Section 27 of the MRCA establishes that liability may be accepted where an injury, disease or death is a service injury, service disease or service death, because one of the listed heads of liability applies and the person was rendering defence service (as described in s6).
Section 27 establishes that an injury sustained or a disease contracted, by a person is a service injury or a service disease if one or more of the following heads of liability apply:
(a) the injury or disease resulted from an occurrence that happened while the person was a member rendering defence service;(b) the injury or disease arose out of, or was attributable to, any defence service rendered by the person while a member;
(c) in the opinion of the Commission:
(i) the injury was sustained due to an accident that would not have occurred; or
(ii) the disease would not have been contracted;
but for
(iii) the person having rendered defence service while a member; or
(iv) changes in the person’s environment consequent upon his or her having rendered defence service while a member;
(d) the injury or disease:
(i) was sustained or contracted while the person was a member rendering defence service, but did not arise out of that service; or
(ii) was sustained or contracted before the commencement of a period of defence service rendered by the person while a member, but not while the person was rendering defence service;
and, in the opinion of the Commission, the injury or disease was contributed to in a material degree by, or was aggravated by, any defence service rendered by the person while a member after he or she sustained the injury or contracted the disease*;
Note: This paragraph might not cover aggravations of, or material contributions to, signs and symptoms of an injury or disease (see Repatriation Commission v Yates (1995) 38 Administrative Law Decisions 80). This is dealt with in section 30
(e) the injury or disease resulted from an accident that occurred while the person was travelling, while a member rendering peacetime service but otherwise than in the course of duty, on a journey:
(i) to a place for the purpose of performing duty; or
(ii) away from a place of duty upon having ceased to perform duty.
Section 61(d) of the MRCA defines defence service as including warlike, non‑warlike, or peacetime service rendered on or after 1 July 2004.