Rowe and Repatriation Commission

[2004] AATA 662

Administrative

Appeals

Tribunal

 

DECISION AND REASONS FOR DECISION [2004] AATA 662

ADMINISTRATIVE APPEALS TRIBUNAL      )

)          No W2003/58

VETERAN'S APPEALS  DIVISION		)
Re		TREVOR JOHN ROWE

Applicant

And REPATRIATION COMMISSION

Respondent

DECISION

Tribunal Brigadier R D F Lloyd, Member

Date25 June 2004

PlacePerth

Decision

Pursuant to s 43 of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal Act 1975, the Tribunal decides:

(a) to set aside the Veterans’ Review Board (“VRB”) decision under review of 14 November 2002 in so far as it rejected Lumbar Spondylosis and to accept that condition as being war-caused with effect from 1 June 1999;

(b) to affirm the VRB decision under review in so far as it rejected the conditions of Anxiety Disorder and Psoriasis as being war-caused; and

(c) to remit the matter of assessment of incapacity from the now accepted Lumbar Spondylosis, together with all other accepted conditions, to the respondent.

............(sgd R D F Lloyd)....................

Member

CATCHWORDS

VETERANS’ AFFAIRS – Veterans’ entitlements – ex RAN with operational service WWII – claims anxiety disorder, psoriasis and lumbar spondylosis– anxiety disorder and psoriases rejected as hypotheses did not fit template of SoPs – lumbar spondylosis accepted on basis of lifting of weights/weight bearing to cumulative total of 120,000 kg – assessment of incapacity remitted to respondent.

Veterans’ Entitlements Act 1986 (Cth) ss 120, 120A, 196B (2)

Repatriation Commission v Deledio (1998) 83 FCR 82

Kattenberg v Repatriation Commission [2002] FCA 412

Stoddart v Repatriation Commission [2003] FCA 334

Repatriation Commission v Gosenwinckel [1999] FCA 1273

Cornelius v Repatriation Commission [2001] AATA 890

Statement of Principle Concerning Anxiety Disorder (Instrument No 1 of 2000)

Statement of Principle Concerning Lumbar Spondylosis (Instrument No 46 of 2002 as amended)

Statement of Principle Concerning Psoriasis (Instrument No 56 of 2002)

REASONS FOR DECISION

25 June 2004 Brigadier R D F Lloyd, Member    

1.      This is an application before the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (“the Tribunal”) by Trevor John Bowden Rowe (“the applicant”) for a review of the VRB decision of 14 November 2002 which:

(a)affirmed the decision of the Repatriation Commission (“the respondent”) of 19 January 2000 insofar as it determined that the conditions of Lumbar Spondylosis and Psoriasis were not war-caused;

(b)affirmed the respondent’s decisions of 30 October 2001 insofar as it was determined that the conditions of Anxiety Disorder and (again) Psoriasis were not war-caused, and that disability pension be paid at 40% of the General Rate.

2. The applicant attended the hearing and was assisted by his advocate Mr C Hammal. The respondent was represented by Mr C Ponnuthurai. The Tribunal had before it the documents filed pursuant to s 37 of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal Act 1975 (“the T documents”). In addition, the following documents were taken into evidence:

(a)Tendered by the respondent:

·Exhibit R1: The transcript of VRB proceedings re T Rowe of 14 November 2002;

·Exhibit R2: Letter to Mr Rowe from Mr Ponnuthurai dated 25 September 2003, with attachment of two pages of the publication titled “War at Sea in the…