8.10 Catastrophic Injury Provisions
Catastrophic Injury (and Disease) Provisions
for Household Services and Attendant Care Services
for Household Services and Attendant Care Services
The AAT decision in Todd v Department of Defence [1993] AAT No. 9004 (4 August 1993) confirmed that household services does not include the provision of household maintenance tasks. Accordingly the following are not household services as they are considered as household maintenance:
Some clients may require additional support in order to live independently in the community.
The Veterans' Home Care Program (VHC) provides a small amount of assistance to support veterans to continue to live independently in the community.
Clients who hold a Veteran Gold Card or Veteran White Card for an accepted service-related injury or condition may be eligible for support through the Veterans' Home Care Program.
VHC Services include:
Any other matters that are relevant to considering a claim for household services will be entirely dependent on the circumstances of a particular case. The most obvious example of any other relevant matter is a report obtained from an Occupational Therapist in relation to what household services are reasonably required. However, other issues such as the impact of a deterioration in a client's accepted condition(s) may also be considered.
Household services and the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS)
Household services, are defined in Section 213 of the MRCA and Section 4 of the DRCA, as '...services of a domestic nature (including cooking, house cleaning, laundry and gardening services) that are required for the proper running and maintenance of the client's household.'
Household services are of a domestic nature and may include:
The key concept in considering any proposal for the provision of household services is whether or not the person reasonably requires the services, and that requirement is as a result of their service injury or disease.
Household services are provided for in Division 3 of Part 7 of Chapter 4 of the MRCA and section 29 of the DRCA. A client's need for household services may be identified through a Needs Assessment
Determinations for household services
For MRCA clients, a determination to pay compensation for household services is made under section 214 of MRCA using the criteria specified in section 215. Consistent with the consideration and determination process specified under section 333 of MRCA, the determination must be made in writing, after all matters relevant to the claim have been considered.