Attendant care services are provided for in Division 3 of Part 7 of Chapter 4 of MRCA [2], and section 29 of DRCA [3].
Attendant care services are defined as …”services (other than household services, medical or surgical services or nursing care) that are required for the essential and regular personal care of the person.” The aim of attendant care services is to assist clients whose health or capacity to live independently at home is compromised by their service related injury or illness.
Attendant care services may be available to current and former ADF members, including non-Continuous Full Time Service (CFTS) (part time) Reservists, ADF Cadets, Officers of Cadets and Instructors of Cadets who have suffered a service injury or disease for which liability has been accepted by the Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Commission (MRCC).
To be eligible, the person must first make a claim for compensation for attendant care services. Section 217 of the MRCA and Subsection 29(3) of DRCA provides that the Commonwealth will meet the cost (to a statutory upper limit) of such services that are reasonably required by a person as a result of a service injury or disease for which liability has been accepted.
The amount of compensation payable for attendant care services is capped by a statutory limit which is indexed as at 1 July each year, by reference to the Consumer Price Index. Rehabilitation Coordinators must not approve attendant care services in excess of this statutory limit. Further information about the approval and review procedures for attendant care services can be found in section 8.5 [4] of this Guide.
The current limits are published in the CLIK Compensation and Support Reference Library Current Payment Rates [5]. The MRCA limit is listed on the MRCA Rates and Allowances page. The DRCA limit is listed on the DRCA and Defence Act payments page.
Note: Some clients who qualify for attendant care services may also qualify for household services. In such cases, they may be entitled to payment up to the statutory limit for both household services and attendant care services. In other words, the statutory limits that apply to attendant care services and household services are mutually exclusive. Further information about household services can be found in chapter 7 of this Guide [6].
The attendant care services provisions are contained in the compensation provisions in chapter 4 of the Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 2004 (MRCA [2]) and in part 2 of the Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation (Defence-related claims) Act 1988 (DRCA) [3]. This provides the legislative basis for DVA to provide these services to current serving members of the ADF while the Chief of the Defence Force (CDF)remains their rehabilitation authority. Please refer to section 4.1 of the Rehabilitation Policy Library [7] for specific information about which members the CDF is the rehabilitation authority for.
Consistent with the legislative provisions, attendant care services can be provided where a delegate is satisfied that the services are reasonably required due to a service injury or disease. Please refer to section 8.4 of the Rehabilitation Policy Library [8] for the issues that must be considered before making an attendant care determination.
Before DVA can provide attendant care services to serving members, the following additional criteria must be met:
This approach ensures that both the ADFRP and DVA are aware of the client’s needs, circumstances and the range of services that may be provided while they adjust to, and learn to manage, their service related conditions or injuries.
The exception to this general rule that attendant care services will be provided on the basis of an ADFRP referral, is where a serving member contacts DVA directly for attendant care services. In this case, the delegate needs to consider the person's request for attendant care services using the usual DVA processes which in most circumstances, will include a home assessment by an independent and suitably qualified Occupational Therapist.
Links
[1] https://clik.dva.gov.au/user/login?destination=comment/reply/21278%23comment-form
[2] http://www.comlaw.gov.au/Series/C2004A01285
[3] https://www.legislation.gov.au/Series/C1988A00156
[4] https://clik.dva.gov.au/rehabilitation-library/8-attendant-care/85-when-attendant-care-services-might-reasonably-be-provided-partner-relative-or-friend-person
[5] https://clik.dva.gov.au/compensation-and-support-reference-library/payment-rates/current-payment-rates
[6] https://clik.dva.gov.au/rehabilitation-policy-library/7-household-services
[7] https://clik.dva.gov.au/rehabilitation-policy-library/4-adf-rehabilitation-programs/41-overview-adf-rehabilitation-programs
[8] https://clik.dva.gov.au/rehabilitation-policy-library/8-attendant-care/84-criteria-assessing-what-reasonably-required