Repatriation authority probes intimate partner violence as stress disorder factor

The Repatriation Medical Authority intends to investigate intimate partner violence as a factor in posttraumatic stress disorder, according to a notice published in the Commonwealth of Australia Government Notices Gazette of 27 October 2026. The investigation, announced under section 370CJ of the Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 2004, will be conducted in relation to Statements of Principles Instrument Nos. 97 & 98 of 2022 concerning posttraumatic stress disorder. Written submissions close on 19 January 2027, and the Authority will hold its first meeting for the inquiry on 16 February 2027.

The statutory framework behind the inquiry

The notice is issued under section 370CJ of the Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 2004 (MRCA), with the investigation itself proceeding under section 370CE of the same Act. The Repatriation Medical Authority is the body empowered to determine the Statements of Principles that set out the factors that may be taken to connect a medical condition with military service.

Under the MRCA, the Authority must determine whether new information is available about how posttraumatic stress disorder may be suffered or contracted, or how death from the condition may occur. It must also consider the extent to which posttraumatic stress disorder, or death from it, may be war-caused, defence-caused, a service injury, a service disease or a service death. The reference to intimate partner violence is therefore framed as a question of causation, not merely of clinical description.

The investigation revisits Statements of Principles Instrument Nos. 97 & 98 of 2022, the pair of instruments governing posttraumatic stress disorder under the veterans’ compensation framework. Instrument 97 of 2022 addresses the condition for the purposes of the relevant determinations, while Instrument 98 of 2022 deals with death from that condition; a change to either would alter the evidentiary pathway open to claimants.

Who may make a submission

The Authority has invited written submissions from a defined set of persons and organisations:

• a person eligible to make a claim for compensation under section 319 of the Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 2004;
• an organisation representing veterans, Australian mariners or members of the Forces, all within the meaning of the Veterans’ Entitlements Act 1986;
• an organisation representing members or their dependants;
• the Commission; and
• a person having expertise in a field relevant to the investigation.

Lodgement is electronic through the Repatriation Medical Authority website at http://www.rma.gov.au/investigations/. Submissions may also be emailed to info@rma.gov.au or posted to the Authority’s office at GPO Box 1014, Brisbane, Qld 4001. The RMA Submission Guidelines are available online, and the RMA Secretariat can be reached on telephone (07) 2149 7499 or by email at info@rma.gov.au.

All submissions must be in writing and received by the Authority by 19 January 2027. Supporting information may be lodged alongside the submission.

Signature and registration

The notice was signed on 23 October 2026 by Dr Anthony Lynham AO, Chairperson, by and on behalf of the Repatriation Medical Authority. It was registered in the Government Notices Gazette on 27 October 2026 under reference C2026G00697.

Why the inquiry matters

Statements of Principles decide whether a veteran can rely on a presumed connection between service and a diagnosed condition, so any reconsideration of the posttraumatic stress disorder instruments reaches directly into live and future compensation claims. Should intimate partner violence be accepted as a factor, the question of whether a condition is war-caused, defence-caused or a service disease would have to be assessed on evidence the 2022 instruments did not contemplate. The 19 January 2027 deadline gives affected individuals and ex-service organisations a single window in which to place material before the Authority ahead of its first meeting on 16 February 2027.

Source: Commonwealth of Australia Government Notices Gazette, No. C2026G00697, 27 October 2026, Government Notices, p. 1 (official reference: C2026G00697).