Commonwealth Numbered Regulations - Explanatory Statements

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DEFENCE FORCE (HOME LOANS ASSISTANCE) (LEAVE PROVISIONS) REGULATIONS(AMENDMENT) 1992 NO. 237

STATUTORY RULES 1992 No. 237

ISSUED BY THE AUTHORITY OF THE MINISTER FOR DEFENCE

DEFENCE FORCE (HOME LOANS ASSISTANCE) (LEAVE PROVISIONS) REGULATIONS (AMENDMENT)

The Defence Force (Home Loans Assistance) Act 1990 (the Act) establishes a scheme to provide home loans assistance for members of the Defence Force. Section 40 of the Act provides that the Governor-General may make regulations for the purposes of the Act.

Special provision is made under the Act for incapacitated persons who have been discharged because of a compensable disability. The definition of "compensable disability", in section 3 of the Act, is linked to compensation payable under:

(a) the Commonwealth Employees' Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 1988 (the CERC Act); or

(b) the Veterans' Entitlements Act 1986 (the VE Act); or

(c) a law of the Commonwealth prescribed by the Regulations.

Until now, the only relevant compensation has been payable under the CERC Act or VE Act and no law was prescribed for the purpose of paragraph (c) of the definition.

Amendments made to the Act by sections 13 and 14 of the Defence Legislation Amendment Act 1992 (the DLA Act) extended benefits to certain incapacitated persons whose compensable disability arose before the commencement of the CERC Act or VE Act. It was therefore necessary to prescribe, for the purpose of paragraph (c) of the definition of compensable disability, earlier Acts under which relevant compensation payments might have been made.

The Defence Force (Home Loans Assistance) (Leave Provisions) Regulations (the Regulations) prescribed certain kinds of leave that were not to affect continuity of service for the purposes of the Act (a matter unrelated to the Statutory Rule) and the title of the Regulations reflected their limited scope.

Regulation 3 of the Statutory Rule changes the title of the Regulations to read "Defence Force (Home Loans Assistance) Regulations" so that it covers the substance of the new provisions inserted by the Statutory Rule, as well as the original provisions.

Regulation 4 of the Statutory Rule prescribes all of the Commonwealth laws that are necessary to be prescribed for the purpose of paragraph (c) of the definition of "compensable disability" in section 3 of the Act.

The Statutory Rule comes into operation on 1 September 1992, the date on which sections 13 and 14 of the DLA Act will be proclaimed to commence.