How CSC Decides Your Class: Employment Kinds, ANZSCO and the Rule 22 Test

Step 1: What work could you reasonably do?

CSC first identifies the kinds of civil employment a person with your skills, qualifications and experience could reasonably undertake, ignoring your impairment. CSC uses the Australian and New Zealand Standard Classification of Occupations (ANZSCO) for consistency.

Tribunal and court decisions shape this step:

• Reasonable expectation is the test (Shelton, 1979) – not whether you are physically able.
• Minor retraining counts (DFRDB Authority v House, 1989) – needing a licence or short refresher course is not a barrier.
• Kinds are read broadly (Re Thomson, 1987).
• Skills from anywhere count – including leadership and supervision learned in service.

Why it matters: CSC often names broad kinds of work such as clerical, sales or supervisory roles. If those assume qualifications you never held, or demands you can't meet, that is a ground for appeal.

Step 2: Which conditions count?

Only your retiring impairments count – the conditions that caused, or helped cause, your discharge. A condition merely listed on a discharge form needs proper diagnosis and evidence of severity. A diagnosis made later can still count if it describes what you actually had at discharge (Re Briggs, 2007).

Step 3: How much capacity was lost?

The percentage compares the work opportunities your impairments removed with the whole range otherwise open to you (Bos, 1977).

• Earnings are not the measure.
• Part-time or intermittent capacity matters – an impairment may leave the range of jobs intact but limit you to part-time work.
• Mental health counts beyond physical limits – concentration, memory, motivation, persistence and impulse control are all relevant to work.

Turning the Rule 22 test into evidence

A strong submission follows the delegate's own steps:

1. List your real skills, qualifications and experience at discharge.
2. Challenge any employment kind that doesn't fit.
3. Break each named job into its demands – sitting, standing, lifting, concentration, shift work, dealing with the public.
4. Rate whether your impairments at discharge allowed you to meet each demand, quoting dated records.
5. State the class the evidence supports.

That is exactly how a VHC Rule 22 Classification Report is structured. See also CSC Class A, B and C explained.

Frequently asked questions

What is Rule 22 in MilitarySuper?

Rule 22 is the MilitarySuper Trust Deed rule CSC uses to classify an invalidity retiree as Class A, B or C.

Does CSC consider my income after discharge?

Not as the measure. The test is loss of civilian employment opportunity, not lost earnings.

Can I challenge the jobs CSC says I can do?

Yes. Wrong or unsuitable employment kinds are one of the strongest grounds for reconsideration.

Get a Rule 22 Classification Report

VHC rebuilds CSC's decision step by step and rates every demand of each job against your records. See CSC invalidity class appeals, call 0429 146 039 or email reception@vhc.org.au.

General information only; not legal, financial or tax advice. Check current information with CSC or a qualified adviser before acting.