{"id":"F2019L01151","name":"Veterans’ Entitlements (Partner Service Pension — Retention of Eligibility) Determination 2019","slug":"veterans-entitlements-partner-service-pension-retention-of-eligibility-determination-2019","collection":"legislative_instrument","jurisdiction":"commonwealth","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":null,"makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":99756,"registerId":"commonwealth-F2019L01151-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-02","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Name","content":"#### 1 Name\n\n    This instrument is the Veterans’ Entitlements (Partner Service Pension — Retention of Eligibility) Determination 2019.","sortOrder":0},{"sectionNumber":"2","sectionType":"section","heading":"Commencement","content":"#### 2 Commencement\n\n    This instrument commences, or is taken to have commenced, on 20 September 2019.","sortOrder":1},{"sectionNumber":"3","sectionType":"section","heading":"Authority","content":"#### 3 Authority\n\n    This instrument is made under subsection 38(2AD) of the Veterans’ Entitlements Act 1986.","sortOrder":2},{"sectionNumber":"4","sectionType":"section","heading":"Purpose","content":"#### 4 Purpose\n\n    The purpose of this instrument is to set out the circumstances in which the married or non-married former partner of a veteran retains eligibility for a partner service pension, despite being separated from the veteran for more than 12 months.","sortOrder":3},{"sectionNumber":"5","sectionType":"section","heading":"Definitions","content":"#### 5 Definitions\n\nIn this instrument:\n\n    Act means the Veterans’ Entitlements Act 1986.\n    former partner of a veteran means a person to whom paragraph 38(1AA)(a), (b) or (c) of the Act applies.\n\nNote: In accordance with paragraph 46(1)(b) of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901, expressions used in this instrument have the same meaning as in the Act, for example:\n\n> Note:  Commission —subsection 5Q (1) of the Act.\n\n> Note:  Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Commission —subsection 5Q (1) of the Act.\n\n> Note:  partner service pension —paragraph (c) of the definition of ‘service pension’ in subsection 5Q (1) of the Act.\n\n> Note:  veteran —subsection 5C (1) of the Act.","sortOrder":4},{"sectionNumber":"6","sectionType":"section","heading":"Specified circumstances","content":"#### 6 Specified circumstances\n\n(1) Subsections (2) and (3) specify circumstances for subsection 38(2AD) of the Act.\n\n(2) On the first day on which the former partner of a veteran does not reside in the same residence as the veteran (the first separate residence day), the veteran has a psychological or other mental health incapacity caused by any of the following:\n\n(a) a war‑caused injury or war‑caused disease for which the Commission has determined that the veteran is entitled to be granted a pension;\n\n(b) a defence‑caused injury or defence‑caused disease for which the Commission has determined that the veteran, as a member of the Forces or member of a Peacekeeping Force, is entitled to be granted a pension;\n\n(c) a service injury or service disease, within the meaning given by the Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 2004, for which the Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Commission has determined to accept liability;\n\n(d) a disease or disorder, mentioned in subsection 85 (2) of the Act, for which the veteran is eligible for treatment under the Act;\n\n(e) a condition to which a determination under paragraph 88A (1) (a) of the Act applies.\n\n(3) The Commission is satisfied that, before the first separate residence day, the domestic environment shared by the former partner of the veteran with the veteran was, because of the veteran’s behaviour, unsafe or abusive for the former partner or any child of the former partner.\n\n7 Repeal\n\nThe Veterans’ Entitlements (Partner Service Pension — Retention of Eligibility for Non-illness Separated Spouse) Determination R25/2009 is repealed.\n\n8 Transitional provision\n\n    (1) This section applies to the non-illness separated spouse of a veteran if, immediately before the commencement of this instrument, the Veterans’ Entitlements (Partner Service Pension — Retention of Eligibility for Non-illness Separated Spouse) Determination R25/2009 applied to the spouse.\n    (2) On and after the commencement of this instrument, the Veterans’ Entitlements (Partner Service Pension — Retention of Eligibility for Non-illness Separated Spouse) Determination R25/2009 continues to apply to the non-illness separated spouse of the veteran as if it had not been repealed.","sortOrder":5}],"analysis":{"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":6,"scope_assessment":{"changed":true,"description":"Yes. The instrument replaces the 2009 Determination (s7) and specifies the precise circumstances in which a former partner retains partner service pension eligibility after more than 12 months' separation (s6). For future applicants it sets out mental‑health/service‑related cause tests and an unsafe/abusive domestic‑environment test (s6(2)–(3)); for those already covered immediately before commencement the old Determination continues to apply (transitional saving, s8)."},"complexity_factors":["Cross‑references to multiple statutes and bodies (Veterans’ Entitlements Act 1986, Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 2004, MRCC): see s5 (definitions/notes) and s6(2)(c).","Decision‑maker dependency: eligibility hinges on determinations by the Commission or Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Commission (s6(2)) and the Commission being 'satisfied' about domestic unsafety/abuse (s6(3)).","Evidence and proof burden: former partners must rely on prior commission determinations or persuade the Commission that the shared domestic environment was unsafe or abusive (s6(2)–(3)).","Retrospective/commencement effect: instrument commences (or is taken to have commenced) on 20 September 2019, which can affect timing of claims (s2).","Repeal plus transitional saving: it repeals the 2009 Determination (s7) but preserves application of the old rule to persons covered immediately before commencement (s8), creating dual regimes by cohort.","Narrow temporal trigger: eligibility test attaches to the 'first separate residence day', adding factual complexity about timing (s6(1)–(3)).","Defined terms and interpretive layering: relies on definitions and external statutory meanings (s5 and notes), increasing interpretive reliance on other legislation and past determinations."],"plain_english_summary":"This instrument specifies when a veteran’s former partner can keep a partner service pension despite being separated for more than 12 months. It lists specific veteran mental‑health or service‑related conditions (as determined by the relevant commissions) and an unsafe or abusive domestic‑environment test. It affects former partners seeking continued pension, requires commission findings or evidence of abuse, and replaces a 2009 determination while preserving existing beneficiaries under a transitional rule."},"flash_summary_failed":{"failed":true,"reason":"Unauthenticated. Configure AI_GATEWAY_API_KEY or use a provider module. Learn more: https://ai-sdk.dev/unauthenticated-ai-gateway","source":"analysis-cron"},"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The instrument maintains the same scope as its predecessor (Determination R25/2009). It continues to address the narrow, specific issue of partner service pension retention post-separation. The 2019 version expands the scope slightly by including non-married partners (de facto relationships) explicitly and broadening the mental health conditions covered, but this represents a natural evolution of the original intent rather than scope creep. The core purpose — protecting partners who separate due to veteran service-related circumstances or domestic safety concerns — remains unchanged."},"complexity_factors":["Short instrument with only 8 sections and straightforward structure","Only 2 defined terms in section 5, with remaining definitions incorporated by reference to the parent Act","Two clear, alternative circumstances specified in subsections 6(2) and 6(3) — no nested conditions","Minimal cross-referencing: primarily references to the Veterans' Entitlements Act 1986 and Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 2004 for defined terms and eligibility criteria","Simple transitional provision in section 8 preserving rights under the repealed instrument","No exceptions to exceptions or complex conditional logic chains"],"plain_english_summary":"**What this does:**\n\nThis law protects the pension rights of partners who separate from veterans. Normally, if you separate from a veteran and live apart for more than 12 months, you lose your **partner service pension** (a regular payment made to the spouse or partner of a veteran). This Determination creates two important exceptions where you can keep that pension even after long-term separation.\n\n**The two exceptions are:**\n\n1. **Veteran's mental health condition** — If the veteran has a psychological or mental health condition caused by their military service (such as PTSD, depression, or anxiety linked to war or defence service), and this condition existed when you first moved out, you keep your pension.\n\n2. **Domestic violence or unsafe home environment** — If the home was unsafe or abusive because of the veteran's behaviour, and this was happening before you moved out, you keep your pension.\n\n**Who it affects:**\n\n- Former partners (married or de facto) of Australian veterans who have separated or are considering separation\n- Veterans receiving disability pensions for service-related mental health conditions\n- Children of former partners in unsafe domestic environments\n\n**Why it matters:**\n\nThis law recognises that partners often leave veterans because of violence or because the veteran's service-related mental illness makes cohabitation impossible. Without this protection, these partners could lose their only source of income after fleeing an unsafe situation or after a separation caused by the veteran's service-related disability. It ensures that the pension system doesn't punish partners for protecting themselves or their children, or for leaving due to circumstances beyond their control."},"summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"This determination outlines the circumstances for retaining partner service pension eligibility and repeals the prior determination with transitional arrangements for existing cases."},"complexity_factors":["cross references to the Veterans’ Entitlements Act 1986","specific criteria for mental health incapacity and domestic safety"],"plain_english_summary":"This determination lets certain former partners of veterans keep eligibility for the partner service pension despite living separately for more than 12 months. It applies where the veteran had a service-related psychological or mental health incapacity when separation began and the home was unsafe or abusive before separation. It repeals the 2009 determination and preserves transitional coverage for people already covered when it commences on 20 September 2019."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/veterans-entitlements-partner-service-pension-retention-of-eligibility-determination-2019","history":"/api/acts/veterans-entitlements-partner-service-pension-retention-of-eligibility-determination-2019/history","analysis":"/api/acts/veterans-entitlements-partner-service-pension-retention-of-eligibility-determination-2019/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/veterans-entitlements-partner-service-pension-retention-of-eligibility-determination-2019/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/veterans-entitlements-partner-service-pension-retention-of-eligibility-determination-2019/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/veterans-entitlements-partner-service-pension-retention-of-eligibility-determination-2019/documents"}}