Hansell and Repatriation Commission (Veterans’ entitlements)

This matter concerned an appeal by Mr Hansell against a decision of the Veterans Review Board (VRB) concerning his claim for a pension for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) allegedly arising from his operational service in South Vietnam. The VRB had affirmed a prior decision that Mr Hansell's PTSD was not war-caused.

The primary legal issue before the Senior Member was whether Mr Hansell had established, on the balance of probabilities, that he had developed PTSD and, if so, whether that condition was war-caused, meaning it arose from his operational service. This involved assessing the credibility of Mr Hansell's account of specific incidents during his service and determining if those incidents raised a reasonable hypothesis connecting his claimed PTSD with his service, in accordance with the relevant Statement of Principles (SOP No. 5 of 2008).

The Senior Member found that the evidence was insufficient to establish, on the balance of probabilities, that Mr Hansell had developed PTSD. Even if he had developed PTSD, the Senior Member concluded that it developed after 2009, not during his service. Furthermore, while acknowledging that a hypothesis connecting his claimed PTSD with his service could be raised, the Senior Member found serious and irreconcilable problems with Mr Hansell's accounts of the three specific incidents he relied upon. These issues led the Senior Member to be satisfied, beyond reasonable doubt, that there was no sufficient ground to determine that Mr Hansell's PTSD was war-caused.

Consequently, the Senior Member affirmed the VRB's decision of 12 March 2014.