10.6 Aggravation

The entry under 'aggravation' at Section 4 of the SRCA says only:

includes acceleration or recurrence

Aggravation is not separately defined by either the 1971 Act or the 1930 Act, but the above SRCA definition certainly describes the manner in which the term is used for those Acts.

For the purposes of Delegates, aggravation of an injury or a disease means that a work related factor has caused a worsening, re-emergence or acceleration of a pre-existing medical condition. That previous condition which has been aggravated, may be either compensable already but it may also have originally been non-compensable. If non-compensable, an employment-related aggravation renders the whole of that previous condition compensable until such time the aggravation has ceased to exert a medical effect. Some aggravations may be permanent, others will have temporary effects but it is not generally possible to tell the difference at the time of determination.

For policy on aggravations of SRCA conditions by MRCA service see 12.5.4 - Claims for clinical onset and aggravation.