Now is not the time to introduce legislation which entrenches different treatment and leaves some disabled veterans paying more tax on their invalidity benefits than others. The draft Treasury Laws Amendment Bill 2022: Taxation of Military Superannuation Benefits embeds different tax treatment regimes for veterans depending on when they started receiving payments and the scheme.
In this edition: Non-Liability Health Care for Reservists • Federal Election • CPI Indexation • Book Giveaway • Draft Legislation – Veteran Superannuation Invalidity Benefit Taxation • Census Data • Latest Camaraderie • Exploring the Concept of the Veteran as a Sovereign Asset • Royal Commission Update
The Government is introducing legislation to “ensure no veteran pays higher income tax because of the Federal Court decision in Commissioner of Taxation v Douglas. A draft bill, Treasury Laws Amendment Bill 2022: Taxation of military superannuation benefits and associated draft explanatory material, have been released for public consultation.
Three key ex-service organisations have called for non-liability health care (NLHC) for all Defence Reservists. The Defence Reserves Association (DRA), the Defence Force Welfare Association (DFWA), and the Returned & Services League of Australia (RSL) have written a joint letter to the Minister for Veterans’ Affairs and Defence Personnel, Matt Keogh, seeking his support for the extension of health care to all those serving in the reserve forces.
Camaraderie Vol 53, No 2 available to view or download online.
CSC advises that Defence Force superannuation scheme pensions will be increased by 3.5% from 01 July 2022.
On 14 May 2021, the Government provided an update on its response to the Productivity Commission Report, A Better Way to Support Veterans. The Government will finalise any outstanding matters from the Productivity Commission report at the completion of the Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide.
In this edition: Review of Medallic Recognition for RCB • Royal Commission Update • The Douglas Case and Invalidity Benefit Taxation • Federal Election 2022 • The Boys Case
DFWA asked each Party registered for the 2022 Federal Election whether it supported the policy objectives of the DFWA. The DFWA reviewed each Party’s veteran and defence personnel related policies. Check out the scorecard and details of each Party.
The Greens have a suite of policies that specifically affect veterans and have existing veteran policy positions which the Greens have advised remain current.