Central Office Instruction
Instruction No. 12
Date of Effect: 1 March 1991
REVOCATION OF DEFENCE SERVICE HOMES ENTITLEMENT
Purpose
The purpose of this instruction is to explain the arrangements for dealing with requests from eligible persons who wish to surrender their Defence Service Homes entitlement in favour of the Australian Defence Force Home Loan Assistance Scheme.
Background
The introduction of the Defence Force (Home Loans Assistance) Act 1990, has a consequential effect on the Defence Service Homes Act 1918 by the insertion of Section 4BA, which will commence by proclamation on 1 March 1991. Section 4BA provides as follows:
"4BA.(1) An eligible person who:
is a member of the Defence Force:
(i) whose first service in the Defence Force began on or before 14 May 1985; or
(ii) whose first service in the Defence Service began after that day but who is covered by paragraph (ga) of the definition of "Australian Soldier" in subsection 4(i); and
is not, and has not at any time been, a borrower; and
does not hold a certificate of entitlement that is in force in relation to subsidy on an initial advance;
may elect to surrender his or her status as an eligible person under this Act.
(2) An election must be:
in writing, signed by the person making it; and
given to the Secretary within the prescribed period.
(3) An election is irrevocable and takes effect on the day on which it is given to the Secretary.
(4) When an election takes effect, the person making it stops being an eligible person for the purposes of this Act.
(5) The Secretary must cause a copy of each election to be given to the Secretary to the Department of Defence.
(6) In this section:
prescribed period means the period of 6 months starting on the day on which this section commences."
As this section of the Act commences on 1 March 1991, the prescribed period will be 1 March 1991 to and including 31 August 1991.
Serving members who satisfy Section 4BA(1)(a)(i) and who are still serving as at 1 March 1991, will have dual service eligibility under both the DSH and ADFHLA schemes once they have served the basic service period. The Department of Defence has estimated that there could be a maximum of approximately 35,000 service personnel who may be eligible for assistance under either the DSH or ADFHLA schemes at 1 March 1991. They have further estimated that 18,000 have not utilised their DSH entitlement and so may be eligible to revoke in favour of ADFHLAS. The effect of Section 4BA is that these serving members will have a one-off opportunity to exercise their preference for assistance under ADFHLAS. Once having exercised their option or the prescribed period having expired, there will be no opportunity to move eligibility between schemes.
Implementation Arrangements
The Department of Defence's agent for the administration of ADFHLAS is the Defence Housing Authority (DHA). The DHA has prepared 18,000 information kits for despatch through Base Commanding Officers to members likely to be `dual eligibles' on 1 March 1991. We have had input to the kit preparation and have already forwarded to State Offices the items we have prepared as part of the exercise.
For your information the kits contain:
(i) a letter from the Chief of the Defence Force;
(ii) a DSH/ADFHLAS comparison question and answer sheet;
(iii) a letter from the General Manager DSH;
(iv) an election to revoke DSH entitlement form;
(v) a list of DSH addresses and phone numbers;
(vi) a DSH Insurance leaflet;
(vii) Westpac marketing material.
A Procedure Statement to assist in processing revocation elections has been prepared and is attached. Please note that the ADP specifications and programs have not been finalised as yet and are unlikely to be until at least 25 March 1991. As the ADFHLA scheme commences on 15 May 1991 that aspect of the exercise has not been the highest priority to date.
It is recognised that the revocation exercise may generate a lot of enquiries, both personal and telephone. In this regard, would you please maintain workload statistics as per the attachment and forward them to the Director Resources on a weekly basis commencing the week ending 8 March 1991, so that we can gauge any staffing impact.
This instruction has no effect on any previously issued COI.
FELICITY M. BARR
GENERAL MANAGER
28 February 1991
DEFENCE SERVICE HOMES
REVOCATION OF ENTITLEMENT
STEP NO — DESCRIPTION OF ACTION — PROCEDURE NO 19
REGISTRY STAFF
1. Receive form, election to revoke DSH entitlement [Annex A], in triplicate.
2. Ensure form is clearly date stamped in the space provided indicating date of lodgement.
N.B. All 3 copies require an original date stamp.
3. Conduct a search of salmon cards and any other local database facility e.g. CELS (current and discharged cases only) to ascertain whether DSH assistance has been granted either to member, or spouse as joint tenants.
If no records exist:
(a) Enter full name, service number and date of birth and date of revocation into CELS. Ensure that the information is entered into the revocation election screen.
N.B. The ADP revocation screen will not be available until approximately 25 March 1991.
N.B. Details will be downloaded electronically to CO ADP and forwarded to DHA as in Step 6.
(b) Remove confirmation copy of the revocation form (white duplicate) and send to member with covering letter [Annex B] and insurance brochure/leaflet.
(c) Place original and triplicate (yellow) forms onto separate daily batch files (as per date stamp).
(d) Arrange for triplicate batches to be forwarded to Defence Housing Authority on a regular basis.
N.B. Address for DHA is 2 Brisbane Avenue, Barton ACT 2600.
5. If records exist indicating previous DSH assistance:
Stamp all parts of the election form in red with a VOID stamp [Annex C].
(b) Return all parts of the election form to the member with a letter of rejection [Annex D] giving details of the previous assistance recorded.
N.B. It is not necessary to provide all the details in the spaces provided in the Schedule of the letter of rejection, just sufficient to clearly identify the previous assistance. This should limit the need to obtain files in many instances.
N.B. Where married eligible couples have been assisted in joint tenancy based on one partner's eligibility, each has been a DSH borrower and neither is therefore able to revoke.
(c) Place copies of the letters of rejection on a file for any further action when necessary.
DIRECTOR TECHNOLOGY
6. Prepare a consolidated tape from data entered in step 4(a) above and forward to DHA on request or on completion of the revocation exercise.
Annex A
STATUTORY DECLARATION
Election to revoke DSH entitlement
I elect to revoke my eligibility under the Defence Service Homes Scheme. Date received
Surname
Given names
Postal Address
Service number
Date of Birth
Date of enlistment
Have you ever had assistance under the Defence Service Homes Act? No Yes
Did you receive a Grant from Defence Service Homes Corporation in 1987? No Yes
Did you serve in Namibia in 1989/90? No Yes
Spouse's surname
(if same as yours write "same")
Spouse's given names
DECLARATION DECLARED AT
I
of the day of
do solemnly and sincerely declare that the particulars furnished by me in this election are true and correct in every detail. And I make this solemn declaration by virtue of the Statutory Declarations Act 1959 and subject to the penalties provided by that Act for the making of a false statement in Statutory Declarations conscientiously believing the statements contained in this Declaration to be true in every particular.
Signature (see note 1 below)
Note 1 A person who wilfully makes a false statement in a Statutory Declaration under the Statutory Declarations Act 1959 is guilty of an offence against that Act, the punishment for which is a fine not exceeding $200 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months or both if the offence is prosecuted summarily, or imprisonment for a term not exceeding four years if the offence is prosecuted upon indictment.
Before me
Signature (witness)
(occupation)
Qualification (see note 2 below)
Note 2 A Statutory Declaration under the Statutory Declarations Act 1959 may be made only before a Magistrate, a Justice of the Peace, a Commissioner for Affidavits, a Commissioner for Declarations, a Notary Public, a person before whom a Statutory Declaration may be made, or an Australian Consular Officer or an Australian Diplomatic Officer.
Annex B
Dear
I acknowledge receipt of your election to revoke DSH entitlement form. As a search of our records confirms that you have not utilised your entitlement, your revocation in favour of the Australian Defence Force Home Loans Assistance Scheme is effective. This means that you are no longer an eligible person for the purposes of the DSH Act. The entitlement cannot be reinstated, even if more than one period of qualifying service is, or has been served.
I enclose a "confirmed copy" of the revocation form. A further copy will be forwarded to the Defence Housing Authority for their records.
Comprehensive household insurance at competitive rates is available to all ADFHLAS applicants under the Defence Service Homes Insurance Scheme. I enclose a leaflet for your information. Please do not hesitate to contact this office if you have any queries.
Yours faithfully
State Manager
Annex C
VOID
PREVIOUS DSH
ASSISTANCE VERIFIED
Annex D
Dear
I acknowledge receipt of your form of election to revoke DSH entitlement. As a search of our records indicates that you have previously been a borrower under the DSH Act as detailed below, your request cannot be accepted and I am returning all copies of the election form.
Should you wish to discuss this rejection please do not hesitate to contact this office.
Yours faithfully
State Manager
SCHEDULE
1. DATE OF APPLICATION:
2. DATE OF CURRENT CERTIFICATE OF ENTITLEMENT:
3. NAMES) OF BORROWER(S):
4. PROPERTY ADDRESS:
5. AMOUNT OF LOAN:
6. DATE OF LOAN SETTLEMENT:
Annex E
REVOCATION OF DSH ENTITLEMENT
STATE:
WEEK ENDING:
TELEPHONE ENQUIRY RATE
COUNTER ENQUIRY RATE
5 ticks per box