Colebatch and Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Commission (Compensation)

This matter concerned an appeal by Mr Colebatch against a decision of the Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Commission regarding his claims for compensation for schizophrenia and adjustment disorder. The dispute centred on whether these conditions arose out of his defence service, and specifically, whether his schizophrenia was materially contributed to or aggravated by his defence service after its onset. The Administrative Appeals Tribunal was required to determine the date of clinical onset of Mr Colebatch's schizophrenia, whether he suffered a significant mental health disorder at the time of clinical worsening of the schizophrenia, whether his defence service materially contributed to or aggravated his schizophrenia, and whether he was unable to obtain appropriate clinical management for his schizophrenia.

The Tribunal found that Mr Colebatch suffered an Adjustment Disorder, which arose out of his defence service, with an agreed date of onset of 7 December 2012. It was also agreed that his symptoms for this disorder had subsided by 5 March 2013, and the Respondent was liable to pay compensation for this condition. However, the primary dispute concerned Mr Colebatch's schizophrenia. While there was no dispute that the active phase of his schizophrenia commenced in early February 2015, the parties disagreed on the onset of its prodromal phase. The Tribunal considered evidence suggesting psychological symptoms and behavioural changes in the second half of 2014, which were attributed by experts to the prodromal phase of schizophrenia.

Ultimately, the Tribunal was not satisfied, on the balance of probabilities, that Mr Colebatch's defence service materially contributed to his schizophrenia. Consequently, the Respondent was not liable to pay compensation in respect of this condition. The Tribunal set aside the reviewable decision and substituted its own, finding that Mr Colebatch suffered an Adjustment Disorder arising out of his defence service for which compensation was payable, but that his schizophrenia was not materially contributed to by his defence service. The Respondent was ordered to pay Mr Colebatch's reasonable costs of the proceedings, excluding costs related to a vacated hearing date.