About the sub-branch
The RSL Sub-Branch offers a FREE Pensions and Advocacy service that is staffed and operated by qualified Pensions Officers and Advocates. The Service is available to all veterans, former and current members of the Defence Force and their dependants. You do not have to be an RSL member to access the service. Other people who may also take advantage of this service are Cadets, who are now covered by the Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 2004, and members of the State and Federal Police who served on certain peace-keeping missions.
The Cairns Sub-Branch Pensions & Advocacy Service covers disability pensions, compensation payments, associated allowances, income support payments and treatment available to entitled veterans, current serving members of the Australian Defence Force (ADF), cadets and eligible members of the State and Federal Police.
We can:
• Provide advice and prepare initial claims for disability pension or compensation under the:
• Veterans' Entitlement Act 1986 (VEA),
• Safety, and Rehabilitation & Compensation Act 1988 (SRCA);
• Military Rehabilitation & Compensation Act 2004 (MRCA),
• Advise and assist with applications for review or reconsideration under various Acts listed above; and
• Prepare and present cases for review before the Veterans' Review Board (VRB) and in certain circumstances the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT).
Cairns RSL Sub-Branch offers an initial and ongoing service provided by volunteer pension's officers. The RSL does not charge for this service and you do not have to be an RSL member.
The Sub-Branch has people who have training at the basic and senior level as pension's officers and welfare officers. This training is on-going and will take most of them to the advanced levels of Case Officers and Advocates. Where this advanced level is required as a service, the Sub-Branch Pensions Officers liaise with the RSL Advocate based in Townsville.
The Sub-Branch Pension Officers are all volunteers who have received training under the Training and Information Program (TIP).
The Training and Information Programme (TIP) is a joint venture of ex-service organisations and Department of Veterans' Affairs providing training for members of the ex-service community as Pensions Officers, Welfare Officers, Case Officers and Advocates.
These volunteers are bound by a Code of Ethics which includes complete confidentiality.
Why should a person make a claim? A claim should be made:
• to ensure full medical cover for any condition that is as a result of service;
• to receive adequate compensation and/or rehabilitation;
• to ensure that your dependents are taken care of.
Eligibility and Statement of Principals
The Pensions Officer will first need to determine eligibility under either the:
• Veterans Entitlements Act 1986, (VEA)
• Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 1988, (SRCA)
• Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 2004. (MRCA)
Eligibility is determined from the period of service coupled with type of service e.g.
• operational service, which includes service declared to be war service, hazardous service or peace keeping service'
• or as a result of defence service that is not operational.
For each disability or disease eligible to be compensated under VEA or MRCA there is a Statement of Principal that has been prepared by the Repatriation Medical Authority. This statement of principal will include a description of the disability or disease and it will also include factors, one of which the applicant must contend has a causal relationship to his/her disability or disease.
For example a claimant must have a disability that is then diagnosed as being a disease or disability acceptable to the Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA) thus there is Statement of Principal in existence for this disease or disability that contains a factor that the applicant is able to contend has a causal relationship to the applicants service. That factor could be one or more of any number of occurrences such as a ‘trauma' to the injured part of body, depending if other criteria are met, or the factor could be another disease or injury that has been caused by service. In this case you would say that the second disease or injury is a sequela to the first injury or disease.
Under VEA or MRCA there are two standards of proof. They are:
• Reasonable Hypothesis (RH), or;
• Balance of Probabilities (BOP).
RH is a lesser standard and is available to applicants who are claiming for an injury or disease that resulted from operational service.
BOP applies to applicants who are claiming for an injury or disease that resulted from defence service which is not operational service.
Obtaining the assistance of a Pension's Officer
I person who would like the services of the Cairns RSL Sub-Branch Pensions Office should initially contact the Sub-Branch on telephone number 07 4051 5804 and ask to see a pensions officer. An appointment will then be made for a suitable time. When the person attends that appointment, he/she should bring with them any medical documents or documents previously obtained from DVA or Department of Defence, (DOD).
On attending for the appointment the assigned Pension Officer interviews the applicant and obtains all relevant information. They will discuss the best course of action and proceed with preparing relevant claim forms. This could be either a simple or complicated process as no two claims are exactly similar. The process may be completed in one meeting or it may take several. What ever the circumstances, the pension's officer will work with the applicant until the claim is finalised. If there is a requirement to take a claim further, such as for review or to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal the pension's officer will then include an Advocate in the team.