AUSTRALIAN troops in Afghanistan are being denied private insurance cover to top up inadequate government benefits for death or injury, according to a high-level report that warns the forces' "recruitment, retention and capability will be increasingly compromised" by the situation.
Picture: AFP/ADF
Australian troops farewell three commandos killed in a chopper crash, in Afghanistan.
The new threat to defence preparedness comes little more than a week after a review of military compensation arrangements revealed a split in the federal bureaucracy over calls for war to justify higher death benefits.
Documents obtained by The Australian under Freedom of Information laws reveal Defence chief Angus Houston commissioned a report from the Australian Defence Force Financial Services Consumer Council on members' access to insurance cover.
The report — heavily censored because the Gillard government has yet to respond to its findings — emphasised that it was in the best interests of the Australian Defence Force for members to have access to private life insurance, accident insurance, salary continuance insurance or other business-related insurance.
"Furthermore, without the option of purchasing additional insurance, it is arguable that ADF recruitment, retention and capability will be increasingly compromised due to the unwillingness of members and potential members (words deleted) to expose themselves to hazardous circumstances," the report warned.
Individual members and defence groups told the council that statutory benefits — a base, lump-sum payment for a wholly dependent partner of up to $610,498, in addition to superannuation or add-on benefits — were "not necessarily adequate for all ADF members" and had caused heartache in some cases.
Industry sources told The Australian the war in Afghanistan had not, in itself, made insurance harder to obtain, but war exclusion clauses in existing policies were catching out more personnel, especially those who were needed to fill gaps on the frontline or ease the strain on members facing repeated deployments.
Defence raised the issue in the military compensation review, which reported "a significant problem for reservists on continuous full-time service, especially health professionals, where (statutory) benefits for injury or death may not be sufficient to cover loss of business income".
Defence is already concerned the resurgent economy might undermine recruitment plans.
The review looked at whether life insurance could be integrated into the Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Act but found such a "radical change" would be difficult to achieve.
"Compulsory insurance would also convey the impression that the MRCA is inadequate and life insurance is a necessary substitute for military compensation," the report warned.
"In reality, compensation under MRCA is sufficient for the vast majority of ADF members, particularly when combined with the death and disability benefits provided by military superannuation schemes."
©theaustralian.com.au
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.