3.7 'Eligible' 1988 Impairments

The reference to an 'eligible' 1988 impairment is a shorthand way of describing a certain type of impairment for the purposes of R&C ISH. An impairment is an 'eligible' 1988 impairment if it satisfies the following tests:

• the impairment is related to a medical condition for which initial liability has been accepted, and
• the impairment is permanent, having regard to the criteria in S24(2), and
• the impairment relates to SRCA service prior to 1 July 2004, and
• the impairment, other than one related to hearing loss, became permanent after the commencement of the SRCA, or
• the impairment is related to hearing loss and it is to be treated as a 1988 impairment.
  
  [a hearing loss is treated as a 1988 impairment if it is 10% or more and exposure to noise continued, or first commenced, under the 1988 Act. Where the Date of Injury is on and after 1 October 2001, the relevant WPI threshold for hearing loss is 2.5%.]