House v Department of Defence

David Richard House has appealed against a decision of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) which dismissed his application for review of a decision of the Department of Defence. The decision related to Mr House's claim for compensation for an organic personality disorder, allegedly caused by his exposure to racist comments and attitudes during his service in the Australian Army. The Federal Court was required to determine whether the decision of the AAT was a "reviewable decision" within the meaning of s60(1) of the Safety Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 1988 (Cth) and whether the earlier AAT decision created an issue estoppel which precluded Mr House from arguing the question of whether his personality disorder was caused or contributed to by his Army employment. The Court found that the decision of the AAT was a "reviewable decision" which could be reviewed by the AAT pursuant to s64(1) of the Act and that the earlier AAT decision did not preclude Mr House from raising the matters he wished to have determined in his application for compensation for an organic personality disorder. The matter was remitted to the AAT to be heard and decided again in accordance with law and these reasons.