Veterans’ Entitlements, Treatment and Support (Simplification and Harmonisation) Act 2025

2 Commencement

Each provision of this Act specified in column 1 of the table commences, or is taken to have commenced, in accordance with column 2 of the table. Any other statement in column 2 has effect according to its terms.

Note: This table relates only to the provisions of this Act as originally enacted. It will not be amended to deal with any later amendments of this Act.

Any information in column 3 of the table is not part of this Act. Information may be inserted in this column, or information in it may be edited, in any published version of this Act.

3 Schedules

Legislation that is specified in a Schedule to this Act is amended or repealed as set out in the applicable items in the Schedule concerned, and any other item in a Schedule to this Act has effect according to its terms.

4 Review of operation of amendments

The Senate Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Legislation Committee, or such other committee constituted under a resolution of the Senate, must:

begin a review of the operation of the amendments made by this Act as soon as practicable after the end of the period of 12 months beginning on the day Schedule 1 to this Act commences; and

report the Committee’s findings to the Senate as soon as practicable after completing the review.

Without limiting subsection (1), the review must consider the following:

the effectiveness of the amendments;

whether the amendments have achieved recommendation 1 of the Interim Report of the Defence and Veteran Suicide Royal Commission, and any other relevant recommendations of that report;

the operation of legislated governance arrangements as a result of the amendments;

whether the amendments have improved or clarified the benefits available to veterans and their families;

whether the amendments have resulted in improvements in operational processes associated with veterans and their families accessing benefits;

whether further legislative changes are needed;

any related matter.

In this section:

Defence and Veteran Suicide Royal Commission means the Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide, issued by the Governor-General by Letters Patent on 8 July 2021 (and including any later variations of those Letters Patent).

5 Review of amendments in Schedule 9

The Senate Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Legislation Committee must:

begin a review of the amendments in Schedule 9 to this Act as soon as practicable after the day this Act receives the Royal Assent; and

report the Committee’s findings to the Senate by 29 August 2025.