{"id":"F2017L00886","name":"Statement of Principles concerning labral tear (Balance of Probabilities) (No. 37 of 2017)","slug":"statement-of-principles-concerning-labral-tear-balance-of-probabilities-no-37-of-2017","collection":"legislative_instrument","jurisdiction":"commonwealth","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":null,"makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":439254,"registerId":"F2017L00886-fast-fetch-1775955349336","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-12","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Statement of Principles concerning labral tear (Balance of Probabilities) (No. 37 of 2017)","content":"---\nmeta-content-style-type: text/css\nmeta-content-type: application/xhtml+xml; charset=utf-8\nmeta-generator: Aspose.Words for .NET 20.2\n---\n\n?xml version=\"1.0\" encoding=\"utf-8\" standalone=\"no\"?>\n\n\n\n \n\nStatement of Principles\n\nconcerning\n\nLABRAL TEAR (Balance of Probabilities)\n\n(No. 37 of 2017)\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 30 June 2017\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 Nicholas Saunders AO
Chairperson
|\n\n\n \n\n \n\n\nContents\n\n1 Name\n\n2 Commencement\n\n3 Authority\n\n4 Revocation\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 labral tear (Balance of Probabilities) (No. 37 of 2017).\n\n2 Commencement\n\n This instrument commences on 31 July 2017.\n\n3 Authority\n\nThis instrument is made under subsection 196B(3) of the Veterans' Entitlements Act 1986.\n\n4 Revocation\n\nThe Statement of Principles concerning labral tear No. 95 of 2010 made under subsection 196B(3) of the VEA is revoked.\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 labral tear and death from labral tear.\n\nMeaning of labral tear\n\n(2) For the purposes of this Statement of Principles, labral tear means:\n\n(a) an injury involving tearing of the fibrocartilaginous rim of the hip or shoulder joint resulting in local pain and tenderness, with or without accompanying symptoms and signs of popping, clicking, catching, instability or reduced range of motion; and\n\n(b) excludes degenerative tears of the labrum associated with osteoarthritis of the relevant joint, and acetabular labral tears associated with femoroacetabular impingement syndrome.\n\nDeath from labral tear\n\n(3) For the purposes of this Statement of Principles, labral tear, in relation to a person, includes death from a terminal event or condition that was contributed to by the person's labral tear.\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 labral tear and death from labral tear can be related to relevant service rendered by veterans or members of the Forces under the VEA, or members under the MRCA.\n\nNote: relevant service is 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, labral tear or death from labral tear is connected with the circumstances of a person's relevant service:\n\n(1) having a significant physical force applied to or through the affected shoulder joint or the affected hip joint at the time of the clinical onset of labral tear;\n\n(2) performing forceful and repetitive motions of the affected shoulder joint or the affected hip joint, involving extremes of the normal range of motion, for at least four hours per week for the one month before the clinical onset of labral tear;\n\nNote 1: Examples of activities involving forceful and repetitive motions of the shoulder at extremes of the normal range of motion may include swimming, basketball, football, line or rope handling, rope ladder climbing, loading ammunition, physical employment standards training and participating in obstacle courses, infantry minor tactics courses and high rope courses. \n\nNote 2: Examples of activities involving forceful and repetitive motions of the hip at extremes of the normal range of motion may include golf, hockey, rowing, running, physical employment standards training and participating in obstacle courses and infantry minor tactics courses.\n\n(3) for labral tear of the hip joint only, being in the third trimester of pregnancy within the one week before the clinical onset of labral tear;\n\n(4) inability to obtain appropriate clinical management for labral tear.\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 factor set out in subsection 9(4) applies only to material contribution to, or aggravation of, labral tear where the person's labral tear 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 labral tear—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":4,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"This instrument replaces No. 95 of 2010 and maintains the same fundamental scope — determining service connection for labral tears under veterans' compensation law. While the specific medical criteria have been updated (refining definitions and examples), the legislative purpose and coverage remain consistent with the original intent of providing medical determination frameworks under the Veterans' Entitlements Act 1986."},"complexity_factors":["Multiple defined terms in Schedule 1 (VEA, MRCA, relevant service, terminal event, labral tear)","Nested exclusions in the definition of labral tear (excluding degenerative tears and femoroacetabular impingement syndrome)","Conditional logic in section 9 with four alternative factors, only one of which must be satisfied","Specific quantitative thresholds (4 hours per week, 1 month duration, 1 week for pregnancy)","Factor-specific limitation in section 10(2) restricting the 'inability to obtain appropriate clinical management' factor to aggravation cases only","Cross-reference mechanism in section 11 allowing incorporation of other Statements of Principles by reference","Dual applicability across two different legislative schemes (VEA and MRCA) with different service definitions"],"plain_english_summary":"This Statement of Principles sets the medical rules the DVA uses to decide when hip or shoulder labral tears are compensable for veterans and current/former defence members under the VEA and MRCA, applying the “balance of probabilities” test. \n\nIt narrows and clarifies causation criteria (e.g., force, repetitive activities, late pregnancy or lack of treatment), excludes degenerative and certain impingement-related hip tears, and therefore changes what evidence is needed to succeed in claims."},"flash_summary_failed":{"failed":true,"reason":"Unauthenticated. Configure AI_GATEWAY_API_KEY or use a provider module. Learn more: https://ai-sdk.dev/unauthenticated-ai-gateway","source":"analysis-cron"},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":true,"description":"This instrument replaces the earlier Statement of Principles No. 95 of 2010 (revoked by s 4) and redefines scope by (a) specifying clinical exclusions for degenerative and femoroacetabular impingement-associated tears (s 7(2)), (b) setting precise qualifying factors and quantitative thresholds for occupational/activity exposure (s 9(1)–(2)), and (c) limiting the operation of the 'inability to obtain appropriate clinical management' factor to cases where the labral tear pre-existed or was contracted before/during but did not arise out of service (s 10(2))."},"complexity_factors":["Legal-technical structure is short and prescriptive (definitions, factors, relationship to service) rather than open-ended (see ss 6–11).","Medical definitions and exclusions require clinical interpretation (definition of labral tear; exclusion of degenerative and femoroacetabular impingement-related tears) (s 7(2)).","Several discrete, concrete qualifying factors with temporal and intensity thresholds (e.g. four hours/week for one month; third trimester within one week) that must be established on the balance of probabilities (s 9(2), s 9(3)).","Interaction with claims law: applies to claims under VEA and MRCA and must be related to 'relevant service' (s 5, Schedule 1 definition of relevant service).","Cross-reference to other Statements of Principles creates dependency where a listed factor refers to another instrument (s 11).","Limited discretionary provision: inability to obtain appropriate clinical management applies only where the condition pre‑existed service or was contracted before/during service but did not arise out of it (s 10(2)), adding an evidentiary nuance.","Revocation of the 2010 instrument means changed precedent and potential re‑assessment of prior claim approaches (s 4)."],"plain_english_summary":"This Statement of Principles sets the medical rules for when a hip or shoulder labral tear is considered connected to a veteran’s service for VEA or MRCA claims. It defines what counts as a labral tear, excludes degenerative and certain impingement-related tears, lists specific workplace or activity‑based triggers (e.g. significant force, repetitive forceful motion, late pregnancy, or lack of timely clinical care) and replaces the prior 2010 instrument. It matters because it determines the medical criteria claimants must meet to establish service connection."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/statement-of-principles-concerning-labral-tear-balance-of-probabilities-no-37-of-2017","history":"/api/acts/statement-of-principles-concerning-labral-tear-balance-of-probabilities-no-37-of-2017/history","analysis":"/api/acts/statement-of-principles-concerning-labral-tear-balance-of-probabilities-no-37-of-2017/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/statement-of-principles-concerning-labral-tear-balance-of-probabilities-no-37-of-2017/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/statement-of-principles-concerning-labral-tear-balance-of-probabilities-no-37-of-2017/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/statement-of-principles-concerning-labral-tear-balance-of-probabilities-no-37-of-2017/documents"}}