5.8.4 NEL Table B4 - Loss of Expectation of Life
A score out of three is given under Table B4 and then combined with the scores derived from Tables B1, B2 and B3 using the combined value calculation in Table B5.
5.2.1 Compensation for Permanent Impairment
Section 24 of DRCA
Section 24(1) provides that a member who is injured in compensable circumstances is entitled to lump-sum compensation in respect of any permanent impairment which results from that injury:
s24(1) Where an injury to an employee results in a permanent impairment, the Commonwealth is liable to pay compensation to the employee in respect of the injury.
3.2 Impairment
Impairments must be caused by accepted injuries to be compensable. Section 4 of the DRCA defines an 'impairment' as:
- the loss, the loss of the use, or the damage or malfunction, of any part of the body or of any bodily system or function or part of such system or function.
The Guide to the Assessment of the Degree of Permanent Impairment 2023 (the DRCA PI Guide) is used to assess Defence-related claims. The DRCA PI Guide expands on the definition of impairment in the 'Principals of Assessment' to include:
5.3.13 Miscellaneous - Table 13
The relevant tables in Table 13 are:
4.5.1 No Economic Dependants
Where a person can be described by one of the categories of familial relationships specified in the definition of 'dependant' at s(4)1, but nevertheless can not demonstrate economic dependence on the deceased, that person can not be a 'dependant'. Nothing is payable under S17 of the SRCA to such a person. Read also 1.10 of this chapter, as this also deals with this topic.
2.1.1 General
Claims for compensation in respect of death can be usefully divided into two types:
- Claims where the death is the result of a disease (or possibly, delayed effects of a traumatic injury) for which the Commonwealth has already accepted liability for the injury or disease.
- Claims where there is no prior claim for injury, i.e. the nexus between the known cause of death and ADF employment has not already been the subject of a determination prior to the request for compensation following death.
3.5 Suicides
Section 17 of the DRCA (Compensation for injuries resulting in death) sets out the circumstances in which the Commonwealth is liable to pay compensation for ‘an injury to an employee [that] results in death’.
When considering whether the Commonwealth is liable to pay compensation under s 17(1) in relation to a veteran’s suicide, it will be necessary to determine whether the injury that resulted in the veteran’s death is excluded under s 14(2) of the DRCA.
Subsection 14(2) of the DRCA says:
1.1 Compensation for injuries resulting in Death - S17 of the SRCA
Section 17 commences: '17(1) This section applies where an injury to an employee results in death...', and Section 17 is in fact the main source of entitlements for a work related death.
1.2 Additional Death Benefit - Defence Act 1903
The Additional Death Benefit ('ADB') was initiated by the 'Inquiry into Military Compensation arrangements for the Australian Defence Force' in 1997. The ADB is provided through Defence Determination 2009/70 under the Defence Act 1903 and not by the SRCA. However, Military, Rehabilitation and Compensation Commission (MRCC) delegates have also been formally declared as Defence delegates for the purposes of the Determination.