Eligibility for treatment at Departmental expense
53D Eligibility for treatment at Departmental expense
A veteran who is receiving an age or invalidity service pension is eligible to be provided with treatment under Part V for any injury suffered, or disease contracted, by the veteran if:
the veteran is a veteran to whom section 53E applies; and
the veteran is a veteran within the meaning of paragraph (a) of the definition of veteran in subsection 5C(1); and
the veteran is not a veteran only because the veteran has rendered service as described in item 3 of the table in subsection 6A(1) or as described in subsection 6C(2).
A partner service pensioner may be eligible to be provided with treatment under Part V if he or she is receiving a pension under Part II at 50% of the general rate or higher (see subsection 85(7)).
Some veterans who are not receiving an age or invalidity service pension because of Division 3 of Part IIIB are treated as continuing to be eligible under section 53D to be provided with treatment under Part V (see section 83 of the Veterans’ Affairs Legislation Amendment Act 1992).
A veteran who was taken to be eligible for fringe benefits because of subsection 17(1) or (2) of the Veterans’ Entitlements (Rewrite) Transition Act 1991 as in force immediately before the commencement of Schedule 5 to the Veterans’ Affairs Legislation Amendment (Budget and Compensation Measures) Act 1997 and who is receiving an age or invalidity service pension is eligible under section 53D to be provided with treatment under Part V if paragraph 53D(1)(b) applies to the veteran.
Paragraph (1)(b) does not make a veteran ineligible to be provided with treatment under Part V if the veteran satisfies the Commission that the veteran was domiciled in Australia or an external Territory immediately before the veteran’s appointment or enlistment for service as described in item 3 of the table in subsection 6A(1) or as described in subsection 6C(2).
Section 11B may affect a person’s domicile immediately before appointment or enlistment.
If a veteran’s service pension is suspended, the Commission may determine that the veteran is to be treated, for the purposes of this section, as if the veteran were continuing to receive the service pension during the whole or a specified part of the period of suspension.
A determination under subsection (3) must be in writing.
If:
a veteran begins to receive a veteran payment on a day; and
on the day before that day the veteran was receiving an age or invalidity service pension;
then, for the purposes of this section, the veteran is taken to be receiving an age or invalidity service pension, and paragraph (1)(a) is taken to be satisfied, while the veteran is receiving that veteran payment.
This section applies to an injury suffered, or a disease contracted, by a veteran whether before or after the commencement of this section.
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