Policy

Section 14(3) of the SRCA provides:

14(3) Compensation is not payable in respect of an injury that is caused by the serious and wilful misconduct of the employee but is not intentionally self-inflicted, unless the injury results in death, or serious and permanent impairment.

ADF members are subject to posting cycles which may transfer their place of residence and work from an area in Australia where Ross River or Barmah Forrest virus is absent, to a place where it is endemic. It is common for clients claiming compensation for these illnesses to assert that they would not have been residing in an area where the disease is endemic, had it not been for their employment. However, S7(2) deals with diseases endemic in a community thus:

Some Ex Service Organisation client advocates and lawyers have adopted the practice of commissioning a Specialist Medical Review of their client without prior consultation with the Delegate, and subsequently forward this report to RCG expecting that the claim for liability be decided on the basis of it. Almost invariably, the Delegate is invited to pay the account for this report, 'forthwith'.

From time to time RCG claims and files will need to be transferred from one RCG site to another. Claims are to be transferred in a timely fashion with all outstanding work finalised prior to transfer. In particular the originating office is to continue to action the claim until a primary determination has been made.

For practical reasons there will be exceptions to this rule including:

Previously, an injury and its sequelae were often regarded as a single compensable unit, i.e. similar to the situation where multiple injuries are received in a single vehicle accident. However, this has changed since the High Court decision in Canute v Comcare which indicated that once a condition has been determined as an injury as defined by the Act, it is thereafter treated on its own merits.

The exclusion of an injury from compensation because it arose from 'serious and wilful misconduct' is not absolute but has limits.

Section 14(3) of the SRCA provides:

14(3) Compensation is not payable in respect of an injury that is caused by the serious and wilful misconduct of the employee but is not intentionally self-inflicted, unless the injury results in death, or serious and permanent impairment

Clients, who have lodged a claim, and then advise that they are taking up permanent residence overseas are to have their claim administered by the Location which handled their claim before the departure for overseas.

The Defcare 'Liability Module' aids decision-making in liability cases. This interactive computer software is a case investigation guide for Delegates, which at the time of writing, deals only with post-1 December 1988 cases. The decision recommended by the Liability Module is heavily dependent on the quality of your input to it. The Liability Module is in the form of an electronic questionnaire and some questions will involve you in considerable research and close judgements.

Where claims for alcoholism and related diseases are presented to Delegates, clients typically assert that a nexus with employment exists in that: