Meehan and Repatriation Commission - [2002] AATA 273

DECISION AND REASONS FOR DECISION [2002] AATA 273

ADMINISTRATIVE APPEALS TRIBUNAL )

) No N2001/782

VETERANS' APPEALS DIVISION       )
           Re      James Sydney Meehan
  Applicant
           And    Repatriation Commission
  Respondent

DECISION

Tribunal Mr M D Allen, Senior Member

Date 22 April 2002
PlaceSydney

Decision      The decision under review is affirmed.
  [SGD] M D ALLEN
  Senior Member
CATCHWORDS
VETERANS' AFFAIRS – Veterans' entitlements – generalised anxiety disorder – whether material adduced by applicant sufficient to conform with SoP – lack of evidence as to when clinical onset of condition occurred

Veterans' Entitlements Act 1986 – ss 120(1) - (3); s 120A

Repatriation Commission v Deledio 83 FCR 82

REASONS FOR DECISION

22 April 2002 Mr M D Allen, Senior Member

This matter came on for hearing before me at Sydney on 22 March 2002. The matter was returned to the tribunal following an Order by the Full Court of the Federal Court on 12 November 2001. That Order, inter alia, varied a previous Order of Wilcox J. so that it read:
(i) the decision of the Veterans' Appeals Division of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal dated 18 November 2000 be set aside.
(ii) the matter being the question whether the appellant's generalised anxiety disorder is war-caused be remitted to the Veterans' Appeals Division of the Administrative Appeals Division for further hearing (with or without additional evidence, as the Tribunal may direct) and determination according to law.
2A. The Tribunal is directed to determine whether the disease of general (sic) anxiety disorder which has been found to exist by the Tribunal is war-caused.
At the hearing before me, the following documents were taken in and marked as exhibits:
A1      The appeal book in appeal number 935/2000 before the Federal Court.
A2      Copy of the transcript by K M Meehan on 11 October 2000.
A3      Copy letter Department of Defence, dated 30 June 2000.
A4      Report of Dr Dinnen, dated 15 March 2002.
R1      Report of Commodore Mulcare, dated 2 August 2000.
R2      Copy report of Professor Grey, dated 7 January 2000.
Exhibit A1, the Appeal Book prepared for the Full Court, contained a transcript of evidence given by the applicant when he first appeared before the Tribunal on 11 October 2000. In addition, the applicant gave further oral evidence before me as did psychiatrist Dr Dinnen.
The matter before me therefore, is in a relatively short compass, namely, to decide whether or not the applicant's generalised anxiety disorder is war-caused.
As the applicant had operational service as that term is defined in s 6C of the Veterans' Entitlements Act 1986, sub-section 120(1) and (3) together with section 120A, VEA apply. Those sections provide that the Commission and on appeal, this Tribunal shall determine that a disease is a war-caused disease unless it is satisfied, beyond reasonable doubt, that there is no sufficient ground for making that determination. The Tribunal will be so satisfied if, after consideration of the whole of the material before it, it is of the opinion that the said material…

Grounds of appeal

[14] The appellant contends that the primary judge erred in finding that the respondent had discharged the onus of establishing the matters required under the relevant provision.

[15] It was submitted that his Honour failed to give adequate weight to the evidence of the second witness, and that the findings of fact were not reasonably open on the material before the Court.

[16] The respondent, for its part, submits that no error is disclosed, and that the conclusions reached were well within the range of outcomes available to the primary judge.

Consideration

[17] It is convenient to deal first with the question of construction, as the resolution of that issue informs the remaining grounds advanced by the appellant.

[18] For the reasons that follow, we are of the view that the appeal should be allowed in part and the matter remitted for further determination.

Continue reading Meehan and Repatriation Commission

Details

AGLC: Meehan and Repatriation Commission [2002] AATA 273
Case: [2002] AATA 273
Decision Date: 22 April 2002

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The case involved an application by Meehan for a review of a decision made by the Repatriation Commission concerning his entitlement to a war-service pension. Meehan claimed that he had developed a generalised anxiety disorder (GAD) as a result of his service, and thus was entitled to pension benefits. The Repatriation Commission had denied his claim, ruling that he had not provided sufficient evidence to prove that his condition was linked to his service. The matter was brought before the Federal Court of Australia.

The central legal issue was whether the evidence presented by Meehan was sufficient to meet the statutory requirements for establishing a causal link between his service and the onset of his GAD. Specifically, the court had to determine whether the material provided by Meehan was adequate to comply with the standard of proof outlined in the Veterans' Entitlements Act 1986. Another key issue was the lack of evidence regarding the precise time of the clinical onset of the condition.

The Federal Court examined the evidence provided by Meehan and the statutory provisions under the Veterans' Entitlements Act. The court noted that the onus was on Meehan to prove that his condition was a result of his war service. The court emphasised that the evidence must be sufficient to satisfy the standard of proof, which was not merely a balance of probabilities but rather a higher standard, akin to the civil standard in common law. The court further observed that the evidence did not specify when the GAD began, which was crucial in determining whether it was service-related. Consequently, the court found that the evidence was insufficient to establish the required causal link, and thus dismissed the appeal. The Federal Court confirmed the Repatriation Commission's decision that Meehan was not entitled to the pension benefits he sought.

Orders