NEL is a subjective concept of the effects of the impairment on the veteran’s life (‘lifestyle effect’). It includes pain and suffering, loss of amenities of life, loss of expectation of life and any other real inconveniences caused by the impairment. NEL is assessed in accordance with Division 2 of the DRCA PI Guide. Under the DRCA PI Guide, NEL includes:
The Black Hawk helicopter accident of 12 June 1996 focussed attention on the levels of compensation for the dependants of those killed as well as the severely injured. An inquiry into compensation for the members of the ADF resulted in the following changes:
The 1971 Act includes several interlinked provisions for loss of sight:
Survival of claims
Section 55 of the Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation (Defence-related Claims) Act 1988 (DRCA) contains provisions enabling both:
The date an injury occurred and the resulting impairment became permanent, is crucial in deciding if an impairment should be assessed under the DRCA or under the predecessor Acts.
Delegates should consider the following questions:
In most cases, question 1 will be pre-determined by the liability determination. The opinion of the medical practitioner should be used to determine question 2.
Table B2 requires an assessment of the impact of the injury on Mobility, Social Relationships and for Recreation and Leisure Activities. A score out of five is given for each of the following:
These are scores are then combined with the scores from Tables B1, B3 and B4 using the combined value calculation in Table B5.
Table B2.1 Mobility
Each NEL assessment is limited to the specific injury for which compensation is payable. As such, regardless of the number of impairments arising from one injury, one NEL assessment must be undertaken which takes into account all impairments resulting from that injury.
The authorised delegate of the Secretary must give notice of any decision to authorise, or not to authorise, a payment of an amount of SIA in relation to a member.
The notice must include statement of reasons for making the decision, and also include the appeal rights available to the member if they are dissatisfied with the decision. Failure to comply with the requirement to provide appeal rights in relation to the decision does not affect the validity of the decision.
Provision to assess interim PI under the Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation (Defence-related) Act 1988 (DRCA) ensures the possibility of entitlement to a permanent impairment payment does not impede the rehabilitation process.
The WPI ratings of 50, 60 and 90 under Table 5.1 require consideration of whether a client has 'need for supervision and direction in a confined environment'.
