This manual is provided for delegates investigating and determining compensation claims for Permanent Impairment (PI) that result from accepted conditions (i.e. injuries or diseases) by serving and ex-serving members of the Australian Defence Forces from eligible service prior to 1 July 2004. Information is provided for all Commonwealth Compensation acts that impact on Permanent Impairment claims.
Sections 24 to 28 of the Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation (Defence-related Claims) Act 1988 (DRCA) relate to claims for PI where the accepted condition became permanent on or after 1 December 1988 and relating to SRCA service. More detailed comment on such claims is provided later in this manual.
Permanent impairment is the effect of injury or disease on a part of the body (arms, legs, back etc.) or on a bodily system such as the digestive, psychological or reproductive system, and compensation is paid in the form of tax-free lump sums for the effect of the impairment.
The Guide to the Assessment of the Degree of Permanent Impairment is an Approved Guide under section 28 of the DRCA. The Guide was developed using a Whole Person Impairment (WPI) concept drawn from the American Medical Association's Guide, and expresses the extent to which impairment affects the functional capacity of a normal healthy person. This was based on the principle that a healthy person has 100% functionality and any impairment reduces that 100% by a nominated percentage as identified by the tables appropriate to the condition. However, subsequent court decisions must be considered in determining which impairment values are combined and which must be assessed separately. See Chapter 3 [3] for discussions of injuries, impairments and the WPI concept.
Within the Commonwealth Employees' Compensation Act 1930 (1930 Act [5]) and Compensation (Commonwealth Government Employees) Act 1971 [6] (1971 Act) provision existed to pay compensation for permanent impairment. Both Acts worked on a table of maims identifying the specific injuries for which compensation could be paid. As opposed to the Whole Person Concept under the 1988 SRCA, the 1930 and 1971 Acts used a 'loss of efficient use' measurement to identify the impact of the injury and determine the amount of compensation. See Chapters 7-9 [7]in this manual for more information
Links
[1] https://clik.dva.gov.au/user/login?destination=node/20936%23comment-form
[2] https://clik.dva.gov.au/user/login?destination=node/20888%23comment-form
[3] https://clik.dva.gov.au/military-compensation-srca-manuals-and-resources-library/permanent-impairment-handbook/ch-3-concepts
[4] https://clik.dva.gov.au/user/login?destination=node/20855%23comment-form
[5] https://www.legislation.gov.au/Series/C1930A00024
[6] https://www.legislation.gov.au/Series/C1971A00048
[7] https://clik.dva.gov.au/military-compensation-srca-manuals-and-resources-library/permanent-impairment-handbook/ch-7-assessments-under-1971-and-1930-acts