Instrument No.76 of 1999
Revocation
of
Statement of Principles
concerning
TENSION HEADACHE
and
Determination
of
Statement of Principles
concerning
TENSION-TYPE HEADACHE
ICD-10-AM code: G44.2
Veterans’ Entitlements Act 1986
1. The Repatriation Medical Authority under subsection 196B(2) of the Veterans’ Entitlements Act 1986 (the Act):
(a) revokes Instrument No.259 of 1995; and
(b) determines in its place the following Statement of Principles.
Kind of injury, disease or death
2. (a) This Statement of Principles is about tension-type headache and death from tension-type headache.
(b) For the purposes of this Statement of Principles, “tension-type headache”, also known as muscle contraction headache or stress headache, means a condition in which there is headache occurring on an average of at least five days per month over a period of at least six months, where the headache is pressing or tightening, is unaccompanied by nausea and is not aggravated by physical activity, attracting ICD-10-AM code G44.2. This definition excludes migraine and headache attributable to intracranial structural anomalies or systemic disease.
Basis for determining the factors
3. The Repatriation Medical Authority is of the view that there is sound medical-scientific evidence that indicates that tension-type headache and death from tension-type headache can be related to relevant service rendered by veterans, members of Peacekeeping Forces, or members of the Forces.
Factors that must be related to service
4. Subject to clause 6, the factor set out in clause 5 must be related to any relevant service rendered by the person.
Factors
5. The factor that must as a minimum exist before it can be said that a reasonable hypothesis has been raised connecting tension-type headache or death from tension-type headache with the circumstances of a person’s relevant service is:
(a) inability to obtain appropriate clinical management for tension-type headache.
Factors that apply only to material contribution or aggravation
6. Paragraph 5(a) applies only to material contribution to, or aggravation of, tension-type headache where the person’s tension-type headache was suffered or contracted before or during (but not arising out of) the person’s relevant service; paragraph 8(1)(e), 9(1)(e), 70(5)(d) or 70(5A)(d) of the Act refers.
Inclusion of Statements of Principles
7. In this Statement of Principles if a relevant factor applies and that factor includes an injury or disease in respect of which there is a Statement of Principles then the factors in that last mentioned Statement of Principles apply in accordance with the terms of that Statement of Principles.
Other definitions
8. For the purposes of this Statement of Principles:
“death from tension-type headache” in relation to a person includes death from a terminal event or condition that was contributed to by the person’s tension-type headache;
“ICD-10-AM code” means a number assigned to a particular kind of injury or disease in The International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, 10th revision, Australian Modification (ICD-10-AM), effective date of 1 July 1998, copyrighted by the National Centre for Classification in Health, Sydney, NSW, and having ISBN 1 86451 340 3;
“relevant service” means:
(a) operational service; or
(b) peacekeeping service; or
(c) hazardous service;
“terminal event” means the proximate or ultimate cause of death and includes:
a) pneumonia;
b) respiratory failure;
c) cardiac arrest;
d) circulatory failure; or
e) cessation of brain function.
Application
9. This Instrument applies to all matters to which section 120A of the Act applies.
Dated this Twenty-eighth day of October 1999
The Common Seal of the )
Repatriation Medical Authority )
was affixed to this instrument )
in the presence of: )
KEN DONALD
CHAIRMAN