Please Note
Legislative changes which commenced on 1 July 2026 have impacted the information contained in this chapter.
From this date, the Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation (Defence-related Claims) Act 1988 (DRCA) and the Veterans’ Entitlements Act 1986 (VEA) were closed to new claims and the Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 2004 (MRCA) became the single Act providing coverage for veterans, regardless of service.
For Australian Defence force (ADF) members who participated in the Department of Defence’s F-111 ‘Deseal/Reseal’ Program, coverage for this group (and the list of ‘prescribed’ conditions which apply for liability purposes) have been replicated under the MRCA via legislative instrument in accordance with section 27A of the Act from 1 July 2026. These conditions and associated service requirements are covered under ‘presumptive liability’ arrangements. Claims for all other medical conditions will be assessed under other MRCA liability-determination processes.
For further information regarding these changes, please refer to Chapter 3.2 – Heads of Liability and Chapter 3.4.14 – Presumptive Liability in the MRCA Policy Handbook.
The SHOAMP Health Care Scheme and Better Health Program are unaffected by the legislative changes. These schemes are provided under the Financial Framework Regulations and continue unchanged.
- Group 1 status:
• Personnel involved in the F-111 deseal/reseal training conducted in Sacramento, USA;
• Personnel, including supervisors, involved in the formal F-111 deseal/reseal programs;
• Personnel involved in the regular burning or disposal of F-111 deseal/reseal products;
• Personnel involved in ad hoc 'pick and patch' fuel tank maintenance on F-111 aircraft prior to January 2000;
• Personnel involved in other maintenance or directly related tasks prior to January 2000 where their work required physical entry to an F-111 fuel tank to conduct that maintenance or task;
• Personnel who dismantled and/or disposed of the canvas from the Air Transportable Deseal/Reseal Hangar (the 'Rag Hangar');
• Personnel whose primary place of duty was within the deseal/reseal hangars or the Air Transportable Deseal/Reseal Hangar (the 'Rag Hangar') at Amberley during one or more of the formal deseal/reseal programs;
• Personnel employed in Engine Test Cell No 1 during the period 1976 – 1986;
• Fuel farm workers and personnel involved in the transport, delivery and handling of F 111 deseal/reseal products including SR51/51A. These workers and personnel must have regularly performed duties of supply and disposal of F-111 deseal/reseal products;
• Personnel immersed in the Warrill Creek Settling Pond at RAAF Base Amberley; or
• Work Experience students at Hawker de Havilland who worked inside the tanks. - Group 2 status:
• Immediate family members of a SHCS Group 1 participant; or
• Service personnel or civilian employees who are not covered by the SHCS Group 1 definition but were employed at RAAF Base Amberley during the F-111 deseal/reseal programs (the 1st and 2nd deseal/reseal programs 1977-82 and 1991 93; the spray seal program 1996-99 and the wings deseal/reseal program 1985-92).