The relevant provisions of subsection 4(1) are:
Eligible person means a person who —
(a)is an Australian soldier;
...
and includes a widow, widower or dependent parent of a person specified in any of the paragraphs (a) to (g) of this definition;
Australian Soldier ... includes
...
(h)a national serviceman;
...
National serviceman means a person who is a national serviceman in accordance with section 4AAB;
Section 4AAB Subject to this section, a person is a national serviceman for the purposes of this Act if —
(a)he was, immediately before 7 December 1972, a national serviceman, or a national service officer, for the purposes of the National Service Act 1951-1971 serving in the Regular Army Supplement; and
(b)on or after that date —
(i)he completed the period of service in that Force for which he was to be deemed to have been engaged to serve or for which he was appointed, as the case may be, or
(ii)that service ended by reason of his death or his discharge, or the termination of his appointment, on the ground of invalidity or physical or mental incapacity to perform duties.
In May 1973 the Defence Service Homes Act 1918 was amended to include as qualifying service, service in the Forces in peacetime. The new service qualifications applied only to members of the Forces who served on or after 7 December 1972. In the case of national servicemen, the period of service was that for which the member was deemed to be engaged to serve.
The Government's decision to extend the benefits of the Scheme to members of the peacetime Forces was part of its policy to abolish conscription into the armed Forces and to fulfil its aim of introducing conditions of service that would attract and retain regular servicemen in peacetime.
The Government regarded the measure as an essential one in establishing an all volunteer force. It decided, as a matter of equity, that eligibility should also be extended to national servicemen serving on 7 December 1972, who voluntarily chose to complete the period of service for which they were engaged to serve. The retention of those national servicemen who chose to remain was seen as valuable in the transition from a partly conscripted army to an all volunteer force.
An eligible person, is a person who, immediately before 7 December 1972, was a national serviceman or a national service officer serving in the Regular Army Supplement and who on or after that date,
completed the period of service in that Force for which he was deemed to have been engaged or appointed; or
the service ended by reason of his death or discharge on medical grounds.
A person who was immediately before 7 December 1972 a national serviceman or a national service officer and who subsequently transferred to the Regular Army before completing the statutory national service period of 18 months and completes 18 months continuous service, including the period of service as a national serviceman or a national service officer, does not come within the definition of National serviceman, but he may satisfy the definition of Regular serviceman.
A person with otherwise appropriate service may be ineligible if that service ended due to misconduct or misbehaviour (Please see Eligibility GO 11 for full details). However, this exclusion does not apply to the widow, widower or dependent parent of a person whose service ended due to misconduct or misbehaviour.
The National Service Act 1971 reduced the statutory period of national service from two years to eighteen months but made provision for a national serviceman to elect to continue to serve as if the reduction did not apply. In this case the period the national serviceman is deemed to have been engaged to serve shall be deemed to extend up to and include the date of his discharge if he is discharged before the end of the extra six months period. A person who normally would have completed his national service prior to 7 December 1972 but continued to serve in pursuance of this provision in the National Service Act and, on or after that date, was discharged or his appointment terminated on other than medical grounds before completing the additional period of service, therefore comes within the definition of National serviceman in s.4AAB of the Act.
Links
[1] https://clik.dva.gov.au/user/login?destination=node/18143%23comment-form
[2] https://clik.dva.gov.au/user/login?destination=node/18526%23comment-form
[3] https://clik.dva.gov.au/user/login?destination=node/18194%23comment-form
[4] https://clik.dva.gov.au/user/login?destination=node/18261%23comment-form
[5] https://clik.dva.gov.au/user/login?destination=node/18433%23comment-form
[6] https://clik.dva.gov.au/user/login?destination=node/18311%23comment-form
[7] https://clik.dva.gov.au/user/login?destination=node/18634%23comment-form