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The functions of the Authority are specified in section 196B of the VEA.
The major function of the Authority is to determine Statements of Principles
in respect of particular kinds of injury, disease or death, based on “sound
medical-scientific evidence” for the purpose of applying the applicable
standards of proof relating to veterans' matters; the “reasonable hypothesis”
standard and the “reasonable satisfaction” (or “balance of probabilities”)
standard.
The passage of the Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 2004
extended the application of Statements of Principles to the consideration
of claims to have injury, disease or death accepted as service-related
under that Act for all service on or after 1 July 2004.
A Statement of Principles in respect of a particular kind of injury,
disease or death which applies for the purposes of the “reasonable hypothesis”
standard details the factors that must as a minimum exist and which of
those factors must be related to relevant service rendered by a person,
before it can be said that a reasonable hypothesis has been raised connecting
an injury, disease or death of that kind with the circumstances of that
service.
A Statement of Principles which applies for the purposes of the “reasonable
satisfaction” standard sets out the factors that must exist, and which
of those factors must be related to relevant service rendered by a person
before it can be said that, on the balance of probabilities, an injury,
disease or death of that kind is connected with the circumstances of that
service.
It can be seen that the Authority is not concerned with individual claims
or cases, but with the task of developing Statements of Principles in
order for the Repatriation Commission to assess claims for disability
pension.
The function of the Authority is to conduct investigations either on
its own initiative or when it receives a request under section 196E of
the VEA in respect of a particular kind of injury, disease or death. Investigations
may lead to the determination of a or a decision not to make a Statement
of Principles depending upon whether the Authority is of the view that
there is sufficient sound medical-scientific evidence on which it can
rely to make a new, or amend an existing, Statement of Principles.
Sound medical-scientific evidence is defined in section 5AB(2) of the
VEA as follows:
Information about a particular kind of injury, disease or death is taken
to be sound medical-scientific evidence if:
(a) the information:
(i) is consistent with material relating to medical science that
has been published in a medical or scientific publication and has
been, in the opinion of the Repatriation Medical Authority, subjected
to a peer review process; or
ii) in accordance with generally accepted medical practice, would
serve as the basis for the diagnosis and management of a medical condition;
and
(b) in the case of information about how that kind of injury, disease
or death may be caused - meets the applicable criteria for assessing
causation currently applied in the field of epidemiology.
A Statement of Principles is a legislative instrument for the purposes
of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003.
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This page last updated 29 October 2006. |
