Phillips and Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Commission (Compensation)

This matter concerned an application for review by Mr Phillips of a decision made by the Veterans’ Review Board (VRB) on 23 September 2020, which was reviewed by the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT). The core dispute revolved around the scope of the AAT's jurisdiction when reviewing decisions made under the *Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 2004* (Cth) (MRCA).

The primary legal issue before the AAT was whether it possessed the jurisdiction to calculate the overall impairment rating for the purposes of Chapter 25 of the *Guide to Assessing Fitness for Service* (GARP M), specifically in relation to compensation payable under section 74(2) of the MRCA.

The Senior Member of the AAT determined that the Tribunal had the power to exercise all discretions conferred by the MRCA on the original decision-maker, pursuant to subsection 43(1) of the *Administrative Appeals Tribunal Act 1975* (Cth). The Senior Member reasoned that the Tribunal would not be acting appropriately if it confined its review solely to matters already resolved. Consequently, the AAT concluded that it had jurisdiction to determine how individual impairments, as identified by the VRB, should be combined to ascertain the overall impairment rating for the purposes of calculating compensation under section 74(2) of the MRCA.