Section 13 of the Military Rehabilitation and Compensation (Consequential and Transitional Provisions) Act 2004 (CTPA) applies where a person with a condition accepted under the VEA and/or the DRCA lodges a claim for permanent impairment compensation under section 319(2) of the MRCA.
- Under section 13 of the CTPA, the impairment points constituted by the VEA and/or DRCA conditions as at the MRCA determination date must be counted towards the person’s total impairment points under the MRCA,
- Only those impairment points from conditions that were accepted under the VEA and/or DRCA as at the lodgement date of the MRCA PI claim currently being determined (including requests for reassessment based on deterioration, worsening or aggravation of existing conditions) can be counted towards this total.
Example
On 30 February 2020, a veteran lodges a claim for condition A under the MRCA. At that date, the following claims were relevant:
- Condition B was claimed under DRCA on 30 January 2020, liability accepted on 1 March 2020,
- Condition C was accepted under VEA on 1 January 2019,
- Condition D was accepted under DRCA on 30 March 2000,
- Condition E was accepted under DRCA on 1 January 1999.
Condition B is not included in the assessment because although it was claimed under DRCA before the MRCA PI claim date, liability was not accepted for the condition under after the MRCA PI claim date.
Condition C is included in the assessment because the determination to accept the condition under VEA was made before the MRCA PI claim date.
Condition D and condition E are included in the assessment because the determinations to accept the conditions under DRCA were made before the MRCA PI claim date.
Other benefits
One purpose of determining the impairment points from the VEA and/or DRCA condition is to establish whether the person meets the criteria for other benefits, such as:
- Additional amounts of compensation for severely impaired veterans with dependent eligible young people under section 80 of MRCA (please see chapter 5.12 of the MRCA PI Policy Manual),
- Veteran Gold Card (please see chapter 8.7.1 of the Treatment Policy Manual), or
- Special Rate Disability Pension under MRCA (please see chapter 13 of the MRCA Policy Manual).
Note: Please see chapter 12.7.7 of the Transitional Provisions Policy Manual for a complete list of other benefits veterans may be entitled to as a result of their total combined permanent impairment rating under MRCA.