Editors --- "Inability of a Same-Sex Partner to Obtain Benefit as a Veteran's Dependant" [2004] AdminRw 20; (2004) 56 Admin Review 69

• Inability of a same-sex partner to obtain benefit as a veteran’s dependant

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Inability of a same-sex partner to obtain benefit as a veteran’s dependant

The United Nations Human Rights Committee has ruled that Australia violated the rights of a homosexual man who was not able to obtain benefits under the Veterans’ Entitlements Act 1986 following the death of his partner of 38 years, a war veteran. Mr Edward Young made a claim as a veteran’s dependant. The definitions in the Act provided, however, that a ‘member of a couple’ was either legally married to another person or living with a person of the opposite sex. The Repatriation Commission and the Veterans’ Review Board rejected Mr Young’s claim for this reason, and the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission denied his complaint because he had been subject to the automatic and non-discretionary operation of the Act.

Australia argued the case before the Human Rights Committee on the basis that, on the facts as a whole, no partner of the deceased veteran, regardless of gender, would have been entitled to a pension and that therefore Mr Young had not been discriminated against. The Committee rejected this argument in its view^[1], because Mr Young could never obtain a pension, even if he met all the other criteria of the legislation. Australia had failed to provide any evidence of reasonable and objective reasons for the distinction made between same-sex partners and unmarried heterosexual partners. In a separate, concurring, opinion two members of the Committee commented that Australia had in a real sense not contested the case.

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^[1] CCPR/C/78/D/941/2000.