Statement of Principles

concerning

ANIMAL ENVENOMATION
(Balance of Probabilities)

(No. 2 of 2026)

The Repatriation Medical Authority determines the following Statement of Principles under subsection 196B(3) of the Veterans' Entitlements Act 1986.

Dated 19 December 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 animal envenomation (Balance of Probabilities) (No. 2 of 2026).

1.                Commencement

              This instrument commences on 19 January 2026.

1.                Authority

This instrument is made under subsection 196B(3) of the Veterans' Entitlements Act 1986.

1.                Repeal

The Statement of Principles concerning animal envenomation (Balance of Probabilities) (No. 82 of 2016) (Federal Register of Legislation No. F2016L01666) made under subsection 196B(3) of the VEA is repealed.

1.                Application

This instrument applies to a claim to which section 120B of the VEA or section 339 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 animal envenomation and death from animal envenomation.

Meaning of animal envenomation

1.           For the purposes of this Statement of Principles:
   1.           animal envenomation means experiencing the toxic or hypersensitivity effects of contact with animal venom.
2.           While animal envenomation attracts ICD-10-AM code T63, X20-X27, and X29, excluding specified and unspecified plants in X26 and X29, in applying this Statement of Principles the meaning of animal envenomation is that given in subsection (2).
3.           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 animal envenomation

1.           For the purposes of this Statement of Principles, animal envenomation, in relation to a person, includes death from a terminal event or condition that was contributed to by the person's animal envenomation.

Note: terminal event is defined in the Schedule 1 – Dictionary.

1.                Basis for determining the factors

On the sound medical‑scientific evidence available, the Repatriation Medical Authority is of the view that it is more probable than not that animal envenomation and death from animal envenomation can be related to relevant service rendered by veterans or members of the Forces under the VEA, or members under the MRCA.

Note: MRCA, relevant service and VEA are defined in the Schedule 1 – Dictionary.

1.                Factors that must exist

At least one of the following factors must exist before it can be said that, on the balance of probabilities, animal envenomation or death from animal envenomation is connected with the circumstances of a person's relevant service:

1.           having internal absorption of venom from a venomous animal, by means of a bite, sting or injection, within the 3 days before clinical onset;

Note: venomous animal is defined in the Schedule 1 - Dictionary. 

1.           having external contact with venom from a snake or scorpion, by means of spitting or spraying, at the time of clinical onset;
2.           having internal absorption of venom from a tick of the family Ixodidae within the 12 days before clinical onset;
3.           inability to obtain appropriate clinical management for animal envenomation before clinical worsening.

1.            Relationship to service
   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.
   2.           The clinical worsening aspect of factors set out in section 9 apply only to material contribution to, or aggravation of, animal envenomation where the person's animal envenomation was suffered or contracted before or during (but did not arise out of) the person's relevant service.
2.            Factors referring to an injury or disease covered by another Statement of Principles

In this Statement of Principles:

1.           if a factor referred to in section 9 applies in relation to a person; and
2.           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;

then 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.

Schedule 1 - Dictionary  

Note:               See Section 6

1               Definitions

In this instrument:

                               animal envenomation—see subsection 7(2).

                               MRCA means the Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 2004.

                               relevant service means:

(a)          eligible war service (other than operational service) under the VEA;

(b)          defence service (other than hazardous service and British nuclear test defence service) under the VEA; or

(c)          peacetime service under the MRCA.

Note: MRCA and VEA are also defined in the Schedule 1 - Dictionary.

                               terminal event means the proximate or ultimate cause of death and includes the following:

(a)           pneumonia;

(b)           respiratory failure;

(c)           cardiac arrest;

(d)           circulatory failure; or

(e)           cessation of brain function.

                               VEA means the Veterans' Entitlements Act 1986.

                               venomous animal means a member of the kingdom Animalia with specialised cells for the production of venom. Such organisms include:

(a)          venomous annelids (e.g. bloodworms and leeches);

(b)          venomous arachnids (e.g. spiders, scorpions, and ticks);

(c)          venomous centipedes;

(d)          venomous cnidarians (e.g. jellyfish, Portuguese man-of-war, sea anemones, and fire coral);

(e)          venomous echinoderms (e.g. sea urchin and crown-of-thorns starfish);

(f)           venomous fish (e.g. stonefish, catfish, lionfish, scorpionfish, toadfish, stingray, and dogfish shark);

(g)          venomous frogs;

(h)          venomous insects (e.g. bees, hornets, wasps, fire ants, and caterpillars);

(i)            venomous mammals (e.g. platypus, shrews, solenodons, slow lorises, and vampire bats);

(j)            venomous molluscs (e.g. cone snail and blue-ringed octopus); and

(k)          venomous reptiles (e.g. land snakes, sea snakes, Gila monsters, and Mexican beaded lizards).

                               This definition excludes animals with toxins distributed within their bodily tissues that cause toxic effects or death after ingestion.