McCorley and Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Commission (Compensation)

This matter concerned an application by Mr. McCorley (the Applicant) against a decision of the Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Commission (the Respondent) concerning a claim for Ménière’s disease. The Administrative Appeals Tribunal, constituted by McLean Williams M, was required to determine whether the Applicant suffered from an injury or disease for the purposes of the *Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 2004* (Cth) (MRCA) and, if so, whether that condition was connected to his military service.

The primary legal issues before the Tribunal were whether the Applicant suffered from a "disease" as defined by section 5(1) of the MRCA, when the clinical onset of that disease occurred, and whether the Applicant satisfied any of the requirements of the Statement of Principles (SOP) on Ménière’s disease. Crucially, the Tribunal had to determine if the Applicant's Ménière’s disease qualified as a "service disease" under section 27 of the MRCA, meaning it was connected to the circumstances of his relevant peacetime service or had been materially contributed to or aggravated by his defence service after contracting the disease.

The Tribunal found that Ménière’s disease did qualify as a "disease" under section 5(1) of the MRCA, noting the Applicant's diagnosis by medical practitioners. Regarding the onset of the disease, the Tribunal accepted the opinion of an ENT surgeon that the clinical onset occurred in late 2015, based on the Applicant's description of symptoms consistent with Ménière’s disease. However, the Tribunal ultimately determined that the Applicant's Ménière’s disease was not a "service disease" under section 27 of the MRCA. This conclusion was based on the finding that the disease was not connected to the circumstances of his peacetime service in the required manner, nor had it been materially contributed to or aggravated by his defence service after its onset.

Consequently, the Tribunal affirmed the decision under review.