SPYM and Repatriation Commission (Veterans' entitlements)

This matter concerned an appeal by SPYM against a decision of the Repatriation Commission concerning the veteran's entitlement to an intermediate rate pension. The veteran was in receipt of a pension at 90% of the general rate and had a number of defence-caused and non-defence caused conditions. The veteran was not seeking the pension at the special rate, but rather the intermediate rate, which required consideration of the "alone" test.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the veteran was prevented from undertaking part-time work due to his accepted conditions alone, or whether other factors were relevant to this determination. This required the Tribunal to consider the principles established in *Flentjar* regarding the assessment of a veteran's capacity for work in the context of multiple conditions, some of which were not defence-caused.

The Tribunal reasoned that the veteran's accepted conditions, both individually and collectively, had a significant and ongoing impact on his quality of life and his ability to engage in employment. Medical evidence indicated severe tinnitus, bilateral sensorineural hearing loss, degenerative arthropathy in his lumbar spine and knees, cervical spondylosis, and rotator cuff tendinopathy. The veteran's own evidence detailed how pain, sleeplessness, irritability, difficulty concentrating, and hearing impairment, compounded by long and frequent absences due to injuries, had generated a perception of unreliability and intolerance, hindering his career progression and future employment prospects. The Tribunal found that the veteran had no prospects of re-employment.

The Tribunal varied the decision under review and remitted the matter for reconsideration of the veteran's entitlement to an intermediate rate pension, applying the correct legal principles.