Chapter 2 of this Handbook sets out the legislative framework for the administration of military compensation. Delegates should therefore be aware that the Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 1988 covers ADF members and ex-members (including reservists, cadets and declared members) for injuries/diseases as a result of service up until 30 June 2004.
In those cases where it is the client who initiates the contact, you should NOT refuse to give the client direct service, i.e. on the spurious grounds that they are represented and you are therefore prohibited from talking to him/her, in fact you are not. Note that it is the client who retains (employs) the lawyer or engages the ESO representative not the other way around. If the client chooses not to use his/her representative on that occasion, he/she is perfectly at liberty to do so, and you have a responsibility as a Delegate to deal with that person.
The purpose of medical report from a Specialist Medical Review (SMR) is to provide expert advice to a Delegate about the nature and probable origin of the alleged condition. In disease cases in particular, the SMR will be looking for medical evidence indicating that the illness can, on the basis of probability, be attributed to some particular cause.
The definition of Impairment at S4 of the SRCA reads:
'Impairment' means 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 medical specialist commissioned to conduct this medical examination should be selected with care, having regard to qualifications, known experience or expertise in the field and – if known – the quality and comprehensiveness of previous reports.
Section 54(2) requires that a claim for compensation is to be given to the employee's 'relevant authority'. However Part XI of the Act gives the Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Commission this authority in place of Comcare.
The exclusion of injuries (incl. diseases and aggravations) arising out of a failure to obtain transfer promotion or benefit from employment is closely related to the exclusion of compensation for injuries arising out of disciplinary proceedings, discussed above. Obviously both refer to disputes with ADF management and are covered by the same exclusionary provision in the SRCA, i.e. the S4 definition of 'injury' under the SRCA:
'injury' means:
There are several circumstances where a claimant may be known to a staff member. These could include but not be limited to the following examples;
For practical purposes, the initial onus is on the employee to obtain and supply the relevant supporting medical evidence. This merely means that Delegates can ask the client to produce copies of the relevant folios from the ADF Medical File. This is a matter of administrative convenience and particularly appropriate where the claimant is still serving and therefore has greater access to the medical file than does RCG.
Reports on the nature and causation of a disease should normally be by a legally qualified medical specialist. With very few exceptions, reports by general practitioners are not sufficient for the purpose. GP reports are generally only acceptable on health maintenance issues for those cases where liability has been accepted i.e. ongoing treatment, medication, readiness for work etc.
