A federal court judge has slammed the government over lengthy delays in deciding a veteran's compensation claim, saying resources have been inadequate for some time.
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Ruling on an application by an Army Reserve veteran, Justice John Logan said a statement by the Commonwealth indicating it was committed to deciding claims under military compensation legislation within 90 days was "nothing more than cant".
Andrew Davis has waited for his claim to be referred to a decision-maker for more than seven months.
But his court application for the Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Commission to be compelled to make a decision was dismissed, according to a judgment published this week.
Mr Davis, an Army Reserve member from 2011 until 2019, tore a tendon in his ankle during a training camp.
"During surgery they ended up cutting the nerves which has sent me down a long and painful road in terms of treatment and health," he told AAP.
"In my case some conditions have led to other problems."
Mr Davis has already claimed some compensation with Justice Logan saying a chronology of his case made for "confronting - indeed depressing - reading in the sense that the sequel to his experience of military service is an acceptance of many permanent impairments and medical conditions attributable to military service".
Mr Davis lodged a further claim in March that is yet to be decided.
Justice Logan said the parliament had stated in its "grandiosely titled" Australian Veterans' Recognition (Putting Veterans and Their Families First) law that the Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Commission is committed to deciding claims within 90 days from the day it receives them or further requested information.
"If nothing else, the evidence led in the present proceeding establishes that, in practice, that statement in the Recognition Act is presently, and has for a considerable time before today, been nothing more than cant," he added.
Justice Logan said a Department of Veterans' Affairs representative gave evidence that it wasn't possible to give a precise date by which Mr Davis' claim would be allocated to a Commission delegate for determination.
Claims are dealt with on a triage basis but Justice Logan said this meant Mr Davis' was being deferred, giving priority to others.
Judge Logan found the 90-day commitment was not "a legally enforceable obligation".
Instead the Commission needed to decide a claim within a reasonable time.
"On the evidence in this case, the Commission's failure to the present day to make a decision in respect of Mr Davis' claim is not a consequence of neglect, oversight or perversity," he said.
He added that it was apparent resources made available to the Department of Veterans Affairs "have been most inadequate to achieve the aspiration" of deciding claims within 90 days.
Justice Logan, who is also president of the Defence Force Discipline Appeal Tribunal and held the rank of Major in the Army Reserve's Intelligence corps, said the inadequacies of resources in relation to veterans was not unique in recent times.
"But the place of adjudication in relation to inadequate provision of resources is not a court of law but a court of public opinion and perhaps at the ballot box," he added.
"Many might regard seven months as unreasonable but that is not the touchstone.
"There is no irrationality in the decision but there is the potentiality of unreasonableness if there is no recognition that there comes a time when a case just must be referred to a delegate for determination."
Mr Davis says he took the case to court for a better outcome for himself and others also waiting.
"Sometimes you've just got to stand up for what's right and we gave it a try," he said.
He found the outcome disappointing but hopes it will help others.
"That ruling is a playbook for someone else to go and see what we did wrong or someone in a slightly different circumstance," he said.
Australian Associated Press