’Consequential amendments’ are changes that need to be made to other Acts as a result of the reforms being made to veterans’ legislation. These changes ensure that existing laws are aligned with and support the implementation of new legislation [Schedule 8].