Summary
Following government endorsement of the recommendations of the Review of the Corporate Governance of Statutory Authorities and Office Holders (the Uhrig Review) and the recommendations of an interdepartmental committee, the bill amends the Defence Housing Authority Act 1987 to: rename the Defence Housing Authority (DHA) as Defence Housing Australia; reduce the size of the Board and create an advisory committee; expand the scope of the services DHA can provide and enable it to expand operations to include the provision of services to other Commonwealth agencies; remove DHA’s exemption from Commonwealth taxation and require it to make State and Territory tax equivalent payments to the Commonwealth; and remove outdated provisions. Also amends the Defence Force (Home Loans Assistance) Act 1990 and Occupational Health and Safety (Commonwealth Employment) Act 1991 to reflect the name change to Defence Housing Australia.