{"id":"F2025L00152","name":"Statement of Principles concerning tooth loss (Balance of Probabilities) (No. 30 of 2025)","slug":"statement-of-principles-concerning-tooth-loss-balance-of-probabilities-no-30-of-2025","collection":"legislative_instrument","jurisdiction":"commonwealth","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":null,"makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":442739,"registerId":"F2025L00152-fast-fetch-1775957688179","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-12","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Statement of Principles concerning tooth loss (Balance of Probabilities) (No. 30 of 2025)","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\nTOOTH LOSS  (Balance of Probabilities)\n\n(No. 30 of 2025)\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 18 February 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\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 tooth loss (Balance of Probabilities) (No. 30 of 2025).\n\n1.                Commencement\n\n\n              This instrument commences on 25 March 2025.\n\n1.                Authority\n\n\nThis instrument is made under subsection 196B(3) of the Veterans' Entitlements Act 1986.\n\n1.                Repeal\n\n\nThe Statement of Principles concerning loss of teeth ( Balance of Probabilities No. 125 of 2015 (Federal Register of Legislation No. F2015L01679) made under subsection 196B(3) of the VEA is repealed.\n\n1.                Application\n\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\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 tooth loss and death from tooth loss.\n\n\nMeaning of tooth loss\n\n1.           For the purposes of this Statement of Principles, tooth loss:\n  1.           means partial or complete permanent loss of a tooth (consisting of the enamel and dentine) of the natural secondary dentition, with or without retained dental root; and\n  2.           includes tooth loss due to surgical extraction; and\n  3.           excludes superficial tooth wear confined to the enamel.\n\n\nNote 1: Secondary dentition refers to the 32 permanent teeth and not the primary dentition.\n\nNote 2: Tooth loss may involve the tooth substance, the gomphosis or the alveolar bone.\n\n1.           While tooth loss attracts ICD‑10‑AM code K08.1 or K08.3, in applying this Statement of Principles the meaning of tooth loss is that given in subsection (2).\n2.           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 tooth loss\n\n1.           For the purposes of this Statement of Principles, tooth loss, in relation to a person, includes death from a terminal event or condition that was contributed to by the person's tooth loss.\n\n\nNote: terminal event is defined in the Schedule 1 – Dictionary.\n\n1.                Basis for determining the factors\n\n\nOn the sound medical‑scientific evidence available, the Repatriation Medical Authority is of the view that it is more probable than not that tooth loss and death from tooth loss 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\n1.                Factors that must exist\n\n\nAt least one of the following factors must exist before it can be said that, on the balance of probabilities, tooth loss or death from tooth loss is connected with the circumstances of a person's relevant service:\n\n1.           having dental caries in the affected tooth at the time of clinical onset;\n2.           having periodontitis in the periodontium supporting the affected tooth at the time of clinical onset;\n3.           having periodontal abscess of the affected tooth at the time of clinical onset;\n4.           having dental pulp and apical disease of the affected tooth at the time of clinical onset;\n5.           having a fracture of the affected tooth where the fractures involves the dentine before clinical onset;\n6.           having luxation of the affected tooth (partial or complete displacement of the tooth from its alveolar socket) at the time of clinical onset;\n7.           having traumatic avulsion of the affected tooth (total displacement of the tooth out of its alveolar socket) at the time of clinical onset;\n8.           having a fracture of the alveolar bone supporting the affected tooth before clinical onset;\n9.           undergoing a course of radiotherapy for head or neck cancer, where the affected tooth was in the field of radiation, within the 4 years before clinical onset;\n\n\nNote: The radiotherapy for head or neck cancer can result in osteonecrosis of the bone which leads to tooth displacement and loss.\n\n1.       having pericoronitis of the affected tooth at the time of the dental decision to extract the partially erupted tooth; \n\n\nNote: Pericoronitis causes inflammation of the gingiva surrounding a partially erupted tooth, especially the third molar or wisdom tooth, and is related to the accumulation of food particles and micro-organisms under the gum flap.\n\n1.       taking ribavirin at the time of clinical onset;\n2.       inability to obtain appropriate clinical management for tooth loss 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(12) applies only to material contribution to, or aggravation of, tooth loss where the person's tooth loss 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(3) 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                             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                               tooth loss—see subsection 7(2).\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 is a straightforward replacement of the 2015 Statement of Principles concerning loss of teeth. The scope remains tightly focused on establishing medical criteria for service-connected tooth loss claims. The 2025 version updates terminology (changing 'loss of teeth' to 'tooth loss') and appears to maintain the same substantive coverage without expansion into new areas of compensation or new claimant categories."},"complexity_factors":["12 specific medical factors with clinical definitions requiring medical knowledge to apply","Cross-references to other Statements of Principles for underlying conditions (section 11)","Dual statutory framework requiring navigation between VEA and MRCA","Technical medical terminology throughout (luxation, avulsion, pericoronitis, gomphosis, alveolar bone, secondary dentition)","Conditional logic in section 10(2) restricting factor 9(12) to aggravation cases only","Specific temporal requirements (radiotherapy within 4 years; 'at time of clinical onset')","ICD-10-AM coding reference with specific edition requirements (Tenth Edition, 1 July 2017)","7 defined terms in Schedule 1 Dictionary, plus substantive definitions embedded in sections 7 and 9"],"plain_english_summary":"This instrument sets the medical criteria for when Australian veterans and current/former defence personnel can claim compensation for permanent adult tooth loss as connected to service. It defines tooth loss broadly (including extractions, trauma, jaw/socket damage and certain treatment-related causes) and requires proof on the “balance of probabilities” that one of the specified medical factors was service-related. It replaces the 2015 rules and determines which dental losses are compensable."},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":4,"scope_assessment":{"changed":true,"description":"This instrument repeals the earlier 2015 Statement (s4) and restates the criteria for establishing service connection for tooth loss and death from tooth loss (s7(1)–(3)). It clarifies the medical meaning of tooth loss (s7(2)), adds specific qualifying factors including radiotherapy within 4 years (s9(9)), pericoronitis at time of extraction decision (s9(10)), use of ribavirin (s9(11)), and inability to obtain appropriate clinical management (s9(12)), and confirms application to claims under the VEA and MRCA (s5)."},"complexity_factors":["Legal test: 'balance of probabilities' standard for causal connection (s8; header)","Detailed clinical definitions and exclusions for 'tooth loss' (s7(2)) and ICD‑10‑AM coding reference (s7(3)–(4))","Enumerated medical and treatment factors that qualify as sufficient (s9) — mixes acute trauma, chronic disease, treatment effects and medications","Temporal limitation for radiotherapy (4 years) and condition‑specific timing requirements (s9(9), s9 notes)","Requirement that any listed factor be related to the person's relevant service as defined (s10; Schedule 1)","Interaction with other Statements of Principles where factors reference other injuries/diseases (s11)","Administrative effect: repeal of prior 2015 Statement (s4) and application to claims under two Acts (s5)","Use of defined terms and schedule definitions (Schedule 1) which affect interpretation and proof requirements"],"plain_english_summary":"This instrument replaces the 2015 Statement of Principles and sets the medical criteria the Repatriation Medical Authority uses to decide, on the balance of probabilities, when tooth loss (including death contributed to by tooth loss) is connected with military service for claims under the Veterans’ Entitlements Act and the Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Act. It lists specific clinical and treatment‑related factors that, if present and shown to be related to relevant service, suffice to link the condition to service and so affect entitlement decisions."},"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-tooth-loss-balance-of-probabilities-no-30-of-2025","history":"/api/acts/statement-of-principles-concerning-tooth-loss-balance-of-probabilities-no-30-of-2025/history","analysis":"/api/acts/statement-of-principles-concerning-tooth-loss-balance-of-probabilities-no-30-of-2025/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/statement-of-principles-concerning-tooth-loss-balance-of-probabilities-no-30-of-2025/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/statement-of-principles-concerning-tooth-loss-balance-of-probabilities-no-30-of-2025/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/statement-of-principles-concerning-tooth-loss-balance-of-probabilities-no-30-of-2025/documents"}}