Last amended: 8 June 2011
A person is a student for the purposes of the MRCAETS if they are an eligible young person as defined in section 258 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 and who is not ordinarily engaged in full-time work on his or her own account; and
- a dependant of an eligible Australian Defence Force (ADF) deceased member, member or former member.
Note: the eligible young person definition in the MRCA means that a person aged between 16 and 25 and engaged in full-time work on his or her own account is not eligible for MRCAETS benefits. This differs from the VCES eligibility. For more information on the eligibl — e young person definition, see section 7.9 of the MRCA Policy Manual.
A dependant is someone who is:
- a child, step child, grandchild, brother, sister, half-brother or half-sister of a deceased member, member or former member; or
- a child or step child of the member's partner; or
- a person in respect of whom the member stands in the position of a parent;
and
- wholly dependent or partly dependent on the deceased member, member or former member for economic support, (or would have been wholly or partly dependent but for the incapacity of the member as a result of an injury or disease for which liability has been accepted under the MRCA).
An eligible ADF deceased member, member or former member is:
- a member of former member who satisfies the eligibility criteria in section 199 (persons who are eligible for Special Rate Disability Pension), or who has satisfied those criteria during some period of his or her life; or
- a member of former member who suffers an impairment, as a result of one or more service injuries or diseases, that constitutes 80 or more impairment points.
- A member or former member whose death was related to service is also eligible.
Note: The Education Schemes Fact Sheet (MRC — 47) states that a person must be a dependent of a member or former member who receives 'maximum permanent impairment compensation'. A person who has 80+ impairment points will be receiving the maximum amount of permanent impairment compensation
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. Most people who are offered the choice between SRDP and incapacity payments choose the latter. There are very few MRCA clients receiving SRDP. In VIEW, under the 'MRCA' tab a person will be listed as having SRDP eligibility or not.