{"id":"F2025L01643","name":"Statement of Principles concerning relapsing polychondritis (Reasonable Hypothesis) (No. 13 of 2026)","slug":"statement-of-principles-concerning-relapsing-polychondritis-reasonable-hypothesis-no-13-of-2026","collection":"legislative_instrument","jurisdiction":"commonwealth","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":null,"makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":443118,"registerId":"F2025L01643-fast-fetch-1775958034834","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-12","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Statement of Principles concerning relapsing polychondritis (Reasonable Hypothesis) (No. 13 of 2026)","content":"---\nmeta-content-style-type: text/css\nmeta-content-type: application/xhtml+xml; charset=utf-8\n---\n\n?xml version=\"1.0\" encoding=\"utf-8\" standalone=\"no\"?>\n\n![RMA Australian Government Coat of Arms](image.001.jpeg)\n\n \n\nStatement of Principles\n\nconcerning\n\nRELAPSING POLYCHONDRITIS  (Reasonable Hypothesis)\n\n(No. 13 of 2026)\n\nThe Repatriation Medical Authority determines the following Statement of Principles under subsection 196B(2) of the Veterans' Entitlements Act 1986.\n\n \n\nDated    19 December 2025\n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\nProfessor Terence Campbell AM\n\nChairperson\n\nby and on behalf of\n\nThe Repatriation Medical Authority\n\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\n\n\n1.                Name\n\n\nThis is the Statement of Principles concerning relapsing polychondritis (Reasonable Hypothesis) (No. 13 of 2026).\n\n1.                Commencement\n\n\n              This instrument commences on 19 January 2026.\n\n1.                Authority\n\n\nThis instrument is made under subsection 196B(2) of the Veterans' Entitlements Act 1986.\n\n1.                Repeal\n\n\nThe Statement of Principles concerning relapsing polychondritis (Reasonable Hypothesis) (No. 5 of 2017) (Federal Register of Legislation No. F2017L00006) made under subsection 196B(2) of the VEA is repealed.\n\n1.                Application\n\n\nThis instrument applies to a claim to which section 120A of the VEA or section 338 of the Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 2004 applies.\n\n1.                Definitions\n\n\nThe terms defined in the Schedule 1 - Dictionary have the meaning given when used in this instrument.\n\n1.                Kind of injury, disease or death to which this Statement of Principles relates\n  1.           This Statement of Principles is about relapsing polychondritis and death from relapsing polychondritis.\n\n\nMeaning of relapsing polychondritis\n\n1.           For the purposes of this Statement of Principles, relapsing polychondritis  means a systemic autoimmune disease characterised by episodic, progressive inflammatory destruction of cartilaginous structures and connective tissue throughout the body, predominantly affecting the ears, nose, eyes, joints and respiratory tract.\n2.           While relapsing polychondritis attracts ICD‑10‑AM code M94.1, in applying this Statement of Principles the meaning of relapsing polychondritis is that given in subsection (2).\n3.           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\n\nDeath from relapsing polychondritis\n\n1.           For the purposes of this Statement of Principles, relapsing polychondritis, in relation to a person, includes death from a terminal event or condition that was contributed to by the person's relapsing polychondritis.\n\n\nNote: terminal event is defined in the Schedule 1 – Dictionary.\n\n1.                Basis for determining the factors\n\n\nThe Repatriation Medical Authority is of the view that there is sound medical-scientific evidence that indicates that relapsing polychondritis and death from relapsing polychondritis can be related to relevant service rendered by veterans, members of Peacekeeping Forces, 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\n1.                Factors that must exist\n\n\nAt least the following factor must as a minimum exist before it can be said that a reasonable hypothesis has been raised connecting relapsing polychondritis or death from relapsing polychondritis with the circumstances of a person's relevant service:\n\n1.           inability to obtain appropriate clinical management for relapsing polychondritis before clinical worsening.\n\n\n1.            Relationship to service\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  2.           The factor set out in subsection 9(1) applies only to material contribution to, or aggravation of, relapsing polychondritis where the person's relapsing polychondritis was suffered or contracted before or during (but did not arise out of) the person's relevant service.\n2.            Factors referring to an injury or disease covered by another Statement of Principles\n\n\nIn this Statement of Principles:\n\n1.           if a factor referred to in section 9 applies in relation to a person; and\n2.           that factor refers to an injury or disease in respect of which a Statement of Principles has been determined under subsection 196B(2) of the VEA;\n\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                                MRCA means the Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 2004.\n\n                               relapsing polychondritis—see subsection 7(2).\n\n                               relevant service means:\n\n(a)          operational service under the VEA;\n\n(b)          peacekeeping service under the VEA;\n\n(c)          hazardous service under the VEA;\n\n(d)          British nuclear test defence service under the VEA;\n\n(e)          warlike service under the MRCA; or\n\n(f)           non-warlike service under the MRCA.\n\nNote: MRCA and VEA are 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":true,"description":"The scope has narrowed significantly compared to typical Statements of Principles. Most SOPs list multiple factors (such as smoking, chemical exposure, trauma, or infection) that could connect a disease to service. This document contains only ONE factor — inability to obtain appropriate clinical management — and that factor is further restricted by section 10(2) to apply only to aggravation of pre-existing conditions, not causation. This suggests either: (a) the medical evidence for service causation of relapsing polychondritis is extremely limited, or (b) this represents a deliberate narrowing from an earlier broader approach. The repeal of the 2017 SOP suggests this is a replacement that may have removed previously available pathways."},"complexity_factors":["Short document (approximately 3 pages of substantive content)","Only 7 defined terms in the Dictionary (MRCA, VEA, relevant service, terminal event, plus self-referential definitions)","Single operational factor in section 9 (inability to obtain appropriate clinical management)","Limited conditional logic — primarily section 10(2) which restricts the factor to aggravation cases only","Cross-references limited to other Statements of Principles (section 11) and the parent Acts (VEA and MRCA)","No nested exceptions or complex temporal calculations","Straightforward structure following the standard Repatriation Medical Authority template"],"plain_english_summary":"This Statement of Principles sets when relapsing polychondritis can be considered service-related for DVA claims, affecting veterans and current/former defence members under both the VEA and MRCA. \n\nIt uses the lower \"reasonable hypothesis\" test but narrows causation to a single factor: inability to obtain proper medical treatment during/after service that aggravated a pre‑existing condition. It applies only to aggravation, not to disease first caused by service, replacing the 2017 version."},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":true,"description":"The instrument repeals the 2017 Statement (section 4) and replaces it with a Statement that applies to VEA/MRCA claims (section 5) while identifying a single minimum factor for a reasonable hypothesis (section 9(1)). In practical terms this replaces the prior instrument and narrows the stated evidentiary threshold to inability to obtain appropriate clinical management before clinical worsening, shifting scope from the prior text to the new single-factor framing."},"complexity_factors":["Single, narrowly framed legal test (minimum factor) for causation rather than a multi-factor matrix (section 9(1))","Medical definition and diagnostic coding reliance (relapsing polychondritis defined at section 7(2); ICD‑10‑AM reference at section 7(3))","Cross-reference and interaction with other Statements of Principles when factors invoke other injuries/diseases (section 11)","Dependencies on statutory claim regimes under VEA and MRCA — applicability tied to those Acts (section 5; Schedule 1 definitions)","Repeal and replacement of an earlier Statement of Principles creates transitional/interpretive work for decision-makers (section 4)","Use of clinical judgment to determine 'inability to obtain appropriate clinical management' creates factual assessment demand and administrative discretion (section 9(1))"],"plain_english_summary":"This instrument replaces the previous Statement of Principles on relapsing polychondritis and sets the medical test the Repatriation Medical Authority will use to connect the disease (and death from it) to veterans’ or defence personnel’s service for VEA and MRCA claims. It establishes one minimum factor for raising a “reasonable hypothesis”: an inability to obtain appropriate clinical management before clinical worsening, which defines the evidentiary threshold for claim acceptance."},"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-relapsing-polychondritis-reasonable-hypothesis-no-13-of-2026","history":"/api/acts/statement-of-principles-concerning-relapsing-polychondritis-reasonable-hypothesis-no-13-of-2026/history","analysis":"/api/acts/statement-of-principles-concerning-relapsing-polychondritis-reasonable-hypothesis-no-13-of-2026/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/statement-of-principles-concerning-relapsing-polychondritis-reasonable-hypothesis-no-13-of-2026/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/statement-of-principles-concerning-relapsing-polychondritis-reasonable-hypothesis-no-13-of-2026/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/statement-of-principles-concerning-relapsing-polychondritis-reasonable-hypothesis-no-13-of-2026/documents"}}