On 28 November 2019, legislation was passed to amend the Defence Service Homes Act 1918 to expand eligibility to the Defence Service Homes Insurance Scheme to all current and former persons who have at least one days’ service in the Australian Defence Force (ADF), including reservists, peacekeepers, widows and widowers. These amendments will take effect from 1 January 2020.
Prior to these amendments, eligibility was limited to those who have seen war like service or those currently serving in the ADF with at least four years’ service (or eight years for reservists) and their widows/widowers. The measure was a 2019 election commitment.
A Regulation Impact Statement (RIS) was prepared and certified by the Department of Veterans’ Affairs under the Australian Government’s best practice regulation requirements, and has been assessed by the Office of Best Practice Regulation as compliant with government requirements. However, the RIS was not considered consistent with best practice since further analysis would have been required to examine the policy problem and impacts more comprehensively, and to outline in more detail the range of stakeholders’ views.
The RIS estimates that the policy would not result in any change to regulatory costs.