Blake and Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Commission (Compensation)

This matter concerned an application by Mrs Blake for compensation for a lumbar spine condition, which she alleged was contributed to by her service in the Royal Australian Navy. The Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Commission had accepted liability for an accepted condition of bilateral trochanteric bursitis and gluteal tendinopathy. The dispute before the Tribunal was whether this accepted condition, or Mrs Blake's naval service more generally, had contributed to a significant degree to the development of her lumbar spine condition.

The primary legal issue for the Tribunal was to determine, on the balance of probabilities, whether Mrs Blake's accepted condition and any consequential conditions had contributed significantly to the development of her lumbar spine condition. This required the Tribunal to assess the available medical evidence, which was noted to be largely uncertain regarding the origin of her lumbar condition. The Tribunal was guided by the Federal Court's clarification in *Beezley v Repatriation Commission* [2015] FCAFC 165, which emphasised that a decision-maker must be persuaded by sufficient evidence that the statutory requirements are met, rather than relying on speculation.

The Tribunal considered the conflicting medical opinions, noting that while some specialists, such as Professor Fielding, suggested a causal link between Mrs Blake's accepted condition and her lumbar pain due to altered gait, other specialists expressed uncertainty or found no connection. The Tribunal placed particular weight on the reports of orthopaedic surgeons due to their specialist knowledge. Ultimately, the Tribunal found that the medical evidence, when considered as a whole, did not provide a sufficient basis to be satisfied that Mrs Blake's military service had contributed to her lumbar spine condition to a significant degree, as defined by section 5B of the Act.

Accordingly, the Tribunal affirmed the reviewable decision of the Commission of 1 July 2015, finding that the necessary state of satisfaction regarding a significant contribution from military service had not been reached on the balance of probabilities.