REPATRIATION COMMISSION
 
Veterans’ Entitlements Act 1986
 
Veterans' Entitlements (Counselling) Extended Eligibility Determination 2014
 
Instrument 2014 No. R14
 
 
1.         The Repatriation Commission makes this Determination pursuant to subsection 92(2) of the Veterans’ Entitlements Act 1986 (Act).
 
2.         For the purposes of subparagraph 92(1)(a)(iii) of the Act the Repatriation Commission specifies classes of persons.
 
Note: a person in a specified class is eligible for counselling services arranged by the Repatriation Commission with the approval of the Minister for Veterans’ Affairs.
 
 
Dated  this                  30th     day of                          June                 2014
 
 
The Seal of the                                                                     )
Repatriation Commission                                                  ) SEAL
was affixed hereto in the                                                   )
presence of:                                                                          )
 
Simon Lewis                             Jennifer Collins                           Major General Mark Kelly
………………………………………………......................……………………………………….
SIMON LEWIS              JENNIFER COLLINS             Major General Mark Kelly
                                                                                                                 AO DSC
    PRESIDENT      ACTING DEPUTY PRESIDENT              COMMISSIONER
 
 
Repatriation Commission
                  _____________________________________________________
Part 1        Introduction
 
1.1            Name of Determination
 
This Determination is the Veterans’ Entitlements (Counselling) Extended Eligibility Determination 2014.
 
1.2            Commencement
 
This Determination is taken to have commenced when Schedule 2 of the Veterans’ Affairs Legislation Amendment (Mental Health and Other Measures) Act 2014 commences.
 
1.3            Definitions
 
In this Determination:
 
Act means the Veterans’ Entitlements Act 1986.
 
accepted mental health disability, in relation to a member or former member of the Australian Defence Force who is not a veteran, member of the Forces or a member of a Peacekeeping Force, means:
 
(a) a mental health disability of the person for which the Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Commission has accepted liability to pay compensation under the MRCA; or
 
(b) a mental health disability of the person for which the person has received compensation under the Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 1988.
 
Note (1): a veteran, member of the Forces or a member of a Peacekeeping Force, with a mental health disability (whether pension is paid for it or not) is eligible for counselling under s.92 of the Act, as affected by s.81, simply by virtue of being “a veteran”.
 
Note (2): s.81 of the Act provides that for the purposes of Part V of the Act i.e. the Part containing s.92 under which counselling may be provided, “veteran” includes a “member of the Forces”, or a “member of a Peacekeeping Force”, as defined by subsection 68(1) of the Act.
 
Australian or overseas disaster zone service means service rendered by a member of the Australian Defence Force in an area in or outside Australia that, in the opinion of the Commission, was an area in which a natural or other disaster occurred and the service was rendered as part of the disaster relief effort.
 
border protection service means service rendered by a member of the Australian Defence Force in an area in or outside Australia that, in the opinion of the Commission, had the purpose of securing Australia’s borders against a potential or real threat by a State, person or persons.
 
defence service has the meaning given by paragraph 6(1)(d) of the Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 2004.
 
killed in a service-related incident, in relation to a service member, means:
(a) if the service member was rendering defence service under the Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 2004 at the time of being killed in the incident – the service member’s death is a service death; or
(b) if the service member was rendering defence service under the Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 1988 at the time of being killed in the incident – the service member’s death resulted from an injury as defined in the SRCA.
Note 1: the definition of “defence Service” is the same in both Acts.
Note 2: under SRCA, “injury” (in s.5A of the SRCA) includes “disease” (in s.5B of the MRCA)
 
member of the Forces has the meaning it has in subsection 68(1) of the Act.
 
NLHC service member means a person, other than a service member, eligible for treatment under the Veterans’ Affairs (Peacetime Service Eligibility for Non-Liability Health Care) Instrument 2014.
 
Note: as at 1 July 2014 persons covered by the Veterans’ Affairs (Peacetime Service Eligibility for Non-Liability Health Care) Instrument 2014 were eligible for treatment for alcohol use disorder, substance use disorder, anxiety disorder, depressive disorder, and posttraumatic stress disorder, irrespective of whether the condition was related to service (non-liability health care).
 
service-death has the meaning given by section 28 and subsection 29(3) of the Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 2004.
 
service member means a person who is not a veteran under paragraph (a) of the definition of veteran in subsection 5C(1) of the Act or a member of the Forces or
a member of a Peacekeeping Force but a person who is:
 
(a) a member or former member of the Australian Defence Force with an accepted mental health disability; or
(b) a person who, as a member of the Australian Defence Force, rendered border protection service, Australian or overseas disaster zone service or submariner service; or
(c) a member or former member of the Australian Defence Force involved in a training accident; or
(d) a person who has been medically discharged from the Australian Defence Force; or
(e) a member of the Australian Defence Force killed in a service-related incident; or
(f) a veteran under paragraph (b) of the definition of veteran in subsection 5C(1) of the Act who satisfies subsection 37(3) of the Act and who is  undertaking a rehabilitation program under the Veterans’ Vocational Rehabilitation Scheme; or
 
Note (1): ss.37(3) refers to a person who is a veteran by reason only of being a Commonwealth veteran, an allied veteran or an allied mariner.
 
Note (2): the Veterans’ Vocational Rehabilitation Scheme is made by the Commission under 115B of the Act.
 
serious injury means an injury that, in the opinion of the Commission, is serious.
 
SHOAMP participant means a person who is a Group 1 or Group 2 participant in the SHOAMP (Study of Health Outcomes in Aircraft Maintenance Personnel) scheme.
 
http://f111.dva.gov.au/SHOAMP_health_care_scheme.htm
 
Note: a SHOAMP participant may be a family member or an ex partner (GROUP 2) of the primary participant (GROUP 1) i.e. the aircraft maintenance (aircraft fuel tank) worker.
submariner service means service rendered by a member of the Australian Defence Force as part of the crew of a submarine of the Australian Navy.
 
training accident means an accident that, in the opinion of the Commission, occurred during a training exercise undertaken by the Australian Defence Force in which a member of the Australian Defence Force died or sustained serious injury.
 
Veterans and Veterans Families Counselling Service or VVCS, means the service funded by the Department of Veterans’ Affairs that provides free and confidential, Australia-wide counselling and mental health support services to people eligible for the services under the Act.
 
Veterans’ Vocational Rehabilitation Scheme means the scheme of that name made under Part VIA of the Veterans’ Entitlements Act 1986.
 
The following terms are defined in the Act:
 
child (s.5F(1)); (s.81)
Commission (s.5A)
Defence Force (s.5C(1))
parent (s.5F(1)); (s.10A)
partner (s.5E(1)); (s.81)
member of the Forces (s.68(1))
MRCA (s.5Q(1))
veteran (s.5C(1)); (s.81)
 
Part 2        Specified Class of Person
 
The following classes of person are specified:
 
(a) NLHC service member.
 
(b) SHOAMP participant.
 
(c) service member.
 
Note (1): veterans, members of the Forces and members of a Peacekeeping Force, and their dependants (including former dependants), are not covered by this instrument because they may be provided with counselling under subparagraphs 92(1)(a)(i) and (ii) of the Act.
 
Note (2): s.81 of the Act provides that for the purposes of Part V of the Act i.e. the Part containing section 92 under which counselling services are provided, “veteran” includes a “member of the Forces”, or a “member of a Peacekeeping Force”, as defined by subsection 68(1) of the Act.
 
(d) parent of a service member killed in a service-related incident.
 
(e) partner of a service member.
 
(f) child of a service member who is dependent on the service member.