13.2.2 Eligibility under the MRCAETS

See paragraph 2.1 of Instrument

A person is eligible for MRCAETS benefits under section 258 of the MRCA if they are an eligible young person as defined in section 5 of the MRCA.

An eligible young person is someone who is:

 under 16 years old; or

 between the ages of 16 and 25, undertaking full-time education (including undertaking an Australian Apprenticeship, Traineeship or cadetship) and who is not ordinarily engaged in full-time work on his or her own account;

* Note: A student or eligible young person aged between 16 and 25 and engaged in full-time work on his or her own account is not eligible for MRCAETS benefits. The VCES eligibility does not preclude students who are also employed full-time.

and

 a dependant of an eligible Australian Defence Force (ADF) deceased member, member or former member, namely:

• a member or former member who satisfies the eligibility criteria in section 199 of the MRCA (persons who are eligible for Special Rate Disability Pension), or who has satisfied those criteria during some period of his or her life;

*Note: A person who "satisfies the eligibility criteria in section 199 (persons who are eligible for Special Rate Disability Pension)" is a person who is eligible to make the choice between SRDP payments and incapacity payments, but who has not yet advised the Department of their choice. A person who "has satisfied those criteria during some period of his or her life" is a person who was at some point in their life eligible to make the decision between SRDP payments and incapacity payments and who has made that decision.

• a member or former member who suffers a permanent impairment, as a result of one or more service injuries or diseases, that constitutes 80 or more impairment points; or

*Note: A person who has 80+ impairment points will be receiving the maximum amount of permanent impairment compensation.

• A member or former member whose death was related to service.

Under section 259 of the MRCA, a child who is 25 years or older is still an ‘eligible child’ where:

1. the person turns 25 before finishing the course; and
2. before turning 25, the person begun a course of education or training provided under the scheme; and
3. after turning 25, the person continues the course in order to finish it.

Unlike under the VCES, the student must be enrolled and have actually commenced the course prior to turning 25. This provision does not apply if the student changes courses after commencing.

For more information on the eligible young person definition, see section 7.9 of the MRCA Policy Manual.

Eligibility exemptions under MRCAETS

A child of a person in receipt of Temporarily Totally Incapacitated (TTI) Pension is not eligible to be classified as special rate pensioners when considering eligibility under MRCAETS. A person receiving section 258 of MRCA (eligibility for MRCAETS) requires the veteran parent to satisfy section 199 of the MRCA (eligibility for the Special Rate Disability Pension)..at some period of his/her life - but section 199 states a veteran is only eligible for the Special Rate if ...the person has suffered an impairment that is likely to continue indefinitely.