Amendment of Statement of Principles concerning acute myeloid leukaemia No. 44 of 2011 (Cth)

Amendment Statement of Principles

concerning

ACUTE MYELOID LEUKAEMIA

No. 44 of 2011

for the purposes of the

Veterans’ Entitlements Act 1986

and

Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 2004

1. This Instrument may be cited as Statement of Principles concerning acute myeloid leukaemia No. 44 of 2011.

1. The Repatriation Medical Authority amends, under subsection 196B(8) of the Veterans’ Entitlements Act 1986, Statement of Principles concerning acute myeloid leukaemia Instrument No. 36 of 2006 by:

(A)Replacing existing factors "(d)", "(e)" and "(f)" in clause 6 with the following:

"(d)      having received a cumulative equivalent dose of at least 0.05 sievert of ionising radiation to the bone marrow at least two years before the clinical onset of acute myeloid leukaemia; or";

"(e)      undergoing treatment with radioactive iodine for cancer before the clinical onset of acute myeloid leukaemia, where the first exposure occurred at least two years before the clinical onset of acute myeloid leukaemia; or"; and

"(f)       undergoing treatment with radioactive phosphorus for a myeloproliferative disorder before the clinical onset of acute myeloid leukaemia, where the first exposure occurred at least two years before the clinical onset of acute myeloid leukaemia; or";

(B)Replacing the existing definition of "cumulative equivalent dose" in clause 9 with the following:

'"cumulative equivalent dose" means the total dose of ionising radiation received by the particular organ or tissue. The formula used to calculate the cumulative equivalent dose allows doses from multiple types of ionising radiation to be combined, by accounting for their differing biological effect. The unit of equivalent dose is the sievert. For the purposes of this Statement of Principles, the calculation of cumulative equivalent dose excludes doses received from normal background radiation, but includes therapeutic radiation, diagnostic radiation, cosmic radiation at high altitude, radiation from occupation-related sources and radiation from nuclear explosions or accidents;'; and

(C)Deleting the definitions of "a course of therapeutic radiation" and "atomic radiation" from clause 9.

1. The amendment made by this instrument applies to all matters to which Instrument No. 36 of 2006, section 120B of the Veterans’ Entitlements Act 1986 and section 339 of the Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 2004 apply.

1. The amendment made by this instrument takes effect from 25 May 2011.

Dated this   ninth   day of   May   2011

The Common Seal of the                    )

Repatriation Medical Authority          )

was affixed to this instrument   )

in the presence of:   )

KEN DONALD

CHAIRPERSON