Section 4(1) of the SRCA defines a 'prescribed child', thus:
4(1) 'prescribed child' means:
a)a person under 16, or
b)a person who:
(i)is 16 or more but under 25
(ii)is receiving full time education at a school, college, university or other educational institution, and
(iii)is not ordinarily in employment or engaged in work on his or her own account.
Being a prescribed child has no significance of itself. In the context of death benefits it is only relevant to whether the child of a deceased member is entitled to a weekly payment (see 4.1 [2]0) and to whether a person's child can be deemed to be wholly dependent because they were living with the deceased immediately before the death (see 1.1 — 3). Otherwise, it is sufficient to be entitled to death benefits if a person who was wholly or partly dependent on the deceased was their 'child'.
Note that:
Persons over the age of 16 who are alleged to be Prescribed Children must demonstrate:
a)That they are under the age of 25 – a copy of the birth certificate is required from all children claiming any sort of death benefit, but particularly Ss17(5).
b)That they are enrolled full-time at a school, college, university or other educational institution – a copy of the enrolment documents is required to substantiate this.
Links
[1] https://clik.dva.gov.au/user/login?destination=node/20636%23comment-form
[2] https://clik.dva.gov.au/military-compensation-srca-manuals-and-resources-library/death-handbook/ch-4-determining-srcaadb-lump-sum-entitlements/410-weekly-payments-prescribed-children