{"id":"F2023L00471","name":"Statement of Principles concerning hereditary spherocytosis (Balance of Probabilities) (No. 42 of 2023)","slug":"statement-of-principles-concerning-hereditary-spherocytosis-balance-of-probabilities-no-42-of-2023","collection":"legislative_instrument","jurisdiction":"commonwealth","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":null,"makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":441816,"registerId":"F2023L00471-fast-fetch-1775957016670","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-12","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Statement of Principles concerning hereditary spherocytosis (Balance of Probabilities) (No. 42 of 2023)","content":"---\nmeta-content-style-type: text/css\nmeta-content-type: application/xhtml+xml; charset=utf-8\nmeta-generator: Aspose.Words for .NET 22.10.0\n---\n\n?xml version=\"1.0\" encoding=\"utf-8\" standalone=\"no\"?>\n\n\n\n \n\nStatement of Principles\n\nconcerning\n\nHEREDITARY SPHEROCYTOSIS (Balance of Probabilities)\n\n(No. 42 of 2023)\n\nThe Repatriation Medical Authority determines the following Statement of Principles under subsection 196B(3) of the Veterans' Entitlements Act 1986.\n\n \n\nDated 24 April 2023.\n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n| The Common Seal of the Repatriation Medical Authority was affixed to this instrument at the direction of:
|\n| --- |\n|
Professor Terence Campbell AM
Chairperson
|\n\n\n \n\n \n\n\nContents\n\n1 Name\n\n2 Commencement\n\n3 Authority\n\n4 Repeal\n\n5 Application\n\n6 Definitions\n\n7 Kind of injury, disease or death to which this Statement of Principles relates\n\n8 Basis for determining the factors\n\n9 Factors that must exist\n\n10 Relationship to service\n\n11 Factors referring to an injury or disease covered by another Statement of Principles\n\nSchedule 1 - Dictionary\n\n1 Definitions\n\n \n\n\n\n\n1 Name\n\nThis is the Statement of Principles concerning hereditary spherocytosis (Balance of Probabilities) (No. 42 of 2023).\n\n2 Commencement\n\n This instrument commences on 23 May 2023.\n\n3 Authority\n\nThis instrument is made under subsection 196B(3) of the Veterans' Entitlements Act 1986.\n\n4 Repeal\n\nThe Statement of Principles concerning hereditary spherocytosis No. 68 of 2015 (Federal Register of Legislation No. F2015L00650) made under subsection 196B(3) of the VEA is repealed.\n\n5 Application\n\nThis instrument applies to a claim to which section 120B of the VEA or section 339 of the Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 2004 applies.\n\n6 Definitions\n\nThe terms defined in the Schedule 1 - Dictionary have the meaning given when used in this instrument.\n\n7 Kind of injury, disease or death to which this Statement of Principles relates\n\n(1) This Statement of Principles is about hereditary spherocytosis and death from hereditary spherocytosis.\n\nMeaning of hereditary spherocytosis\n\n(2) For the purposes of this Statement of Principles, hereditary spherocytosis means a group of genetic disorders of red blood cells, involving the production of spherical red blood cells which are susceptible to haemolysis.\n\nNote: Clinical manifestations include haemolytic anaemia, jaundice and splenomegaly.\n\n(3) While hereditary spherocytosis attracts ICD‑10‑AM code D58.0, in applying this Statement of Principles the meaning of hereditary spherocytosis is that given in subsection (2).\n\n(4) For subsection (3), a reference to an ICD-10-AM code is a reference to the code assigned to a particular kind of injury or disease in The International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, Tenth Revision, Australian Modification (ICD-10-AM), Tenth Edition, effective date of 1 July 2017, copyrighted by the Independent Hospital Pricing Authority, ISBN 978-1-76007-296-4.\n\nDeath from hereditary spherocytosis\n\n(5) For the purposes of this Statement of Principles, hereditary spherocytosis, in relation to a person, includes death from a terminal event or condition that was contributed to by the person's hereditary spherocytosis.\n\nNote: terminal event is defined in the Schedule 1 – Dictionary.\n\n8 Basis for determining the factors\n\nOn the sound medical‑scientific evidence available, the Repatriation Medical Authority is of the view that it is more probable than not that hereditary spherocytosis and death from hereditary spherocytosis can be related to relevant service rendered by veterans or members of the Forces under the VEA, or members under the MRCA.\n\nNote: MRCA, relevant service and VEA are defined in the Schedule 1 – Dictionary.\n\n9 Factors that must exist\n\nAt least one of the following factors must exist before it can be said that, on the balance of probabilities, hereditary spherocytosis or death from hereditary spherocytosis is connected with the circumstances of a person's relevant service:\n\n(1) having an acute viral infection within the 6 weeks before the clinical worsening of hereditary spherocytosis;\n\n(2) being pregnant within the 6 weeks before the clinical worsening of hereditary spherocytosis;\n\n(3) inability to obtain appropriate clinical management for hereditary spherocytosis.\n\n10 Relationship to service\n\n(1) The existence in a person of any factor referred to in section 9, must be related to the relevant service rendered by the person.\n\n(2) The factors set out in subsections 9(1) to 9(3) apply only to material contribution to, or aggravation of, hereditary spherocytosis where the person's hereditary spherocytosis was suffered or contracted before or during (but did not arise out of) the person's relevant service.\n\n11 Factors referring to an injury or disease covered by another Statement of Principles\n\nIn this Statement of Principles:\n\n(1) if a factor referred to in section 9 applies in relation to a person; and\n\n(2) that factor refers to an injury or disease in respect of which a Statement of Principles has been determined under subsection 196B(3) of the VEA;\n\nthen the factors in that Statement of Principles apply in accordance with the terms of that Statement of Principles as in force from time to time.\n\n \n\n \n\nSchedule 1 - Dictionary \n\nNote: See Section 6\n\n1 Definitions\n\nIn this instrument:\n\n hereditary spherocytosis—see subsection 7(2).\n\n MRCA means the Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 2004.\n\n relevant service means:\n\n(a) eligible war service (other than operational service) under the VEA;\n\n(b) defence service (other than hazardous service and British nuclear test defence service) under the VEA; or\n\n(c) peacetime service under the MRCA.\n\nNote: MRCA and VEA are also defined in the Schedule 1 - Dictionary.\n\n terminal event means the proximate or ultimate cause of death and includes the following:\n\n(a) pneumonia;\n\n(b) respiratory failure;\n\n(c) cardiac arrest;\n\n(d) circulatory failure; or\n\n(e) cessation of brain function.\n\n VEA means the Veterans' Entitlements Act 1986.\n\n \n\n \n","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"This is a standard, narrow-purpose Statement of Principles that replaces a 2015 version on the same topic. It maintains the same limited scope: establishing medical connection factors for one specific genetic disorder under veterans' compensation law. No scope creep is evident."},"complexity_factors":["Short, single-purpose instrument (11 sections plus brief dictionary)","Only 3 operative factors in section 9, with clear temporal triggers (6-week windows)","Minimal cross-referencing — primarily internal references to the Dictionary and defined terms (VEA, MRCA, terminal event)","Straightforward conditional logic: 'at least one factor must exist' plus service connection requirement","Single exception/limitation in section 10(2) restricting application to aggravation of pre-existing condition","Only 6 defined terms in Schedule 1, with most being simple abbreviations (VEA, MRCA) or circular definitions","No nested exceptions or complex computational provisions"],"plain_english_summary":"This instrument replaces the 2015 rules and sets how the Repatriation Medical Authority decides if Australian Defence Force members or veterans can get compensation for hereditary spherocytosis under the veterans’ schemes, using the “balance of probabilities” test. \n\nIt matters because, while the genetic disorder isn’t caused by service, the rules allow compensation when service-related events (e.g., infection, pregnancy, or lack of treatment) worsen a pre‑existing condition."},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The instrument repeals the 2015 Statement (section 4) and restates criteria for linking hereditary spherocytosis to relevant service. It continues to apply to claims under the VEA and MRCA (section 5) and sets three specific qualifying factors (section 9) with service‑connection requirements (section 10). The text does not, by itself, show a substantive expansion or narrowing of claim coverage compared with the prior instrument; it primarily replaces and rearticulates the criteria and procedural references."},"complexity_factors":["Medical definition and coding: introduces a clinical definition of hereditary spherocytosis and references ICD-10-AM code D58.0 while specifying its own meaning (section 7(2)–(4)).","Limited number of factual factors: only three alternative qualifying factors are listed (section 9), which lowers evidentiary variety but requires specific proof.","Service‑connection nuance: factors must be related to 'relevant service' and apply only to cases where the condition existed before or during (but did not arise out of) service, restricting causal pathways (sections 10(1)–(2)).","Interaction with other Statements: if a listed factor refers to another injury/disease covered by a separate Statement, that other Statement’s factors apply (section 11), creating cross-references.","Administrative formality: repeal of the 2015 Statement and commencement provisions (sections 2 and 4) require stakeholders to track the current instrument.","Binary standard: the legal threshold is the balance of probabilities linked to the Repatriation Medical Authority's view based on available medical‑scientific evidence (section 8), which concentrates adjudicative discretion on evidential interpretation."],"plain_english_summary":"This Statement of Principles replaces the 2015 version and sets the medical tests the Repatriation Medical Authority uses to decide, on the balance of probabilities, when hereditary spherocytosis or death from it is related to a person's relevant service. \n\nIt applies to claims under the VEA and MRCA and requires at least one of three qualifying factors — recent acute viral infection, recent pregnancy, or inability to obtain appropriate clinical management — that must be connected to the person's relevant service for the condition to be accepted."},"flash_summary_failed":{"failed":true,"reason":"A positive credit balance is required for all requests, including BYOK, so fallback providers remain available. Add credits at https://vercel.com/d?to=%2F%5Bteam%5D%2F%7E%2Fai%3Fmodal%3Dtop-up to continue.","source":"analysis-cron"}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/statement-of-principles-concerning-hereditary-spherocytosis-balance-of-probabilities-no-42-of-2023","history":"/api/acts/statement-of-principles-concerning-hereditary-spherocytosis-balance-of-probabilities-no-42-of-2023/history","analysis":"/api/acts/statement-of-principles-concerning-hereditary-spherocytosis-balance-of-probabilities-no-42-of-2023/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/statement-of-principles-concerning-hereditary-spherocytosis-balance-of-probabilities-no-42-of-2023/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/statement-of-principles-concerning-hereditary-spherocytosis-balance-of-probabilities-no-42-of-2023/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/statement-of-principles-concerning-hereditary-spherocytosis-balance-of-probabilities-no-42-of-2023/documents"}}