{"id":"F2022L00906","name":"Statement of Principles concerning sleep apnoea (Reasonable Hypothesis) (No. 68 of 2022)","slug":"statement-of-principles-concerning-sleep-apnoea-reasonable-hypothesis-no-68-of-2022","collection":"legislative_instrument","jurisdiction":"commonwealth","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":null,"makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":441445,"registerId":"F2022L00906-fast-fetch-1775956736229","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-12","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Statement of Principles concerning sleep apnoea (Reasonable Hypothesis) (No. 68 of 2022)","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\nSLEEP APNOEA (Reasonable Hypothesis)\n\n(No. 68 of 2022)\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 24 June 2022\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 sleep apnoea (Reasonable Hypothesis) (No. 68 of 2022).\n\n2 Commencement\n\n This instrument commences on 25 July 2022.\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 sleep apnoea No. 41 of 2013 (Federal Register of Legislation No. F2013L01129) made under subsection 196B(2) of the VEA is repealed.\n\n5 Application\n\nThis instrument applies to a claim to which section 120A of the VEA or section 338 of the Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Act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 sleep apnoea and death from sleep apnoea.\n\nMeaning of sleep apnoea\n\n(2) For the purposes of this Statement of Principles, sleep apnoea:\n\n(a) means chronic sleep-related disordered breathing characterised by periods of cessation or reduction in airflow in the upper airway, leading to arousals from sleep and disrupted sleep architecture, which has been diagnosed by a specialist physician; and\n\n(b) includes:\n\n(i) central sleep apnoea;\n\n(ii) mixed sleep apnoea; and\n\n(iii) obstructive sleep apnoea.\n\nNote 1: Clinical consequences of sleep apnoea include excessive daytime sleepiness, impaired memory, difficulty concentrating, morning headache, pulmonary hypertension, right heart failure and respiratory failure.\n\nNote 2: central sleep apnoea, obstructive sleep apnoea and upper airway are defined in the Schedule 1 - Dictionary.\n\n(3) While sleep apnoea attracts ICD‑10‑AM code G47.30, G47.31, G47.32, G47.33 or G47.39, in applying this Statement of Principles the meaning of sleep apnoea 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 sleep apnoea\n\n(5) For the purposes of this Statement of Principles, sleep apnoea, in relation to a person, includes death from a terminal event or condition that was contributed to by the person's sleep apnoea.\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 sleep apnoea and death from sleep apnoea 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 sleep apnoea or death from sleep apnoea with the circumstances of a person's relevant service:\n\n(1) having heart failure at the time of the clinical onset of sleep apnoea;\n\n(2) having a central nervous system lesion or disorder from the specified list of central nervous system lesions or disorders at the time of the clinical onset of sleep apnoea;\n\nNote: specified list of central nervous system lesions or disorders is defined in the Schedule 1 – Dictionary.\n\n(3) having autonomic neuropathy at the time of the clinical onset of sleep apnoea;\n\nNote: autonomic neuropathy is defined in the Schedule 1 – Dictionary.\n\n(4) having chronic renal failure at the time of the clinical onset of sleep apnoea;\n\nNote: chronic renal failure is defined in the Schedule 1 – Dictionary.\n\n(5) having a neuromuscular disease affecting the diaphragm, other respiratory muscles or upper airway muscles at the time of the clinical onset of sleep apnoea;\n\nNote 1: Examples of a neuromuscular disease affecting the diaphragm, other respiratory muscles or upper airway muscles include myasthenia gravis, postpolio syndrome and motor neurone disease.\n\nNote 2: upper airway is defined in the Schedule 1 – Dictionary.\n\n(6) having acromegaly at the time of the clinical onset of sleep apnoea;\n\nNote: acromegaly is defined in the Schedule 1 – Dictionary.\n\n(7) taking an antipsychotic drug for at least the 2 months before the clinical onset of sleep apnoea;\n\n(8) for obstructive sleep apnoea only:\n\n(a) having hypothyroidism, including Hashimoto thyroiditis that has resulted in hypothyroidism, at the time of the clinical onset of obstructive sleep apnoea;\n\n(b) having chronic obstruction or chronic narrowing of the upper airway at the time of the clinical onset of obstructive sleep apnoea;\n\nNote: upper airway is defined in the Schedule 1 – Dictionary.\n\n(c) being obese at the time of the clinical onset of obstructive sleep apnoea;\n\nNote: being obese is defined in the Schedule 1 – Dictionary.\n\n(d) being in a supine position when sleeping for at least the 6 months before the clinical onset of obstructive sleep apnoea; or\n\n(e) taking protease inhibitors as antiretroviral drugs for human immunodeficiency virus infection before the clinical onset of obstructive sleep apnoea;\n\nNote: obstructive sleep apnoea is defined in the Schedule 1 - Dictionary. \n\n(9) for central sleep apnoea only, taking a long-acting opioid at an average daily morphine equivalent dose of at least 75 milligrams for at least the 2 months before the clinical onset of central sleep apnoea;\n\nNote: central sleep apnoea and long-acting opioid are defined in the Schedule 1 – Dictionary.\n\n(10) having heart failure at the time of the clinical worsening of sleep apnoea;\n\n(11) having a central nervous system lesion or disorder from the specified list of central nervous system lesions or disorders at the time of the clinical worsening of sleep apnoea;\n\nNote: specified list of central nervous system lesions or disorders is defined in the Schedule 1 – Dictionary.\n\n(12) having autonomic neuropathy at the time of the clinical worsening of sleep apnoea;\n\nNote: autonomic neuropathy is defined in the Schedule 1 – Dictionary.\n\n(13) having chronic renal failure at the time of the clinical worsening of sleep apnoea;\n\nNote: chronic renal failure is defined in the Schedule 1 – Dictionary.\n\n(14) having a neuromuscular disease affecting the diaphragm, other respiratory muscles or upper airway muscles at the time of the clinical worsening of sleep apnoea;\n\nNote 1: Examples of a neuromuscular disease affecting the diaphragm, other respiratory muscles or upper airway muscles include myasthenia gravis, postpolio syndrome and motor neurone disease.\n\nNote 2: upper airway is defined in the Schedule 1 – Dictionary.\n\n(15) having acromegaly at the time of the clinical worsening of sleep apnoea;\n\nNote: acromegaly is defined in the Schedule 1 – Dictionary.\n\n(16) consuming an average of at least 30 grams of alcohol per day for at least the 6 months before the clinical worsening of sleep apnoea;\n\nNote: Alcohol consumption is calculated utilising the Australian Standard of 10 grams of alcohol per standard alcoholic drink.\n\n(17) taking an antipsychotic drug for at least the 2 months before the clinical worsening of sleep apnoea;\n\n(18) for obstructive sleep apnoea only:\n\n(a) having hypothyroidism, including Hashimoto thyroiditis that has resulted in hypothyroidism, at the time of the clinical worsening of obstructive sleep apnoea;\n\n(b) having chronic obstruction or chronic narrowing of the upper airway at the time of the clinical worsening of obstructive sleep apnoea;\n\nNote: upper airway is defined in the Schedule 1 – Dictionary.\n\n(c) being obese at the time of the clinical worsening of obstructive sleep apnoea;\n\nNote: being obese is defined in the Schedule 1 – Dictionary.\n\n(d) being a supine position when sleeping for at least the 6 months before the clinical worsening of obstructive sleep apnoea; or\n\n(e) taking protease inhibitors as antiretroviral drugs for human immunodeficiency virus infection before the clinical worsening of obstructive sleep apnoea;\n\nNote: obstructive sleep apnoea is defined in the Schedule 1 - Dictionary. \n\n(19) for central sleep apnoea only, taking a long-acting opioid at an average daily morphine equivalent dose of at least 75 milligrams for at least the 2 months before the clinical worsening of central sleep apnoea;\n\nNote: central sleep apnoea and long-acting opioid are defined in the Schedule 1 – Dictionary.\n\n(20) inability to obtain appropriate clinical management for sleep apnoea.\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(10) to 9(20) apply only to material contribution to, or aggravation of, sleep apnoea where the person's sleep apnoea 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 acromegaly means a chronic disease of adults resulting from excess production of growth hormone after closure of the epiphyses.\n\n autonomic neuropathy means any neuropathy of the autonomic nervous system, potentially affecting various parts of the body, including the respiratory system.\n\nNote: Autonomic neuropathy can be a complication of many diseases, including diabetes mellitus, chronic alcohol use disorder, autoimmune diseases, spinal cord injury and neurodegenerative diseases.\n\n being obese means having a Body Mass Index (BMI) of 30 or greater.\n\nNote: BMI is also defined in the Schedule 1 - Dictionary.\n\n BMI means W/H2 where:\n\n(a) W is the person's weight in kilograms; and\n\n(b) H is the person's height in metres.\n\n central sleep apnoea means a type of sleep apnoea characterised on sleep study by repetitive cessation or decrease of both airflow and respiratory effort during sleep.\n\n chronic renal failure means:\n\n(a) having a glomerular filtration rate of less than 15 mL/min/1.73 m2 for a period of at least 3 months; or\n\n(b) a need for renal replacement therapy (dialysis or transplantation) for treatment of complications of decreased glomerular filtration rate which would otherwise increase the risk of morbidity and mortality; or\n\n(c) undergoing chronic dialysis.\n\n long-acting opioid means an opioid drug with a duration of action of at least 3 hours, and used to treat chronic pain or narcotic addiction.\n\n MRCA means the Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 2004.\n\n obstructive sleep apnoea means a type of sleep apnoea characterised on sleep study by repetitive cessation or decrease of airflow during sleep, despite respiratory effort.\n\nNote: Obstructive sleep apnoea includes upper airway resistance syndrome, which involves prolonged, partial obstruction of the upper airway during sleep.\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 sleep apnoea—see subsection 7(2).\n\n specified list of central nervous system lesions or disorders means:\n\n(a) Alzheimer disease;\n\n(b) cerebrovascular accident;\n\n(c) epilepsy;\n\n(d) moderate to severe traumatic brain injury;\n\n(e) multiple sclerosis;\n\n(f) spinal cord injury; or\n\n(g) tumour or lesion of the cervical spine.\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 upper airway means the nasal cavity, nasopharynx, oropharynx, hypopharynx or larynx.\n\n VEA means the Veterans' Entitlements Act 1986.\n\n \n\n \n","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":6,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The instrument does not change the fundamental scope — it remains a Statement of Principles used to decide whether sleep apnoea (or death from it) can be linked to relevant service for the purposes of VEA/MRCA claims (compare s1–5, s7). However, it refines and updates the medical criteria and adds quantified thresholds and an explicit factor about access to care (s9, Schedule). Those are technical and evidentiary changes rather than an extension beyond the original statutory purpose of setting causation criteria for service‑related sleep apnoea."},"complexity_factors":["Approximately 15 defined terms in Schedule 1 (e.g. acromegaly, autonomic neuropathy, BMI, long‑acting opioid, chronic renal failure, specified list of CNS lesions).","Multiple conditional branches in section 9 separating: clinical onset vs clinical worsening (s9(1)–(9) and s9(10)–(20)).","Separate, subtype‑specific criteria for obstructive sleep apnoea and central sleep apnoea (nested subparagraphs s9(8), s9(9), s9(18), s9(19)).","Quantified numerical thresholds that require conversions and measurement (BMI ≥30; opioid morphine equivalent ≥75 mg/day; alcohol ≥30 g/day for ≥6 months).","Cross‑references to other Statements of Principles when a factor refers to another disease (s11) and to external classification (ICD‑10‑AM) in s7(3)–(4).","Inclusion of partly subjective/adjudicative terms (e.g. \"clinical onset\", \"clinical worsening\", \"inability to obtain appropriate clinical management\") increasing case‑by‑case assessment complexity.","Repeal and replacement of an earlier Statement of Principles, requiring assessors to change to new criteria and possibly reconcile historic claims and evidence (s4).","Multiple temporal requirements tying factors to the time of onset or worsening and to whether the condition pre‑existed service (s9, s10)."],"plain_english_summary":"**What this instrument does (mechanics)**\n\n- It replaces the earlier Statement of Principles about sleep apnoea and sets the medical criteria that the Repatriation Medical Authority (RMA) and decision-makers use when deciding whether there is a \"reasonable hypothesis\" that a veteran’s sleep apnoea (or death from it) is connected to their service (see sections 1–5, 7, 9). \n\n- It defines what counts as \"sleep apnoea\" for this purpose (must be a chronic, specialist‑diagnosed disorder with the clinical features listed) and expressly includes obstructive, central and mixed types (s7(2)). A diagnosis by a specialist physician is required (s7(2)(a)). \n\n- It lists the specific medical and exposure factors that, if present at the time the sleep apnoea first appears (clinical onset) or when it worsens, are sufficient as a *minimum* to raise the reasonable hypothesis that the condition is related to service (s9). The list is the operational gate for claims: at least one listed factor must exist (s9). \n\n- Some factors apply only to obstructive sleep apnoea (for example obesity, chronic upper‑airway narrowing, supine sleep position, protease inhibitors) and others only to central sleep apnoea (for example long‑acting opioid use at a quantified morphine‑equivalent dose) (s9(8), s9(9), s9(19)). There are also factors that relate to clinical worsening (s9(10)–(19)). \n\n- The instrument requires that any of these factors be related to the person’s relevant service (s10(1)). The factors that address clinical worsening apply only where the sleep apnoea pre‑existed service (s10(2)). \n\n- If a listed factor references another disease or injury that itself has a separate Statement of Principles, the other Statement of Principles governs that factor’s application (s11). \n\n**Who is affected**\n\n- Primary: veterans and former or current members of the Australian Defence Force (or Peacekeeping Forces) who make claims under the Veterans’ Entitlements Act or the Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Act, when sleep apnoea (or death from it) is alleged to be service‑related (s5, s7). \n\n- Secondary: medical practitioners (specialists) who must diagnose sleep apnoea and may be asked for evidence about onset, clinical worsening, or the presence of listed factors; and decision‑makers/assessors at the Department of Veterans’ Affairs who apply the Statement of Principles when deciding claims. \n\n- Tertiary: the compensation scheme (the Australian Government through DVA) because acceptance of more claims meeting these criteria will affect its liability for benefits and treatment costs. \n\n**Why this matters (purpose claimed and practical implications)**\n\n- The RMA states it has sound medical‑scientific evidence that sleep apnoea can be related to relevant service (s8). The legal effect of the Statement is to standardise the medical criteria that raise a \"reasonable hypothesis\" of service connection — a lower evidentiary threshold than \"on the balance of probabilities\" but sufficient to progress a claim under the statutes it applies to (s5). \n\n- Practical implication: claimants who can show one of the listed factors (and that the factor was related to their relevant service) meet the minimum evidentiary hurdle for the condition to be considered service‑related. Conversely, claimants without any listed factor face a higher obstacle because no minimum factor is present (s9). \n\n**Trade‑offs, incentives and implementation risks**\n\n- Certainty vs. borderline cases: Quantified thresholds (for example, long‑acting opioids at ≥75 mg morphine equivalent per day, or alcohol consumption ≥30 g/day for ≥6 months) create clear cutoffs that may speed and standardise decisions (s9(9), s9(16), Schedule). But tight numerical thresholds can produce hard boundaries where clinical reality is more continuous and may create more borderline disputes about measurement and conversion. \n\n- Administrative discretion and vagueness: Some terms require judgment (for example \"inability to obtain appropriate clinical management\" at s9(20), or relating timing of \"clinical onset\"/\"clinical worsening\" to service). Those open formulations increase scope for case‑by‑case adjudication and could shift evidentiary and fact‑finding burdens onto DVA and treating clinicians. \n\n- Evidence burden on claimants: The Statement requires a specialist diagnosis and timing evidence about when the factor existed relative to clinical onset/worsening and service. That shifts effort and cost to claimants to obtain medical records, specialist reports and objective measures (BMI, medication histories, dialysis records, opioid morphine equivalence, etc.) (s7(2)(a), s9, Schedule). \n\n- Effects on private behaviour: Some criteria relate to prior medication or lifestyle exposures (antipsychotics, long‑acting opioids, protease inhibitors, alcohol, obesity, supine sleep). Knowing these criteria may affect choices about prescribing, medication monitoring, weight management or sleep habits for individuals seeking service‑related compensation, but the Statement itself does not regulate those behaviours — it only uses them as evidentiary factors for causation (s9, Schedule). \n\n- Subsidiary costs: If the Statement makes it easier for particular groups of claimants (for example those with heart failure, neuromuscular disease, or certain drug exposures) to meet the reasonable‑hypothesis threshold, the compensation scheme bears the additional liabilities for treatment and payments associated with accepted claims; those are concrete fiscal costs rather than abstract policy aims (s9, s10). \n\n**Who pays, who decides, what changes in behaviour**\n\n- Who pays: If a claim succeeds under the VEA or MRCA, the Australian Government (through DVA or the MRCA scheme) meets the costs of entitlements and treatment awarded under those statutes (see s5 for application). The Statement itself does not appropriate funds but changes the adjudicative criteria used to award them. \n\n- Who decides: The Repatriation Medical Authority makes the Statement (s3). Departmental decision‑makers and tribunals apply it when assessing claims; medical specialists supply the clinical evidence that decision‑makers rely on (s7, s9, s11). \n\n- Behavioural changes likely to follow: claimants and their treating clinicians will prioritise collecting the specific types of evidence named (specialist diagnosis, BMI, medication histories, dialysis records, cardiac or neurological diagnoses, alcohol consumption records, sleep study reports). Decision‑makers will routinely test claims against the listed factors and the timing rules in s10.\n\n**Concrete implementation considerations**\n\n- The Statement relies on previously defined medical concepts and some quantified measures (BMI formula, opioid morphine‑equivalent doses, alcohol gram thresholds) in the Schedule; implementers will need consistent methods for measuring and converting these (Schedule: BMI, long‑acting opioid, alcohol standard). \n\n- Cross‑reference rule (s11) makes application dependent on the content and updates of other Statements of Principles for any listed comorbid disease; this requires claim assessors to check other Statements and track updates. \n\n- The addition of \"inability to obtain appropriate clinical management\" (s9(20)) is potentially broad and will require policy guidance or precedents to avoid inconsistent determinations.\n\n**Bottom line (mechanical summary)**\n\nThis instrument keeps the original purpose — to set medical criteria that raise a reasonable hypothesis linking sleep apnoea (or death from it) to relevant service — but restates, quantifies and refines the list of medical, exposure and treatment‑access factors that operate as the minimum evidentiary threshold. It affects veterans making claims (and the medical and administrative actors who support or assess them) by clarifying which clinical circumstances will, as a minimum, allow a claim to proceed on the basis of a reasonable hypothesis of service connection (see s7–s11)."},"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"},"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":4,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The legislation maintains its original purpose as a medical-determination instrument for veterans' compensation claims. The 2022 version updates and replaces the 2013 version but does not expand beyond the established framework of determining service-relatedness for sleep apnoea. The structure remains consistent with other Repatriation Medical Authority Statements of Principles."},"complexity_factors":["20 distinct factors with specific temporal requirements (e.g., 'at least 2 months before', 'at least 6 months before')","Bifurcated structure: factors apply differently to clinical onset (subsections 9(1)-9(9)) versus clinical worsening (subsections 9(10)-9(20))","Type-specific limitations: factors 8 and 18 apply 'for obstructive sleep apnoea only'; factors 9 and 19 apply 'for central sleep apnoea only'","14 defined terms in Schedule 1 Dictionary, including nested definitions (e.g., 'being obese' relies on 'BMI' definition)","Cross-referencing mechanism in section 11 linking to other Statements of Principles for conditions referenced in section 9 factors","Incorporation of external medical classification system (ICD-10-AM Tenth Edition) by specific edition and ISBN","Mathematical formula required for BMI calculation (W/H²)","Specific quantitative thresholds (e.g., 30g alcohol/day, 75mg morphine equivalent, BMI ≥30, GFR <15 mL/min)"],"plain_english_summary":"This Statement of Principles sets out the medical evidence and circumstances that can establish a service connection for sleep apnoea for claims under the Veterans' Entitlements Act 1986 and the Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 2004. It replaces the 2013 version and identifies specific clinical factors that, if present and linked to service, create a reasonable hypothesis of service-related sleep apnoea.\n\nIt affects current and former ADF members, veterans (including peacekeepers) and their families, and determines access to compensation, treatment and related entitlements."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/statement-of-principles-concerning-sleep-apnoea-reasonable-hypothesis-no-68-of-2022","history":"/api/acts/statement-of-principles-concerning-sleep-apnoea-reasonable-hypothesis-no-68-of-2022/history","analysis":"/api/acts/statement-of-principles-concerning-sleep-apnoea-reasonable-hypothesis-no-68-of-2022/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/statement-of-principles-concerning-sleep-apnoea-reasonable-hypothesis-no-68-of-2022/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/statement-of-principles-concerning-sleep-apnoea-reasonable-hypothesis-no-68-of-2022/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/statement-of-principles-concerning-sleep-apnoea-reasonable-hypothesis-no-68-of-2022/documents"}}