Document ID: chunk:federal_register_of_legislation:F2025L00143:front:0:p1
Version: federal_register_of_legislation:F2025L00143
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Statement of Principles
concerning
OPISTHORCHIASIS
(Reasonable Hypothesis)
(No. 21 of 2025)
The Repatriation Medical Authority determines the following Statement of Principles under subsection 196B(2) of the Veterans' Entitlements Act 1986.

Dated    18 February 2025.

Professor Terence Campbell AM
Chairperson
by and on behalf of
The Repatriation Medical Authority

Contents
1 Name
2 Commencement
3 Authority
4 Repeal
5 Application
6 Definitions
7 Kind of injury, disease or death to which this Statement of Principles relates
8 Basis for determining the factors
9 Factors that must exist
10 Relationship to service
11 Factors referring to an injury or disease covered by another Statement of Principles
Schedule 1 - Dictionary
1 Definitions

 1.                Name
This is the Statement of Principles concerning opisthorchiasis (Reasonable Hypothesis) (No. 21 of 2025).
 1.                Commencement
              This instrument commences on 25 March 2025.
 1.                Authority
This instrument is made under subsection 196B(2) of the Veterans' Entitlements Act 1986.
 1.                Repeal
The Statement of Principles concerning opisthorchiasis (Reasonable Hypothesis) (No. 45 of 2016) (Federal Register of Legislation No. F2016L00579) made under subsection 196B(2) of the VEA is repealed.
 1.                Application
This instrument applies to a claim to which section 120A of the VEA or section 338 of the Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 2004 applies.
 1.                Definitions
The terms defined in the Schedule 1 - Dictionary have the meaning given when used in this instrument.
 1.                Kind of injury, disease or death to which this Statement of Principles relates
         1.           This Statement of Principles is about opisthorchiasis and death from opisthorchiasis.
Meaning of opisthorchiasis
 1.           For the purposes of this Statement of Principles, opisthorchiasis means an infestation of the biliary system by the trematodes (parasitic flatworms) Opisthorchis felineus or Opisthorchis viverrini.
Note 1: Opisthorchis felineus is also known as the cat liver fluke and Opisthorchis viverrini is also known as the Southeast Asian liver fluke.
Note 2: Symptoms of opisthorchiasis include loss of appetite, diarrhoea or a sense of abdominal pressure.
 1.           While opisthorchiasis attracts ICD‑10‑AM code B66.0, in applying this Statement of Principles the meaning of opisthorchiasis is that given in subsection (2).
 2.           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.
Death from opisthorchiasis
 1.           For the purposes of this Statement of Principles, opisthorchiasis, in relation to a person, includes death from a terminal event or condition that was contributed to by the person's opisthorchiasis.
Note: terminal event is defined in the Schedule 1 – Dictionary.
 1.                Basis