The word 'obtain' means 'to acquire' and does not include the possible meaning of 'to retain'. If a member loses an existing benefit, a condition arising from that loss should be dealt with under the injury or disease provisions of the SRCA.
Neither the 1971 nor the 1930 Acts themselves, contain specific provisions to actively exclude injuries arising from reasonable disciplinary action.
However, for RCG purposes it is reasonable to so exclude new claims made during the currency of this Act (i.e. the SRCA) where the alleged injury is a disciplinary-caused illness contracted under an earlier Act.
Once the client complies with a direction to attend a nominated doctor for the purposes of S57, the suspension terminates. That termination restores the right to compensation, but from the date of compliance only. That is, suspensions remove the right to compensation for the period suspended, and entitlements which would otherwise have applied during the period of that suspension are not retrospectively restored once the suspension ceases.
Pre-liability rehabilitation is also possible for serving members identified for medical discharge, under the auspices of the Transition Management Service. (The TMS is administered by RCG Delegates for Dept of Defence.) Alternatively, Rehabilitation under the Veteran's Vocational Rehabilitation Scheme may be offered to employees who have no liability under a compensation Act but who qualify as a veteran for the purposes of the Veterans' Entitlements Act.
Particular difficulties can arise where the member was injured while travelling to an appointment and was unable to attend the appointment because of the accident. Every effort should be made to obtain independent verification of the purpose of the travel, e.g. by investigating whether:
Whether a person is under the influence of alcohol or a drug is a question of fact which must be determined by consideration of all the available evidence. The mere fact that the member has imbibed alcohol or taken a drug is not sufficient to bring S4(13) into operation. There must be evidence that they were 'under the influence' of that substance.
The Concise Oxford Dictionary includes the following relevant definition:
under the influence colloq. affected by alcoholic drink.
Note: The Department of Employment has issued a revised Specified Diseases and Employment Instrument under ss7(1) of the Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 1988. The Instrument came into effect on 1 October 2017.
Due to the commencement of the Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation Act (Defence-related Claims) Act 1988 (DRCA) on 12 October 2017, the Instrument is now also part of the DRCA.
Last amended: 16 October 2013
The Concise Oxford Dictionary includes the following relevant definitions:
disciplinary ad of, promoting, or enforcing discipline.
discipline n. 1a control or order exercised over people or animals, esp. children, prisoners, military personnel, church members, etc.1b the system of rules used to maintain this control 4 punishment.
