First date of medical treatment
In the MCRS environment, selection of the first date of medical treatment will depend on the nature of the condition, available medical evidence.
Members of the Permanent Force
Medical records will generally exist in relation to members of the Permanent Force, because of their utilisation of ADF Medical Services. Accordingly, the date of occurrence should be set as the date when the member first sought treatment for the condition which later became the subject of the claim. This date can be established from close examination of the member's medical records, supplemented where necessary by a further report from a medical practitioner.
In the case of Reservists and cadets, the initial medical treatment for the claimed condition is likely to have been undertaken by a private or public medical practitioner. In these cases, the date of occurrence for a disease should be the date that the disease was diagnosed by a qualified medical practitioner, unless some other earlier date can be positively established on the facts. For example, the treating medical practitioner may certify that earlier undiagnosed symptoms (headaches, dizzy spells) were an early indication of the claimed condition.