Bill
Comcare and Seacare Legislation Amendment (Pension Age and Catastrophic Injury) Bill 2017
passed, as at 2017-06-22. Employment portfolio.
- Sponsor
- Not recorded
- Portfolio
- Employment
Recorded stages
- introduced — 2017-05-11
- second reading — 2017-05-11
- second reading — 2017-06-01
- second reading — 2017-06-14
- second reading — 2017-06-14
- third reading — 2017-06-14
- introduced — 2017-06-15
- second reading — 2017-06-15
- second reading — 2017-06-15
- third reading — 2017-06-15
- passed — 2017-06-15
- royal assent — 2017-06-22
Divisions
No divisions recorded. Most questions are decided on the voices; this does not establish that a bill was unopposed.
Plain-language summary
Written by a model from the explanatory memorandum; not the record, as at 2017-05-11.
The bill would end weekly incapacity payments to injured workers at the pension age rather than 65, and lift some limits on support for severe injuries.
It links the stop date for compensation to the rising qualifying age for the age pension under the Social Security Act 1991, which increases from 1 July 2017.
For catastrophic injuries, the bill removes the dollar ceiling on weekly payments for home help and nursing care, and waives the usual 28-day wait before such help can be claimed.
- Removes the cap on weekly compensation for household services and attendant care services for workers with a catastrophic injury.
- Eliminates the 28-day waiting period for household services compensation for those workers.
- Aligns the Comcare and Seacare schemes with minimum benchmarks in the National Injury Insurance Scheme.
Injured employees covered by the Comcare scheme (Australian Government, ACT Government and 34 licensed corporations, plus some pre-2004 Defence Force members) and the Seacare scheme (a small part of the maritime industry).
Sources
em
billhome
frl act