Defence Determination, Conditions of service Amendment Determination 2023 (No. 6)

This instrument operates by amending the Defence Determination’s substantive benefits architecture and administrative rules. Key concepts are:

• Removal entitlement and additional removal for dependants (new s 6.5.46A). The Determination distinguishes between the member’s removal and a dependant’s removal, and establishes eligibility for an additional dependant removal where a member is unaccompanied. The provision specifies origin and destination points for such removals (subparas 6.5.46A.1.a-c) and makes the additional removal subject to the same conditions that would have applied to the member under the table in s 6.5.46.3 (s 6.5.46A.2).

• Loss-of-scholarship education assistance (s 8.4.16-8.4.18). The statute now expressly targets costs that “would have been covered by a scholarship that their child can no longer access as a result of changing schools due to the member’s posting” (s 8.4.16). Reimbursement is limited to specified kinds of costs at the gaining location (compulsory tuition fees and textbooks per s 8.4.18) and the total reimbursement is constrained by the unused part of the scholarship or defined sublimits (s 8.4.18.3).

• ADF family health program re-specification (amendments to ch 8.9). “Healthcare physician” is explicitly broadened to include GP, dietician, exercise physiologist and physiotherapist (s 8.9.2). The per‑person reimbursement cap for eligible dependants is raised from $400 to $800 (s 8.9.6A.1). New lists of reimbursable program types are created for dietitian‑led programs and national healthy-eating and weight-loss programs, gym memberships and certain classes, and skin cancer checks, mole mapping and bowel screening kits (ss 8.9.7C-E). Reimbursements exclude the cost of food (s 8.9.7C.2) and cosmetic services are expressly non-reimbursable (s 8.9.7.2).

• Location allowance and child supplement rates. The instrument modifies child supplement base rates (ss 15.2A.20.3) with distinct tables for on-or-before 5 July 2023 and on-or-after 6 July 2023, and sets hardship grade rates for location allowances that differ by whether the member is accompanied (ss 16.2A.5.1 and Schedule 5).

• Government-funded non-Medicare services and thresholds (ss 15.5.7 and 15.5.7A). The amended definition of “medical goods or services” includes two categories: those that would attract a Medicare benefit, and those covered by another Australian Government funded scheme where the decision-maker is satisfied they are not otherwise provided locally (s 15.5.7.3). The Determination excludes overseas assisted reproductive services (s 15.5.7.2). It assigns named decision makers and prescribes minimum thresholds for reimbursement that are age-dependent and pro rata for part-year eligibility (s 15.5.7A).

• Assisted leave travel architecture (new Chapter 16 Part 4). The replaced Part sets out objectives for leave travel, rules for counting and allocating trips, formulas for adjusting trip entitlements for longer or shorter postings (ss 16.4.10-16.4.11), private vehicle cost calculations referencing the vehicle allowance regime (s 16.4.6 referencing s 15.3.21), excess baggage reimbursement for specific Annex items (s 16.4.7), substitution rules where a leave centre becomes unsuitable (s 16.4.8) and proof-of-travel and recovery requirements (ss 16.4.15-16.4.16).

• Discretion and decision-making. Several provisions make entitlement contingent on the CDF’s satisfaction (for example ss 16.4.12(1), 17.3.2.4 amendment), or give named Directors in Joint Health operational decision power (s 15.5.7(4)). The Determination uses both formulaic rules and subjective assessments of “reasonableness” or “satisfaction”.

• Savings and transitional arrangements. Schedules 11 and 12 preserve some prior entitlements for members who were already approved under the earlier Determination (Schedule 11 for pre-approved education assistance) and apply certain amendments retrospectively for a limited period (Schedule 12 for government-funded non‑Medicare services and approved club membership for specified postings).

Taken together, the instrument blends panelised, formulaic entitlements (trip-count formulas, child supplement tables, monetary caps) with discretionary decision points that require the CDF or named Directors to make subjective or factual determinations (satisfaction tests, local availability determinations). Several changes focus on administrability: explicit lists of reimbursable items, definitional clarifications, and documentary proof timing.

Primary affected parties are ADF members under the Conditions of service Determination and their dependants. The concrete categories are:

• Members posted to hardship locations. The new assisted leave travel rules (Chapter 16 Part 4) expressly target members and each of their dependants living at a hardship location (s 16.4.1(1)-(3)). The number of trips and applicable benefits vary by posting location as listed in Annex 16.B, and depend on whether postings are ordinary, longer, or shorter than the ordinary posting period (ss 16.4.9-16.4.11).

• Unaccompanied members with dependants. Schedule 1 creates an eligibility pathway for an additional removal on ceasing continuous full‑time service where the member has dependants who are unaccompanied and must relocate from subsidised accommodation to the dependant’s location (new ss 6.5.46A.1 and table item 6 added into s 6.5.46.3). The changes affect members who nominate a post‑service location different to their dependants’ last removal location; s 6.5.60.5 was revised to remove eligibility for stored-items removal in certain circumstances.

• Members with children affected by loss of scholarships. Schedule 2 creates the “loss of scholarship” reimbursement mechanism (ss 8.4.16-8.4.18). Members whose child loses a scholarship because of school change due to posting, and who incur specified educational costs at the gaining location, are affected. Eligibility is constrained by the unused part of the scholarship or monetary sublimits (s 8.4.18.3 and s 8.4.21.1 table).

• Members with eligible dependants in the ADF family health program. Schedule 3 broadens the scope of who can refer dependants and increases caps. Dependants who are referred to dietitian‑led weight‑management programs, gyms or certain classes, or need specific cancer screening services may have out‑of‑pocket costs reimbursed, provided a referral by a named “healthcare physician” (s 8.9.7C-E and s 8.9.2).

• Members posted overseas or in locations where local health services differ from Australia. Schedule 6 (ss 15.5.7 and 15.5.7A) affects members who incur out‑of‑pocket medical costs on posting overseas: the Determination clarifies which medical costs are reimbursable, excludes assisted reproductive services provided overseas, requires a minimum threshold to be met, and names decision makers who must decide whether items are not provided locally.

• Members who use or seek club membership benefits in particular overseas postings. Schedule 7 amends the list of approved clubs for Ethiopia (Hyatt Hotel Health Club, Addis Ababa) and Abu Dhabi (Bayshore/Intercontinental), and Schedule 12 provides transitional coverage for members posted to those locations during an interim period.

• Members in relation to living-in accommodation, settling out allowances, promotion pay, and travel-class entitlements. Schedule 10 modifies rules including eligibility to receive allowances only when eligible for salary (s 7.1.7), the CDF’s power to revoke a licence to live in for up to three years for breaches (s 7.4.14.1), settling out allowance timing (s 14.5.4), and criteria for business-class travel in certain circumstances (amendment to s 17.3.2.4).

Other stakeholders include Defence corporate decision-makers and administrators who must determine eligibility under the amended tests and apply the new documentary and timing requirements (for example, processing reimbursements subject to minimum thresholds and applying the pro rata formula in s 15.5.7A.2). The instrument also affects external service providers: listed programmes and clubs may see demand change where their services become reimbursable under the Determination (ss 8.9.7C-E, Schedule 7).

Who pays: the Determination prescribes Commonwealth-funded reimbursement and allowances administered through the Defence People Group and Joint Health Command frameworks. The instrument itself does not specify departmental budget lines, but the monetary caps and schedules convert costs into payable entitlements for Defence to administer. Who decides: multiple provisions confer decision authority on the CDF and named Directors (s 15.5.7(4), s 16.4.8, s 16.4.12 and other sections amended to reference CDF discretion).

The Determination imposes duties on members and sets rights to allowances or reimbursements. The core duties for members include:

• Documentary proof obligations (ss 16.4.15-16.4.16). Where an assisted leave travel benefit is offset or reimbursement is made in advance, the member must provide documentary evidence of travel within two weeks of returning to the posting location (s 16.4.16.1). Acceptable documentary evidence is listed: passport stamps, boarding passes, travel agent confirmations, bus or train tickets (s 16.4.16.2). Failure to provide proof or to take travel can trigger full recovery of the assistance (s 16.4.15).

• Nominations and consistency obligations for removal and stored items (s 6.5.60.5). A member will not be eligible for stored-items removal in specified circumstances, including where items were removed to storage at the location the member nominated to live following ceasing continuous full‑time service and the member later decides to live at a different location (s 6.5.60.5.a.i-ii).

• Meeting minimum thresholds to claim medical reimbursements (s 15.5.7A). A member must meet age‑based minimum thresholds in out‑of‑pocket medical expenses for each eligible person (AUD 25 for under 15 at the start of the financial year, AUD 69 for 15 years or older), subject to pro‑rata reduction if eligible for only part of the financial year, and reduced if the member incurred eligible treatment costs in Australia in that financial year (s 15.5.7A.1-3).

• Compliance with living-in accommodation rules (s 7.4.14.1). Members must comply with Annex 7.4.A conditions and reasonable directions from accommodation managers, failing which the CDF may revoke a licence to live in for up to three years (s 7.4.14.1).

Rights created or clarified include:

• Right to additional dependant removal for members with dependants (unaccompanied) on ceasing continuous full‑time service, with defined origin/destination rules and timing constraints (new s 6.5.46A.1).

• Right to education assistance where a child loses a scholarship as a direct result of posting, limited to reimbursing compulsory tuition fees and textbooks at the gaining location and capped by the unused scholarship or sublimits (ss 8.4.16-8.4.18 and 8.4.21.1 table item 1).

• Increased right to ADF family health program reimbursements up to $800 per person and for specified healthy-eating, physical-activity and cancer screening items, conditioned on referral by a named healthcare practitioner (ss 8.9.6A.1; 8.9.7C-E).

• Right to a quantifiable number of assisted leave travel trips determined by location-specific Annex 16.B values and modified proportionately where postings are longer or shorter than the ordinary posting period (ss 16.4.9-16.4.11).

• Right to reimbursement for excess baggage up to 12 kg where indicated in Annex 16.B (s 16.4.7.2).

Decision‑makers’ duties include applying statutory caps, calculating pro rata thresholds, and making factual satisfaction determinations: for example, whether an Australian Government funded scheme entitles the eligible person to goods or services and whether such services are not otherwise provided by local arrangements (s 15.5.7.3.b.i-ii), and whether proposed offset travel meets the purpose of assisted leave travel (s 16.4.12.1). Those decision points impose an administrative duty to document local availability and reasonableness judgments.

The Determination frequently conditions rights on ancillary actions by members (providing referrals, documentary evidence, selecting sequences in writing for leave trips) and subjects many entitlements to decision-maker satisfaction tests, combining objective entitlement rules with discretionary adjudication.

The instrument contains limited explicit penalties but does set enforceable recovery obligations and administrative sanctions:

• Repayment/recovery of travel costs (ss 16.4.15-16.4.16). A member must repay the full amount of assisted leave travel assistance if the travel for which a benefit was provided does not occur or if proof of travel required under s 16.4.16 is not provided (s 16.4.15). The Determination therefore imposes a financial clawback mechanism on false claims, cancelled travel where assistance already paid, or failure to supply documentary proof.

• Repayment when re‑engaging in continuous full‑time service (Schedule 10, s 2.3.7). A member must repay amounts received under the relevant Division if they commence another period of continuous full‑time service within one year of ceasing to be a member of the Permanent Forces, unless the CDF decides repayment is not required (s 2.3.7). That provision converts subsequent re‑engagement into a potential repayment liability.

• Licence to live in revocation (s 7.4.14.1). The Determination authorises the CDF to revoke a member’s licence to live in for up to three years where the member has deliberately, recklessly or negligently breached specified conditions, fails to comply with reasonable requests by an accommodation manager, or fails to provide required notice of extended unoccupancy, subject to an exception for members under 18 (s 7.4.14.1 and 1A).

• Conditional repayment for insurance bonus (amendment to s 4.9.16.5). A member must repay part of an allowance received under certain paragraphs if they cease to be insured during the specified 12-month period, unless the CDF decides repayment is unreasonable (amendment to s 4.9.16.5). This creates a conditional clawback for insurance-related allowances.

• Administrative controls and statutory discretion. Many entitlement questions require a CDF satisfaction test or a decision by named officers. While the Determination does not itself list criminal penalties, these discretionary powers are mechanisms to deny or revoke benefits and thereby enforce compliance.

Enforcement practice will be administrative: recovery of amounts paid and revocation of privileges (living-in, allowances). The Determination sets time windows for documentary proof (2 weeks for assisted leave travel) and trip-count tracking which feed into the recovery mechanism. It also creates eligibility exclusions that act as de facto sanctions where conditions are not met (for example, ineligibility for stored-items removal if the member changes their nominated post-service location after storage has occurred, s 6.5.60.5).

The Determination generally leaves procedural enforcement steps to Defence administrative systems. It does not, within the text provided, prescribe appeal procedures or internal review mechanisms for decisions taken under the CDF’s powers; nor does it specify timeframes for decision-makers other than the documentary timing for travel proof. The presence of named decision-makers (Director National Operations and Director Directorate of Clinical Services for medical reimbursement decisions at s 15.5.7.4) identifies accountable offices for those determinations.

This instrument is an amendment to a Defence Determination made under s 58B of the Defence Act 1903 (see cl 3). As a Determination under the Defence Act, it operates within the statutory framework that authorises the CDF and Defence to set conditions of service. The instrument itself makes multiple references to other internal sections of the Defence Determination (for example s 15.3.21 for vehicle allowance calculation used in s 16.4.6) and the Defence Regulation (see the added note in Schedule 9 referencing paragraph 13(1)(b) of the Defence Regulation for acting at higher rank at Annex 4.6.6.3).

Key interactions and cross-references in the text:

• Vehicle allowance regime: the private vehicle calculation for assisted leave travel (s 16.4.6.2.a) requires the use of the amount that would have been payable under s 15.3.21 if the vehicle had been used on official business. That cross-references the Determination’s travel/vehicle allowance rules, integrating leave travel reimbursements with existing official duty allowances.

• Medicare and other Australian Government schemes: s 15.5.7(3) defines reimbursable medical goods or services to include those that would attract a Medicare benefit in Australia, and those covered by another Australian Government funded scheme where the decision-maker is satisfied the goods or services would be available through that scheme and are not otherwise provided locally. This ties eligibility to entitlements under broader Commonwealth health programs, so eligibility can depend on whether an item is ordinarily subsidised domestically and whether local arrangements exist at the posting location.

• CDF and Defence internal governance: multiple provisions require the CDF to make satisfaction decisions (for example s 16.4.12 on offsetting assisted leave travel, Schedule 10 amendments giving the CDF discretion on repayment or allowance decisions). Those references integrate the Determination into the Defence command structure and administrative decision-making processes.

• Other parts of the Determination: the instrument frequently states that new or additional benefits are to be subject to the “same conditions and limitations” as other specified table entries (for example s 6.5.46A.2). That creates a chain of reliance on existing table entries and Annexes (for example Annex 16.B for assisted leave travel trip values and ordinary posting periods), meaning updates to one Annex or table can affect multiple entitlements.

• Transitional application: Schedule 12 applies aspects of Schedule 6 retrospectively for a defined “period of eligibility” (starting 1 September 2022 and ending the day before Schedule 6 commences), effectively aligning entitlement outcomes for that period with the new rules. Schedule 11 saves entitlements for members approved under the prior Determination for education assistance.

The Determination does not, in its text, displace other Commonwealth laws such as social security or taxation law; but the benefits interact practically with those regimes (for example, medical reimbursement may be treated differently for tax or social security purposes). The instrument itself does not purport to modify external statutes. Instead, it amends the Defence internal conditions of service and refers to entitlements under other Australian Government funded schemes as a determinant of eligibility for reimbursement (s 15.5.7.3.b).

Where a decision-making test requires that services are "not otherwise provided for by local arrangements" (s 15.5.7.3.b.ii), operational application will require coordination with overseas posting authorities and health services to determine local coverage; this is an inter-institutional factual inquiry rather than a statutory conflict-resolution rule.

This instrument amends Defence Determination 2016/19 by discrete schedule entries. The instrument itself records staged commencement dates in a commencement table at cl 2. The key structural amendment steps are:

• Instrument made under s 58B of the Defence Act 1903 (cl 3).

• Commencements are staged:

  • Sections 1-4 and anything not otherwise covered commence the day after registration (cl 2, table).
  • Schedules 1, 2, 6-9, 11-12 have a commencement of 8 June 2023 (see commencement table rows 4, 7, and 3).
  • Schedules 3, 4, 10 commence 1 July 2023 (rows 5 and 2).
  • Schedule 5 commences 3 August 2023 (row 6).
  • The note in cl 2 confirms that the table applies only to the instrument as originally made (so future amendments require separate commencement statements).

• Schedule 1 adds a new subsection (6.5.46A) to address additional removal for members with dependants (unaccompanied), revises cross-references and replaces certain subsections (for example s 6.5.60.5 replaced).

• Schedule 2 amends the education assistance Division by removing a subparagraph (8.4.9.b.iv), replacing s 8.4.16 with a clear Purpose clause, replacing s 8.4.18 to create the loss‑of‑scholarship rule, and altering sublimit and definition references (notably s 8.4.21.1 item for compulsory tuition fees and adjustments to definitions of boarding and private accommodation).

• Schedule 3 revises the ADF family health program: expands the “healthcare physician” definition, increases the cap from $400 to $800, adds new reimbursable items (ss 8.9.7C-E), and refines coverage exclusions (cosmetic services).

• Schedules 4 and 5 revise child supplement base rates and location allowance rates. Schedule 4 provides transitional rates on or before/after 5-6 July 2023; Schedule 5 then consolidates the post-6-July-2023 rates into ss 15.2A.20.3 and 16.2A.5.1 and repeals the prior bifurcated approach.

• Schedule 6 replaces s 15.5.7 and introduces s 15.5.7A setting out the medical reimbursement definition, exclusions, decision-makers and minimum thresholds.

• Schedule 7 updates the list of approved clubs for specific overseas locations (Ethiopia and UAE).

• Schedule 8 replaces Chapter 16 Part 4 with a new Part 4 dedicated to Assisted leave travel, including detailed definitions, trip-count formulas and repayment/proof obligations.

• Schedule 9 standardises notes and makes multiple editorial changes to note numbering and wording across the Determination (numerous subsections).

• Schedule 10 contains miscellaneous operational changes including repayment triggers if re‑engaging in service (s 2.3.7), pay-on-promotion rules for specialist competencies and legal officers, modifications to living-in revocation rules, settling out allowance eligibility and posting/travel rules relating to deployment.

• Schedule 11 provides savings provisions for members who were pre-approved for education assistance before the changes and clarifies the conditions under which that saved entitlement ceases.

• Schedule 12 provides transitional provisions that treat members as if certain changes had been in force during defined prior periods for government-funded non‑Medicare services and approved club entitlements for specified posting intervals.

The instrument itself is the vehicle for these amendments; it does not in this text record prior amendment steps to Defence Determination 2016/19 other than the changes it makes. The commencement schedule and the savings/transitional provisions indicate the drafters considered sequencing and ongoing entitlements for members already covered by earlier rules.

The instrument as supplied contains no citations to case law and records no litigation history. It is an administrative Determination made under s 58B of the Defence Act 1903; the text does not include or reference judicial decisions, legal challenges, or precedential interpretations. The Determination instead focuses on statutory amendments, operational rules, monetary caps and administrative decision‑maker appointments.

Within the text there are multiple areas where disputes could arise in the application of discretionary satisfaction tests (for example, whether a medical good or service is “not otherwise provided for by local arrangements” under s 15.5.7.3.b.ii, or whether offset travel “meets the purpose of assisted leave travel” under s 16.4.12). The Determination does not include internal appeal or review procedures for decisions of the CDF or named Directors within its wording. It names decision-making offices (Director National Operations, Joint Health Command; Director Directorate of Clinical Services, Joint Health Command) and confers formulaic thresholds and documentary obligations, but procedural redress mechanisms are not specified in the instrument text.

Where members disagree with administrative decisions under the Determination, any recourse will be governed by the broader administrative and legal framework applicable to Defence decisions (for example administrative review mechanisms within Defence, the Administrative Decisions (Judicial Review) Act 1977 or judicial review in the Federal Court), but such avenues are not referred to in this Determination text. The instrument itself does not supply previous litigation or binding judicial interpretations that would guide application of the newly‑amended provisions.

Because the Determination relies on factual and satisfaction judgments by named decision-makers and the CDF, practical litigation exposure would likely turn on administrative law principles (reasonableness, procedural fairness, evidence for factual satisfaction), but those principles are external to the text provided and are not discussed or invoked in the Determination itself.

The text contains several practical traps for members, administrators and service providers. These are concrete operational “gotchas” drawn from the instrument’s language:

• Documentary timing for assisted leave travel proof is tight. If a member offsets assisted leave travel or receives reimbursement in advance, documentary evidence must be supplied within 2 weeks of returning to the posting location (s 16.4.16.1). Failure to do so exposes the member to full recovery of the assistance (s 16.4.15).

• Offsetting to an in-country or non‑Annex location requires CDF satisfaction. A member cannot unilaterally choose to offset their assisted leave travel to any location; the CDF must be satisfied the chosen location meets the statutory purpose of the benefit (s 16.4.12.1-2). This converts what might appear to be a portable entitlement into a discretionary, case-by-case approval.

• Stored items and changing nominated post‑service location. If a member’s items were removed to storage at the location they nominated to live after ceasing continuous full‑time service, and the member then decides to live at a different location, they are not eligible for stored-items removal under s 6.5.60.5.a. That sequencing can lead to unexpected ineligibility if members alter plans.

• Minimum thresholds for medical reimbursement are low but must be met and pro-rated. The thresholds (AUD 25 for <15, AUD 69 for 15+) are annually based and subject to pro‑rata reduction if only eligible for part of the financial year (s 15.5.7A). Importantly, the threshold is reduced by out‑of‑pocket costs incurred in Australia in the same financial year (s 15.5.7A.3), but not by any amounts refunded by Medicare. Members must track incurred costs across jurisdictions.

• Exclusions and definitional nuances for ADF family health program reimbursements. The Determination requires referral by a “healthcare physician” (defined to include GP, dietician, exercise physiologist, physiotherapist) for the named healthy eating and physical activity programs (s 8.9.7C-D). Reimbursements exclude the cost of food (s 8.9.7C.2) and cosmetic services are non-reimbursable (s 8.9.7.2). Those constraints may surprise members seeking reimbursement for commercial wellness programs without a qualifying referral or for ancillary costs like meals.

• Caps and the “unused scholarship” limit. For loss-of-scholarship education assistance, total reimbursement must not exceed the unused portion of the scholarship, or the applicable sublimit (s 8.4.18.3). The cap in the tuition-fees table (s 8.4.21.1 item 1) references a total of $32,432 and a sublimit calculation described as “the higher of $403 or the amount equal to the contribution they would normally have incurred for their child’s continued attendance at that school.” The dual-criterion sublimit structure requires members to calculate comparative values and may involve interaction with school fee accounting.

• Transition and savings carve-outs are narrow. Schedule 11 preserves pre‑approved education assistance only while the member’s current posting continues or until specific terminating events (posting ends, posted back to previous location, ceasing continuous full‑time service, or child completes education). Members must check whether their circumstances trigger cessation of the saved entitlement (Schedule 11 cl 2.3).

• Accommodation assistance for China is time-limited. Schedule 8, s 16.4.14 provides a specific accommodation assistance formula for in-country offsets to China but expressly ceases to apply on 30 June 2023 (s 16.4.14.4). Claims for similar assistance after that date are not supported by this clause.

• CDF discretion is broadly framed. Multiple provisions require the CDF to be “satisfied” or to exercise judgment about “reasonableness” when deciding entitlements, retention or repayment (for example s 2.3.7, s 16.4.12.2, amendments to s 17.3.2.4). That creates areas of administrative uncertainty where entitlements depend on discretionary determinations rather than purely objective tests.

• One-person vehicle allowance only. When multiple eligible travellers use the same private vehicle, vehicle allowance for calculating travel cost is payable to only one person (s 16.4.6.3). Members travelling together must coordinate claims to avoid duplication.

• Decision-maker identification but not process. While s 15.5.7(4) names the decision-makers for medical reimbursement (Director National Operations and Director Directorate of Clinical Services, Joint Health Command), the Determination does not set out the internal procedural rules those offices must follow in making the “not otherwise provided for by local arrangements” determinations. That may prolong claim processing or generate inconsistent outcomes.

These “gotchas” combine short documentary windows, discretionary gating, pro‑rata computations, nominal caps and interaction rules that can produce unexpected denials or recovered payments if not anticipated by members and administrators.

To operationalise entitlement claims and reduce the risk of loss or recovery, members and administrators should adopt a set of practical compliance steps, tied to the specific statutory mechanics in the Determination:

1. Track and preserve documentary evidence promptly.

   • For assisted leave travel offsets or advance reimbursements keep dated passport stamps, airline boarding passes showing flight date and destination, travel agent confirmations or bus/train tickets. The Determination requires documentary evidence within two weeks of returning to the posting location (s 16.4.16.1-2). Missing that two-week window exposes the member to recovery under s 16.4.15.

2. For ADF family health program claims, obtain required referrals and itemise claims.

   • Reimbursable healthy-eating and physical-activity services require referral by a “healthcare physician” (GP, dietician, exercise physiologist or physiotherapist) (s 8.9.2 and ss 8.9.7C-D). Ensure the referral is recorded and retained. Note the $800 cap per eligible dependant and that food costs are excluded (s 8.9.6A.1 and s 8.9.7C.2).

3. Monitor and calculate thresholds and pro‑rata reductions for medical reimbursements.

   • For government-funded non-Medicare service claims, confirm whether the eligible person’s out-of-pocket medical expenses meet the minimum threshold (AUD 25 for under‑15s, AUD 69 for 15+), and apply the pro‑rata formula if eligible for part of the financial year (s 15.5.7A.1-2). If eligible person incurred costs in Australia in that financial year, reduce the threshold by those amounts (s 15.5.7A.3). Keep detailed records of all out-of-pocket costs and any Medicare or other refunds.

4. When relying on “not otherwise provided locally” determinations for overseas medical reimbursement, collect evidence about local availability.

   • The decision-maker must be satisfied the item would be covered under an Australian scheme and is not otherwise provided locally (s 15.5.7.3.b.i-ii). Provide supporting documentation about local health service arrangements, written statements from local providers or Defence medical officers, and any correspondence showing unavailability.

5. For education assistance claims under loss-of-scholarship rules, document scholarship status and the unused scholarship amount.

   • The member’s reimbursement is capped by the unused part of the scholarship or applicable sublimits (s 8.4.18.3). Obtain written confirmation of scholarship termination, documentation of unused scholarship funds, invoices for compulsory tuition fees and textbooks, and evidence that the cost covers the type of education that would have been provided under the scholarship (s 8.4.18.2).

6. Coordinate decisions about stored items and nominated post‑service locations.

   • Before moving items to storage or finalising a nominated post‑service living location, confirm the decision’s consequences. If stored items are being used to support a future removal to the nominated location, changing that nominated location later may nullify stored-items removal eligibility (s 6.5.60.5.a.i-ii). Keep correspondence of nominations and any changes.

7. For assisted leave travel claims, understand the Annex-based trip entitlements and apply formulas for non-standard postings.

   • Trip entitlements for ordinary posting periods are set by Annex 16.B values (s 16.4.9). Use the formula in s 16.4.10 to calculate additional trips for postings longer than ordinary periods and the formula in s 16.4.11 for shorter postings. If seeking offset travel, apply to the CDF and provide evidence that the alternative meets the leave travel purpose (s 16.4.12.1-2).

8. For private-vehicle travel claims, calculate reimbursements using official vehicle-allowance rates and document any transport costs.

   • Private vehicle costs are calculated by reference to the vehicle allowance under s 15.3.21 as if used on official business, plus any relevant transport costs for part of the journey (s 16.4.6.2). If travelling with multiple eligible persons, note that vehicle allowance is payable to only one person (s 16.4.6.3).

9. Anticipate CDF discretionary decisions and prepare supporting material.

   • Many entitlements require CDF satisfaction or a “reasonableness” assessment (e.g. offsetting assisted leave travel, repayment exceptions, business-class travel exceptions) (s 16.4.12, s 2.3.7, amended s 17.3.2.4). When seeking discretionary approvals, present contemporaneous evidence on medical or operational necessity, group travel context, and any other relevant factors listed in the applicable provision (for example factors listed in amended s 17.3.2.4).

10. For members with pre‑existing approvals or transitional coverage, check the terminating conditions.

    • Schedule 11 preserves prior education assistance approvals only until specific events occur (posting ends, posted back to previous location, ceasing continuous full‑time service, child completes education). Schedule 12 converts specified historical periods into coverage as if Schedule 6 had been in force; members who incurred eligible costs during the defined “period of eligibility” must ensure their claims reflect the transitional provisions (Schedule 12 cl 1-3).

11. Keep administrative contact points and decision‑maker names ready.

    • For medical reimbursement queries and decisions, the Determination names Director National Operations, Joint Health Command, and Director Directorate of Clinical Services, Joint Health Command as decision-makers (s 15.5.7.4). For substituted leave centres, the Director Overseas and Housing Policy has power (s 16.4.8). Claims and requests should be directed to the relevant office with supporting documentary evidence.

12. Record and synchronise claims to avoid duplicate claims or clawbacks.

    • Where claims interact (e.g. assisted leave travel and additional travel benefits, or offsetting vs using additional travel benefit), ensure administrators apply s 16.4.4 reductions to trip counts and cross-check other entitlements (s 16.4.4). Do not assume entitlements are bucketed separately without administrative cross-checks.

Following these steps will align claim procedures with the documentary, timing, cap and decision-maker rules in the amended Determination, reduce exposure to recovery and make decision-making by named officers easier and faster.