The Tribunal affirms the decision under review of the Veterans’ Review Board of 18 January 2002 which affirmed the decision of the Repatriation Commission of 2 June 2001 to find that the Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (“PTSD”) and Chronic Obstructive Airways Disease, Hypertension, Peripheral Vascular Disease and Alcohol Dependence or Alcohol Abuse, as claimed by Mr Brian Parrotte, the Applicant in these proceedings, was not war-caused pursuant to section 9 of the Veterans’ Entitlements Act 1986.

Ms G Ettinger
Senior Member

catchwords

Veteran - operational service – whether Veteran suffers from PTSD – whether as a result of Monte Bello tests and HMAS Voyager incidents or Vung Tau experiences - exploding of scare charges and other defensive measures aboard HMAS Sydney – whether test of severe stressor met – whether objective or subjective test - other conditions claimed - decision affirmed

legislation

Veterans’ Entitlements Act 1986 ss 9, 13(1), 120A, 120(1), 120(3)

Repatriation Medical Authority Statement of Principles Instrument No.3 of 1999 as amended by Instrument No.54 of 1999 Concerning Post Traumatic Stress Disorder

Repatriation Medical Authority Statement of Principles Instrument No.76 of 1998 Concerning Alcohol Dependence or Alcohol Abuse

Repatriation Medical Authority Statement of Principles Instrument No.73 of 1997 Concerning Chronic Airflow Limitation and Chronic Bronchitis and Emphysema

Repatriation Medical Authority Statement of Principles Instrument No.31 of 2001 Concerning Hypertension

Repatriation Medical Authority Statement of Principles Instrument No.87 of 1995 Concerning Atherosclerotic Peripheral Vascular Disease

American Psychiatric Association 1995 Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4^th edition, Washington DC

case law

Repatriation Commission v Budworth (2001) 66 ALD 285
Deledio v Repatriation Commission (1997) 47 ALD 261
Repatriation Commission v Deledio (1998) 83 FCR 82
Benjamin v Repatriation Commission [2001] FCA 1879; (2001) 34 AAR 270
ReBenjamin and Repatriation Commission (2000) 61 ALD 565
Repatriation Commission v Binding [1999] FCA 974
Binding v Repatriation Commission (AAT 12886, 15 May 1998)
Re Powell v Repatriation Commission [2000] AATA 385
Repatriation Commission v Cooke (1998) 90 FCR 307
Repatriation Commission v Gosewinckel (1999) 59 ALD 690
Byrnes v Repatriation Commission (1993) 177 CLR 564
Repatriation Commission v Keeley (2000) 98 FCR 108
Stoddart v Repatriation Commission [2003] FCA 334
Repatriation Commission v Binding [1999] FCA 974
Re Mulvany and Repatriation Commission (2000) 59 ALD 602

REASONS FOR DECISION

1 August 2003

Ms G Ettinger - Senior Member
Dr M E C Thorpe - Member

The decision under review before the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (“the Tribunal”) was the decision of the Veterans’ Review Board of 18 January 2002 which affirmed the decision of the Repatriation Commission of 2 June 2001 to find that the Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (“PTSD”), Chronic Obstructive Airways Disease, Hypertension, Peripheral Vascular…

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 Parrotte and Repatriation Commission

Details

AGLC: Parrotte and Repatriation Commission [2003] AATA 735
Case: [2003] AATA 735
Decision Date: 1 August 2003

CaseChat Overview and Summary

In the matter of Mr Brian Parrotte, the Applicant, and the Repatriation Commission, the Respondent, the Federal Court of Australia was called upon to determine the validity of Mr Parrotte's claims regarding his veteran status and the causation of his Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and other conditions. The crux of the dispute hinged on whether Mr Parrotte's PTSD and related conditions were a result of his experiences during his military service. The Tribunal, in this instance, was tasked with affirming or overturning the decision of the Veterans’ Review Board and the Repatriation Commission, which had previously concluded that the claimed conditions were not war-caused.

The primary legal issues the court had to address involved the interpretation and application of section 9 of the Veterans’ Entitlements Act 1986, which delineates the criteria for determining whether a condition suffered by a veteran is war-caused. The court had to examine whether Mr Parrotte's PTSD and related conditions met the criteria of being directly caused by his service, specifically whether they were the result of severe stressor events during his military career. Furthermore, the court needed to assess whether the stressor events claimed by Mr Parrotte, such as the Monte Bello tests, the HMAS Voyager incidents, and his experiences in Vung Tau, were indeed severe stressors. The court also needed to decide whether the test for determining the severity of a stressor should be objective or subjective, and whether the other conditions claimed by Mr Parrotte, such as Chronic Obstructive Airways Disease, Hypertension, Peripheral Vascular Disease, and Alcohol Dependence or Alcohol Abuse, met the statutory criteria for being war-caused.

The court considered extensive evidence and arguments from both parties, focusing on the nature of the stressor events and their impact on Mr Parrotte. It concluded that the stressor events claimed by Mr Parrotte did not meet the threshold of severity as defined by the Act. The court found that the stressor events, including the Monte Bello tests, the HMAS Voyager incidents, and experiences in Vung Tau, did not constitute severe stressors under the statutory definition. Moreover, the court held that the other conditions claimed by Mr Parrotte were not war-caused, as they did not meet the criteria set out in the Act. The Tribunal affirmed the decisions of the Veterans’ Review Board and the Repatriation Commission, finding that Mr Parrotte's claims were not substantiated.

The final orders of the Tribunal were to affirm the decision of the Veterans’ Review Board of 18 January 2002, which in turn affirmed the decision of the Repatriation Commission of 2 June 2001. The Tribunal found that Mr Parrotte's PTSD and the other conditions he claimed were not war-caused under section 9 of the Veterans’ Entitlements Act 1986. The Tribunal's decision thus upheld the previous findings that Mr Parrotte's claims were not substantiated by the evidence presented.

Orders

Orders of the court

Background

Background to the litigation

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Evidence

Evidence Before The Court

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Decision

Reasons for decision

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Ratio Decidendi

Legal Principle Established

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Citations

AGLC Citation

Parrotte and Repatriation Commission [2003] AATA 735

Cases citing this decision · 0 of 0 shown

No citing cases yet.

Cases cited in this decision · 14 of 14 shown

Stoddart v Repatriation Commission
[2003] FCA 334 Para 7

…The Tribunal noted from the decision of Stoddart v Repatriation Commission [2003] FCA 334, where Mansfield J concluded after canvassing the meaning of “threat” and considering the submissions of the parties, as follows: “In my judgment the language of the definition of “experiencing a stressor” caters for the app…
Repatriation Commission v Cornelius
[2002] FCA 750 Para 3

…The Tribunal, applying Repatriation v Cornelius [2002] FCA 750 , Robertson and Repatriation Commission (1998) 50 ALD 668took into account the tests for clinical onset, and accepted Dr Dinnen’s evidence with regard to delayed onset of PTSD as a result of the severe stressors Mr Parrotte experienced.…
Benjamin v Repatriation Commission
[2001] FCA 1879 Para 14

…The Tribunal was mindful that Benjamin v Repatriation Commission [2001] FCA 1879, was a case where the Veteran was held by the Tribunal not to have experienced a traumatic event when an alert was issued that divers were attempting to attach mines to MV Jeparit. Mr Benjamin had been moved on to the wharf while the…
Repatriation Commission v Budworth
[2001] FCA 1421 Para 4

…onset of PTSD, and was accordingly satisfied that the diagnosis of PTSD could be made. (applying Repatriation Commission v Cooke (1998) 90 FCR 307, Repatriation Commission v Budworth (2001) 66 ALD 285 and Repatriation Commission v Gosewinckel (1999) 59 ALD 690).…
Repatriation Commission v Keeley H1/2000
[2000] HCATrans 730

…tion Commission v Cooke (1998) 90 FCR 307 Repatriation Commission v Gosewinckel (1999) 59 ALD 690 Byrnes v Repatriation Commission (1993) 177 CLR 564 Repatriation Commission v Keeley (2000) 98 FCR 108 Stoddart v Repatriation Commission [2003] FCA 334 Repatriation Commission v Binding [1999] FCA 974 Re Mulvany and Repatriation Commission…
Re Mulvany and Repatriation Commission
[2000] AATA 535 Para 17

…was another case mentioned at the Hearing. The Tribunal noted that the decision of the Respondent in that case was affirmed. The Tribunal in Mulvany [2000] AATA 535 held as follows at paras 21- 24: “… Adopting an objective interpretation of para (a) of the definition of the phrase “experiencing a stressor” in cl…
Re Powell and Repatriation Commission
[2000] AATA 385 Para 13

…sessing the nature of a “severe stressor” as required in applying the SoP. The parties referred to cases such as Powell v Repatriation Commission [2000] AATA 385, Repatriation Commission v Budworth (2001) 66 ALD 285, and others. Given the extensive case law in this area, and the recent case of Stoddart v Repatriat…
Repatriation Commission v Keeley
[2000] FCA 532

…FCR 307 Repatriation Commission v Gosewinckel (1999) 59 ALD 690 Byrnes v Repatriation Commission (1993) 177 CLR 564 Repatriation Commission v Keeley (2000) 98 FCR 108 Stoddart v Repatriation Commission [2003] FCA 334 Repatriation Commission v Binding [1999] FCA 974 Re Mulvany and Repatriation Commission (2000) 59 A…
Repatriation Commission v Gosewinckel
[1999] FCA 1273 Para 4

…gnosis of PTSD could be made. (applying Repatriation Commission v Cooke (1998) 90 FCR 307, Repatriation Commission v Budworth (2001) 66 ALD 285 and Repatriation Commission v Gosewinckel (1999) 59 ALD 690).…
Repatriation Commission v Binding
[1999] FCA 974 Para 16

…Repatriation Commission v Binding [1999] FCA 974 , was a decision of a single Judge of the Federal Court, in which the appeal of the Repatriation Commission against the decision of the Tribunal was dismissed. In Binding v Repatriation Commission (AAT 12886, 15 May 1998), the Tribunal held that Mr Binding who also…
Repatriation Commission v Cooke
[1998] FCA 1717 Para 4

…Dr Dinnen’s evidence that Mr Parrotte had delayed onset of PTSD, and was accordingly satisfied that the diagnosis of PTSD could be made. (applying Repatriation Commission v Cooke (1998) 90 FCR 307, Repatriation Commission v Budworth (2001) 66 ALD 285 and Repatriation Commission v Gosewinckel (1999) 59 ALD 690).…
Repatriation Commission v Deledio
[1998] FCA 391 Para 3

…he principles enunciated by Heerey J in Deledio v Repatriation Commission (1997) 47 ALD 261, and approved and summarised by the Full Federal Court in Repatriation Commission v Deledio (1998) 83 FCR 82.…
Deledio v Repatriation Commission
[1997] FCA 1047 Para 3

…se, Hypertension, Peripheral Vascular Disease, Alcohol Dependence or Alcohol Abuse were war-caused, to apply the principles enunciated by Heerey J in Deledio v Repatriation Commission (1997) 47 ALD 261, and approved and summarised by the Full Federal Court in Repatriation Commission v Deledio (1998) 83 FCR 82.…
Byrnes v Repatriation Commission
[1993] HCA 51 Para 1

…eerey J's approach in Deledio v Repatriation Commission (supra) which followed the "reasonableness" test approved in Byrnes v Repatriation Commission (1993) 177 CLR 564 and approved in Deledio (supra) : “… Do the facts raised by the claimant give rise to a reasonable hypothesis? Proof of facts is not in issue at this…

Legislation cited in this decision · 2

Veterans' Entitlements Act 1986 (Cth)
120(1), 120(3), 120A, 13(1), 9 6 mentions (from Para 1)
Administrative Appeals Tribunal Act 1975 (Cth)
1 mention (from Para 1)