{"id":"F2019L00946","name":"Statement of Principles concerning schistosomiasis (Reasonable Hypothesis) (No. 61 of 2019)","slug":"statement-of-principles-concerning-schistosomiasis-reasonable-hypothesis-no-61-of-2019","collection":"legislative_instrument","jurisdiction":"commonwealth","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":null,"makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":440168,"registerId":"F2019L00946-fast-fetch-1775955902470","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-12","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Statement of Principles concerning schistosomiasis (Reasonable Hypothesis) (No. 61 of 2019)","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\nSCHISTOSOMIASIS (Reasonable Hypothesis)\n\n(No. 61 of 2019)\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 21 June 2019\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:
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Professor Nicholas Saunders AO
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 schistosomiasis (Reasonable Hypothesis) (No. 61 of 2019).\n\n2 Commencement\n\n This instrument commences on 22 July 2019.\n\n3 Authority\n\nThis instrument is made under subsection 196B(2) of the Veterans' Entitlements Act 1986.\n\n4 Repeal\n\nThe Statement of Principles concerning schistosomiasis No. 86 of 2010 (Federal Register of Legislation No. F2010L02842) made under subsection 196B(2) of the VEA is repealed.\n\n5 Application\n\nThis instrument applies to a claim to which section 120A of the VEA or section 338 of the Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Act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\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 schistosomiasis and death from schistosomiasis.\n\nMeaning of schistosomiasis\n\n(2) For the purposes of this Statement of Principles, schistosomiasis:\n\n(a) means an infection with a parasitic flatworm of the genus Schistosoma, being S. mansoni, S. haematobium, S. japonicum, S. intercalatum, S. mekongi, S. malayensis or S. guineensis; and\n\n \n\n(b) includes the acute and chronic symptoms and signs caused by the Schistosome worms or eggs.\n\nNote 1: Acute schistosomiasis usually occurs two to 12 weeks after exposure. Symptoms and signs may include, but are not limited to, urticaria, cough, fever, malaise, myalgia and diarrhoea.\n\nNote 2: Chronic schistosomiasis usually occurs months to several years after exposure to contaminated water and may include a wide range of organ systems.\n\n(3) While schistosomiasis attracts ICD‑10‑AM code B65, in applying this Statement of Principles the meaning of schistosomiasis 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 schistosomiasis\n\n(5) For the purposes of this Statement of Principles, schistosomiasis, in relation to a person, includes death from a terminal event or condition that was contributed to by the person's schistosomiasis.\n\nNote: terminal event is defined in the Schedule 1 – Dictionary.\n\n8 Basis for determining the factors\n\nThe Repatriation Medical Authority is of the view that there is sound medical‑scientific evidence that indicates that schistosomiasis and death from schistosomiasis 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\n9 Factors that must exist\n\nAt least one of the following factors must as a minimum exist before it can be said that a reasonable hypothesis has been raised connecting schistosomiasis or death from schistosomiasis with the circumstances of a person's relevant service:\n\n(1) having cutaneous or mucosal contact with water containing larvae of S. mansoni, S. haematobium, S. japonicum, S. intercalatum, S. mekongi, S. malayensis or S. guineensis within the 30 years before the clinical onset of schistosomiasis;\n\nNote 1: Contact with water containing larvae includes, but is not limited to, swimming, wading or washing in, and drinking, contaminated water in tropical or subtropical regions.\n\nNote 2: Water containing larvae is most likely to occur where facilities for disposal of human waste are minimal and there is a high likelihood of the water being contaminated with human faeces and urine.\n\n(2) having a solid organ transplant, where the organ is infected with S. mansoni, S. haematobium, S. japonicum, S. intercalatum, S. mekongi, S. malayensis or S. guineensis, within the one year before the clinical onset of schistosomiasis;\n\n(3) inability to obtain appropriate clinical management for schistosomiasis.\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(3) applies only to material contribution to, or aggravation of, schistosomiasis where the person's schistosomiasis 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(2) 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 MRCA means the Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 2004.\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 also defined in the Schedule 1 - Dictionary.\n\n schistosomiasis—see subsection 7(2).\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":{"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"},"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"This is a straightforward replacement instrument that maintains the same narrow scope as its 2010 predecessor. It addresses only schistosomiasis in the context of veterans' compensation, with no expansion into related conditions or broader eligibility categories. The three causal factors remain tightly focused on the established medical etiology of the disease."},"complexity_factors":["Short, focused instrument (approximately 1,500 words)","Only 5 defined terms in the Dictionary (MRCA, relevant service, schistosomiasis, terminal event, VEA)","Simple conditional structure: three alternative factors in section 9, with only one nested condition in section 10(2)","Minimal cross-referencing — primarily internal references to the Dictionary and explicit references to two parent Acts (VEA and MRCA)","Clear, numbered structure with descriptive headings","Medical terminology is explicitly defined (seven Schistosoma species listed, ICD-10-AM code referenced with full bibliographic detail)"],"plain_english_summary":"This instrument sets rules for when Australian veterans and defence personnel can claim compensation for schistosomiasis by defining the circumstances that create a \"reasonable hypothesis\" linking infection to service (replacing the 2010 rules). It applies to veterans, current/former ADF members and MRCA-covered personnel who served in tropical deployments or operations in endemic regions — important because service-related freshwater exposure can cause acute illness and long-term organ damage."},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":true,"description":"This instrument expressly repeals the earlier Statement of Principles concerning schistosomiasis No. 86 of 2010 and replaces it (s4). It continues to apply to claims governed by section 120A of the VEA or section 338 of the MRCA (s5). The instrument updates and restates definitions and qualifying factors (see s7–s11); the text does not itself quantify which specific substantive elements differ from the 2010 instrument, only that the earlier instrument is repealed and superseded."},"complexity_factors":["Legal-technical cross‑references to the Veterans' Entitlements Act 1986 and the Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 2004 (application: s5).","Medical specificity: defines schistosomiasis to include seven Schistosoma species and acute/chronic presentations, requiring clinicians/decision‑makers to apply parasitology and clinical timelines (s7(2)).","Long retrospective exposure window (30 years for water contact) creates evidentiary challenges for claimants and decision makers (s9(1)).","Shorter transplant window (1 year) imposes a stricter temporal linkage burden for organ‑transmission claims (s9(2)).","Non‑clinical factor: 'inability to obtain appropriate clinical management' can operate only as material contribution/aggravation when disease pre‑existed service (s9(3); s10(2)), creating a nuanced causation test.","Instrumental repeal of the prior Statement (No. 86 of 2010) means practitioners must apply the new text (s4).","Reference to ICD‑10‑AM for coding requires alignment with an external clinical classification (s7(3)‑(4)).","Interplay with other Statements of Principles may import factors from different instruments, adding cross‑instrument complexity (s11).","Decision provenance: the Repatriation Medical Authority makes the Statement under statutory power, concentrating interpretative authority in that agency (s3; s8)."],"plain_english_summary":"Sets the medical criteria the Repatriation Medical Authority uses to decide whether schistosomiasis (infection by listed Schistosoma species, including acute and chronic forms) can be linked to a veteran's relevant service for VEA/MRCA claims. It lists qualifying factors—eg, cutaneous or mucosal contact with contaminated water within 30 years, an infected organ transplant within one year, or inability to obtain appropriate clinical management—and defines terms used to assess service connection."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/statement-of-principles-concerning-schistosomiasis-reasonable-hypothesis-no-61-of-2019","history":"/api/acts/statement-of-principles-concerning-schistosomiasis-reasonable-hypothesis-no-61-of-2019/history","analysis":"/api/acts/statement-of-principles-concerning-schistosomiasis-reasonable-hypothesis-no-61-of-2019/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/statement-of-principles-concerning-schistosomiasis-reasonable-hypothesis-no-61-of-2019/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/statement-of-principles-concerning-schistosomiasis-reasonable-hypothesis-no-61-of-2019/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/statement-of-principles-concerning-schistosomiasis-reasonable-hypothesis-no-61-of-2019/documents"}}