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❌This bill did not pass parliament28 June 2023

The bill was rejected or lapsed before becoming law.

🏛 House of Representatives3 readingsAmendments circulated

Veterans—€™ Affairs Legislation Amendment (Miscellaneous Measures No. 2) 2023

✦ Plain-English Summary

# Veterans' Affairs Legislation Amendment (Miscellaneous Measures No. 2) 2023 ## What it does This bill makes four separate updates to how Australia supports veterans and defence workers. It adjusts eligibility rules for firefighters claiming work-related cancer, changes how employment support programs work, increases rental assistance for some veterans, and introduces new immediate support for veterans in crisis. ## Why it matters These changes aim to make it easier for veterans and defence workers to access support they're entitled to, and to help those facing urgent hardship. The firefighter changes specifically recognise that defence workers doing firefighting duties should have a fairer chance of getting their cancer claims accepted. ## Key details **Firefighters alignment:** The qualifying period for defence workers claiming oesophageal cancer drops from 25 years to 15 years of service. The rule also changes so authorities just need to be satisfied firefighting duties made up a "not insubstantial portion" of your work, rather than a "substantial portion"—a lower bar to meet. **Employment and rental support:** The bill modifies how employment assistance programs operate and increases rental assistance available to eligible veterans, though the full details of these changes aren't shown in this excerpt. **Effective date:** Everything kicks in once the bill receives Royal Assent (final approval).

Official Description

Amends the: Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation (Defence-related Claims) Act 1988 to reduce the qualifying period of employment of Australian Defence Force firefighters in relation to primary site oesophageal cancer from 25 years to 15 years and change the requirement for firefighting to have been a ‘substantial’ proportion of their duties to be a ‘not insubstantial’ proportion; Social Security Act 1991 and Veterans’ Entitlements Act 1986 to allow payments and benefits from Commonwealth and State or Territory employment programs to not be considered as income for income support means testing purposes; Veterans’ Entitlements Act 1986 to include a discretionary power to provide Commonwealth rent assistance beyond 26 weeks for eligible recipients who are temporarily absent from Australia and unable to return due to a prescribed event occurring; and Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 2004 , Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation (Defence-related Claims) Act 1988 and Veterans’ Entitlements Act 1986 to extend eligibility to the Defence, Veterans’ and Families’ Acute Support Package to grandparents who are full time carers of the children of a deceased veteran.

Committee Referrals

Senate Standing Committee for the Scrutiny of Bills

Full bill PDF →APH page →

Audit History

Introduced

25 May 2023

Last updated on APH

10 Apr 2026

Outcome date

28 June 2023

Last checked by Crossbench

yesterday

Full text indexed

yesterday

🗳️

No formal division recorded

This bill passed by voice vote — parliament agreed without calling a formal count. A division is only recorded when a member explicitly requests one.

Constituent votes

Voting is closed — this bill has been decided by parliament.

No votes yet.

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🔒 Voting closed — this bill has been decided by parliament