Delahunty and Repatriation Commission (Veterans' entitlements)

This matter concerned an appeal by Mrs Delahunty to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) against a decision by the Repatriation Commission that her late husband's death was not war-caused, and therefore she was not entitled to a war widow's pension. The veteran, who had served in the Royal Australian Navy, died in 2015. His death certificate listed sepsis, hospital-acquired pneumonia, and advanced non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) as causes of death. Mrs Delahunty claimed that fibrosing interstitial lung disease (FILD) was also a cause of death, or materially contributed to the terminal event of pneumonia.

The Tribunal was required to determine the "kind of death" suffered by the veteran, applying the standard of reasonable satisfaction on the balance of probabilities. This involved ascertaining the medical cause or causes of death, without drawing a legal distinction between primary and secondary causes. The central legal issue was whether FILD, in addition to NHL, sepsis, and pneumonia, constituted a kind of death for the purposes of the Veterans' Entitlements Act 1986 (Cth).

The Tribunal considered the medico-legal evidence, including the opinions of various medical specialists. It noted that the Commission conceded that if FILD was found to be a kind of death, then a specific factor in the relevant Statement of Principles would be met. After reviewing the evidence, the Tribunal concluded that the veteran suffered from multiple kinds of death, including sepsis, pneumonia, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), FILD, and NHL. The Tribunal found that the evidence of all doctors, regardless of their specialty, supported these findings.

The Tribunal determined that the kinds of death suffered by the veteran were sepsis, pneumonia, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, fibrosing interstitial lung disease, and non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. The Repatriation Commission conceded that the factor at clause 6(b) of the Statement of Principles concerning fibrosing interstitial lung disease was met. The Tribunal indicated that a directions hearing would be listed to address the future progress of the matter, unless agreement was reached between the parties in the interim.