Place of education is not defined in the SRCA. Guidance can be obtained from definitions in the Concise Oxford Dictionary.
'Education' has the dictionary meaning:
1. the act or process of educating or being educated; systematic instruction. ...3.a development of character or mental powers. b. a stage in or aspect of this (travel will be an education for you).
'Educate' has the dictionary meaning:
Any injury or disease suffered by a member or ex-member of the ADF as a result of that member's consumption of alcohol or illicit drugs should in most cases be considered to be a result of a personal choice by the member. It follows that alcohol consumption can not be considered to have been reasonably required, expected or authorised by the ADF in order for the member to carry out his/her duties. Consequently, those claims generally are not to be accepted for compensation purposes. There are only two exceptions to this general policy:
1.A client suffers anaesthesia complications during an operation for the amputation of her leg, which had earlier been crushed in a non-compensable motor vehicle accident. The anaesthesia complications cause brain damage, leading to significant impairment and total incapacity for work.
2.A client is blinded in one eye following cosmetic eye surgery. Loss of sight is a known, but very rare, risk factor in that surgical procedure.
The Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation Commission has made a policy decision that, where an actual blood alcohol level reading is available, (most likely in motor vehicle accident claims), the level of 0.05 (0.05g of alcohol for each 100ml of blood) is a strong indicator of being 'under the influence ' and should be applied as the standard for determining whether the exclusion in S4(13) applies.
The SRCA does not positively require that both a notice of injury and a separate claim for compensation be submitted. It is open to a Delegate to decide that the compensation claim form should also be taken as a notice of injury if such a claim is made within the required time of injury or there is no prejudice to RCG because of the lateness of the claim/notice.
It is obvious from the above that certain periods of military service are covered by both the VEA and the SRCA (or the 1971 Act). Delegates should make themselves aware of these periods in order to advise clients of alternative avenues for compensation for their injuries, and also because this overlap may have implications for how SRCA entitlements are to be administered.
Having established that the employee has suffered a medical condition with the character of an 'injury', the Delegate's investigation seeks to establish whether or not this injury arose out of or in the course of employment in the ADF.
The function of administering and determining claims by persons who live overseas rests with the RCG State or Territory (regional) office where the claim is first received. For example, Adelaide office would continue to have primary responsibility for administration of a claim which is received in that office from a claimant living outside Australia.
Sections 54 and 54A of the 1971 Act, in its form after amendments on 1 July 1986 by Act No 33 of 1986, required a written claim for compensation in reasonably similar form to S54 of the SRCA 1988. Those sections of the 1971 Act stated:
54. Compensation is not payable under this Act to a person unless a claim in writing for the compensation was served on the Commissioner, by or on behalf of the person, in accordance with Section 54A.
1.What constitutes an 'act of violence' for the purposes of S6(1)(a) is well illustrated by the decision of the Tribunal in Mulligan and Comcare (1995). The Tribunal held that a motor vehicle accident was not an 'act of violence', commenting:
It can not be said that any physical accident can be properly described as an act of violence. What is required is something in the nature of an assault. The fact that the word 'act' is used indicates the requirement of volition, and an element of deliberateness.
