Quazer and Repatriation Commission (Veterans' entitlements)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered an application by the Applicant, Robert Charles Woulfe, for an increase in his disability pension to the special rate under section 24 of the *Veterans’ Entitlements Act 1986* (Cth). The Applicant, who was under 65 at the time of his application, was in receipt of a general rate pension assessed at 100 per cent due to accepted war-caused conditions including PTSD, depressive disorder, alcohol use disorder, sensorineural hearing loss, tinnitus, and lumbar spondylosis. The Repatriation Commission was the respondent.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the Applicant's incapacity from his war-caused conditions rendered him incapable of undertaking remunerative work for more than eight hours per week, thereby satisfying the "alone test" under section 24(1)(c) of the Act. This required the Tribunal to determine if the Applicant's war-caused psychiatric conditions were the sole factor preventing him from continuing in his previous employment and if this incapacity resulted in a loss of earnings he would not otherwise suffer.

The Tribunal reasoned that the phrase "incapacity of a veteran from war-caused injury or war-caused disease" in section 24(1)(c) refers to the effects of the injury or disease, not the injury or disease itself. Evidence from the Applicant's treating psychiatrist, Dr Tony Balkin, and an occupational physician retained by the Respondent, Dr Robyn Horsley, indicated that the Applicant's psychiatric conditions, particularly PTSD and alcohol use disorder, significantly impacted his ability to work. The Tribunal found that the Applicant's bankruptcy and the foreclosure of his nursery business, which were presented as potential independent preventative factors, were directly linked to the symptoms of his war-caused psychiatric illnesses. Therefore, these circumstances were not considered independent preventative factors.

The Tribunal set aside the decision of the Veterans’ Review Board that affirmed the refusal to increase the Applicant's pension beyond the general rate. In substitution, the Tribunal ordered that the Applicant's disability pension be increased to the special rate, effective from 24 November 2014.