In order to receive a pension bonus from DVA, a person must:
The target group includes people who:
From 1 July 2014 the Pension Bonus Scheme was closed to new registrations.
To register for the scheme, a person must have been eligible to receive a designated pension [4]. A person must have:
Note: Proof of Identity was not required at time of registration for the scheme, but the delegate must have had sufficient information to determine the person's eligibility for the designated pension.
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There are three different types of designated pensions that could have been deferred by a member of the pension bonus scheme under the VEA [4]. These were:
The age pension [4] is a designated pension for the Centrelink [4] scheme.
To receive a pension bonus a person must not have received the following at any time after the person's special date of eligibility [4]:
The person cannot have received another pension bonus paid under the VEA or the social security law.
Exceptional circumstances relief payment (ECRP) is not an excluded payment. It is paid by Centrelink on behalf of the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry and does not come under the SSA.
Note: Some DFISA [4] recipients may have been receiving a nil rate of social security payment [4], but are still taken to have been receiving that payment. DFISA was removed 1 January 2022 and there was an increase in the social security payment because adjusted disability pension became exempt under the Social Security Act 1991.
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A person cannot receive a pension bonus if they received DFISA after their special date of eligibility. However, this does not apply if the primary payment of the person was a carer payment.
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Designated pension is defined in section 45TA VEA and relates to the pension bonus scheme. Designated pension means:
Designated pension under the Social Security Act 1991 means age pension
Qualifying service is one of the criteria used to determine eligibility for certain benefits under the Veterans' Entitlements Act 1986. Refer to section 7A of the VEA [39] for the full defintion.
Currently, the pension age for a veteran is 60 years of age (VEA 5QA).
The pension age for a non-veteran is determined by the table below:
Date of birth (both dates inclusive) | Age Pension age |
1 July 1952 to 31 December 1953 | 65 years and 6 months |
1 January 1954 to 30 June 1955 | 66 years |
1 July 1955 to 31 December 1956 | 66 years and 6 months |
On or after 1 January 1957 | 67 years |
A person's 'partner' is someone who is a member of a couple with that person.
A service pension is an income support payment broadly equivalent to the social security age and disability support pensions. It may be paid once a veteran or partner has reached the nominated age or is incapacitated for work.
A war widow/widower is generally a person who immediately before their partners death, was the partner of, or was legally married to:
Refer to 5E(1) [40] of the VEA for the full definition.
Qualifying age is defined in section 5Q(1) of the [41]VEA [41]and is equivalent to the pension age for a veteran which is described in section 5QA VEA as:
Excluded payments are income support pensions, benefits or allowances paid by DVA [4] or Centrelink [4]. If a person is in receipt of an excluded payment, they are not able to accrue bonus periods under the pension bonus scheme.
Special date of eligibility is defined in section 45TB VEA [39] and relates to the pension bonus scheme. A person's special date of eligibility for:
If a person is registered under DVA [4] and Centrelink [4] schemes and therefore has 2 or more special dates of eligibility, only the first date is to be counted.
Designated pension is defined in section 45TA VEA and relates to the pension bonus scheme. Designated pension means:
Designated pension under the Social Security Act 1991 means age pension
Veterans' Entitlements Act 1986.
A service pension is an income support payment broadly equivalent to the social security age and disability support pensions. It may be paid once a veteran or partner has reached the nominated age or is incapacitated for work.
A person's 'partner' is someone who is a member of a couple with that person.
A service pension is an income support payment broadly equivalent to the social security age and disability support pensions. It may be paid once a veteran or partner has reached the nominated age or is incapacitated for work.
Currently, the pension age for a veteran is 60 years of age (VEA 5QA).
The pension age for a non-veteran is determined by the table below:
Date of birth (both dates inclusive) | Age Pension age |
1 July 1952 to 31 December 1953 | 65 years and 6 months |
1 January 1954 to 30 June 1955 | 66 years |
1 July 1955 to 31 December 1956 | 66 years and 6 months |
On or after 1 January 1957 | 67 years |
An age pension is a means tested [4] income support payment [4] paid by Centrelink [4] or DVA [4] on behalf of the Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs. The majority of age pensions are paid through Centrelink. However, eligible veterans [4] who have an accepted disability [4] or receive a Disability Compensation Payment [4] from DVA, but do not have qualifying service [4], may be paid their age pension by DVA. Their partner may also receive their age pension from DVA, if eligible.
Centrelink is a Government service delivery agency responsible for delivering a range of Commonwealth Government services (including social security pensions and allowances) to the Australian community through a network of more than 400 Centrelink offices.
Special date of eligibility is defined in section 45TB VEA [39] and relates to the pension bonus scheme. A person's special date of eligibility for:
If a person is registered under DVA [4] and Centrelink [4] schemes and therefore has 2 or more special dates of eligibility, only the first date is to be counted.
The term social security pension is defined in Section 5Q(1) VEA [39] to mean:
As benefits (pensions) may change, for the most current definition access this link to the Social Security Act 1991
http://www.comlaw.gov.au/comlaw/management.nsf/lookupindexpagesbyid/IP200401781?OpenDocument
The term social security benefit is defined in Section 5Q(1) of the VEA [39] to mean:
As benefits (pensions) may change, for the most current definition access this link to the Social Security Act 1991
http://www.comlaw.gov.au/comlaw/management.nsf/lookupindexpagesbyid/IP200401781?OpenDocument
A service pension is an income support payment broadly equivalent to the social security age and disability support pensions. It may be paid once a veteran or partner has reached the nominated age or is incapacitated for work.
ISS is an income support payment that may be paid to eligible war widows and widowers under the VEA and persons receiving wholly dependent partners' compensation under the MRCA, and who satisfy the means tests. It is an indexed rate, increased twice-yearly in March and September in line with changes to the cost of living and/or average wages. Income Support Supplement (ISS) legislation commenced on 20 March 1995. It is a payment created to replace the ceiling rate income support age, carer, wife and disability support pensions, paid to war widows/widowers by Centrelink.
The information below is for historical reference only.
Defence Force Income Support Allowance (DFISA) ceased on 1 January 2022 because adjusted disability income became exempt income under the Social Security Act 1991. It was an income support payment [4] paid by DVA [4] to people whose income support payment under Social Security Law [4] was reduced, or not payable, because of the impact of adjusted disability pension [4]. DFISA was the difference between the person's existing entitlement, and what the entitlement would have been had adjusted DP been exempt, but was assessed in the calculation of rent assistance.
A Social Security payment refers to the following:
Links
[1] https://clik.dva.gov.au/user/login?destination=node/16295%23comment-form
[2] https://clik.dva.gov.au/book/export/html/16295#tgt-cspol_part5_ftn168
[3] https://clik.dva.gov.au/book/export/html/16295#tgt-cspol_part5_ftn169
[4] https://clik.dva.gov.au/%23
[5] https://clik.dva.gov.au/book/export/html/16295#tgt-cspol_part5_ftn170
[6] https://clik.dva.gov.au/book/export/html/16295#tgt-cspol_part5_ftn171
[7] https://clik.dva.gov.au/book/export/html/16295#tgt-cspol_part5_ftn172
[8] https://clik.dva.gov.au/book/export/html/16295#tgt-cspol_part5_ftn173
[9] https://clik.dva.gov.au/book/export/html/16295#tgt-cspol_part5_ftn174
[10] https://clik.dva.gov.au/book/export/html/16295#tgt-cspol_part5_ftn175
[11] https://clik.dva.gov.au/book/export/html/16295#tgt-cspol_part5_ftn176
[12] https://clik.dva.gov.au/book/export/html/16295#tgt-cspol_part5_ftn177
[13] https://clik.dva.gov.au/book/export/html/16295#tgt-cspol_part5_ftn178
[14] https://clik.dva.gov.au/book/export/html/16295#tgt-cspol_part5_ftn179
[15] clik://LEGIS/VEA/section 45T
[16] https://clik.dva.gov.au/book/export/html/16295#ref-cspol_part5_ftn168
[17] https://clik.dva.gov.au/compensation-and-support-policy-library/part-5-income-support-allowances-and-benefits/56-pension-bonus-scheme/563-registration-member-scheme
[18] https://clik.dva.gov.au/book/export/html/16295#ref-cspol_part5_ftn169
[19] https://clik.dva.gov.au/compensation-and-support-policy-library/part-3-income-support-eligibility/31-service-pension-eligibility/314-partner-service-pension
[20] https://clik.dva.gov.au/book/export/html/16295#ref-cspol_part5_ftn170
[21] clik://LEGIS/VEA/section 45TD
[22] https://clik.dva.gov.au/book/export/html/16295#ref-cspol_part5_ftn171
[23] clik://LEGIS/VEA/section 45TB(4)
[24] https://clik.dva.gov.au/book/export/html/16295#ref-cspol_part5_ftn172
[25] https://clik.dva.gov.au/compensation-and-support-policy-library/part-3-income-support-eligibility/35-residency
[26] https://clik.dva.gov.au/book/export/html/16295#ref-cspol_part5_ftn173
[27] https://clik.dva.gov.au/compensation-and-support-policy-library/part-2-applying-pension/22-proof-identity/222-establishing-proof-identity-or-relationship-veteran/proof-identity-check-income-support
[28] https://clik.dva.gov.au/book/export/html/16295#ref-cspol_part5_ftn174
[29] https://clik.dva.gov.au/compensation-and-support-policy-library/part-3-income-support-eligibility/31-service-pension-eligibility/312-age-service-pension
[30] https://clik.dva.gov.au/book/export/html/16295#ref-cspol_part5_ftn175
[31] https://clik.dva.gov.au/compensation-and-support-policy-library/part-3-income-support-eligibility/32-income-support-supplement-iss-eligibility/322-iss-eligibility
[32] https://clik.dva.gov.au/book/export/html/16295#ref-cspol_part5_ftn176
[33] https://clik.dva.gov.au/node/16873
[34] https://clik.dva.gov.au/book/export/html/16295#ref-cspol_part5_ftn177
[35] https://clik.dva.gov.au/compensation-and-support-policy-library/part-5-income-support-allowances-and-benefits/59-defence-force-income-support-allowance-dfisaceased-2022/592-administration-dfisa/social-security-payments-payable-nil-rate-dfisa-removed-2022
[36] https://clik.dva.gov.au/book/export/html/16295#ref-cspol_part5_ftn178
[37] https://clik.dva.gov.au/compensation-and-support-policy-library/part-5-income-support-allowances-and-benefits/59-defence-force-income-support-allowance-dfisaceased-2022/594-dfisa-bonus-ceased-2022
[38] https://clik.dva.gov.au/book/export/html/16295#ref-cspol_part5_ftn179
[39] http://clik.dva.gov.au/legislation-library
[40] http://www.comlaw.gov.au/Details/C2015C00011
[41] http://www.comlaw.gov.au/Series/C2004A03268