Stevenson and Repatriation Commission (Veterans' entitlements)

This matter concerned an application by the Applicant, a veteran, for an increase in his disability pension to the special rate. The Applicant had served in the Royal Australian Navy and, following his discharge, worked in various roles, primarily as a driver, until his retrenchment from Safeway Stores in June 2013 at the age of 64. He claimed that a range of accepted war-caused disabilities prevented him from undertaking remunerative work. The decision was made by the Tribunal.

The central legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the Applicant satisfied the criteria for a special rate pension under section 24 of the relevant Act. Specifically, the Tribunal had to determine if the Applicant’s incapacity from war-caused injury or disease, of itself alone, rendered him incapable of undertaking remunerative work for periods aggregating more than 8 hours per week, and if he was, by reason of that incapacity alone, prevented from continuing to undertake remunerative work he was previously engaged in, thereby suffering a loss of earnings. The Tribunal also considered whether the Applicant had ceased work for reasons other than his war-caused incapacities.

The Tribunal reasoned that its task was to make a practical decision, guided by common sense, as to whether the Applicant's loss of remunerative work was attributable to his service-related incapacities. It accepted the Applicant's contention that the evidence, particularly from his treating general practitioner, Dr. Teo, demonstrated that his war-caused conditions alone prevented him from continuing his previous work and caused a loss of earnings. While the Applicant's initial responses to questionnaires indicated redundancy as the reason for ceasing work, the Tribunal found that by November 2017, the Applicant's war-caused conditions alone were preventing him from continuing remunerative work.

Consequently, the Tribunal concluded that the Applicant was prevented by war-caused incapacities alone from continuing to undertake remunerative work from 23 November 2017 and was suffering a consequent loss of income. The Tribunal set aside the previous decision and substituted a finding that the Applicant was entitled to payment of a pension at the special rate, with effect from 23 November 2017.