What can I claim secondary to narcolepsy?
1 condition in the Repatriation Medical Authority's Statements of Principles list narcolepsy as a factor. If DVA has accepted your narcolepsy, each of these has a documented pathway to a further claim.
At a glance
- Accepted conditionNarcolepsy
- Conditions it may open1
- SourceRMA SoPs
- Chart Review$600 + GST
How a secondary claim works
Some Statement of Principles factors are not about service at all — they name another condition. Where DVA has already accepted your narcolepsy, and another condition's SoP lists narcolepsy as a factor, that part of the next claim is already established on your file. How a secondary claim works, in full →
Conditions that list narcolepsy as a factor
Quoted from the instrument. A pathway existing is not the same as a claim succeeding — each factor carries thresholds your record has to satisfy.
Restless legs syndrome
RH No. 113 of 2022 · BoP No. 114 of 2022
Reasonable Hypothesis — factor (12): “having narcolepsy or obstructive sleep apnoea at the time of the clinical onset of restless legs syndrome” [clinical onset] — factor (30): “having narcolepsy or obstructive sleep apnoea at the time of the clinical worsening of restless legs syndrome” [worsening]
This factor appears in the Reasonable Hypothesis instrument only, which applies to operational service.
Other accepted conditions that also open restless legs syndrome
If any of these is also on your file, it reaches some of the same conditions narcolepsy does.
What DVA means by narcolepsy
A claim is tested against the definition first. If the diagnosis on your file does not meet this wording, the factors below never get reached — so it is worth checking that what your doctor wrote matches what the instrument requires.
Narcolepsy, for the purposes of the Statement of Principles, for the purposes of this Statement of Principles, narcolepsy: (a) means a chronic neurological disorder of sleep regulation and wakefulness characterised by disabling, excessive and irresistible daytime sleepiness lasting for at least 3 months, with varying amounts of cataplexy, hypnagogic hallucinations, and sleep paralysis; and (b) includes: (i) narcolepsy with cataplexy (narcolepsy type 1); and (ii) narcolepsy without cataplexy (narcolepsy type 2); and (c) excludes: (i) early onset narcolepsy; and (ii) daytime sleepiness caused by another condition which disrupts the duration or quality of sleep.
Aggravation-only factors. In this instrument, subsections 9(9) to 9(17) apply only to material contribution to, or aggravation of, narcolepsy where it was already present before or during service. If service caused narcolepsy outright, those factors are not available to you.
RH No. 11 of 2022 · BoP No. 12 of 2022 · 15 factors
What could support a claim for narcolepsy?
The Statement of Principles for narcolepsy names 3 other conditions among its own factors. If any of these is already accepted on your file, it may be the factor that carries a narcolepsy claim — quoted here from the instrument.
Moderate to severe traumatic brain injury
Reasonable Hypothesis — factor (1): “having concussion or moderate to severe traumatic brain injury within the 2 years before the clinical onset of narcolepsy, and in the case of sustained unconsciousness following injury to the head, the clinical onset of narcolepsy occurred within 2 years of regaining consciousness” [clinical onset]
Reasonable Hypothesis — factor (9): “having concussion or moderate to severe traumatic brain injury within the 2 years before the clinical worsening of narcolepsy, and in the case of sustained unconsciousness following injury to the head, the clinical worsening of narcolepsy occurred within 2 years of regaining consciousness” [worsening]
Multiple sclerosis
Reasonable Hypothesis — factor (4): “having a neurological disease, neurodegenerative disease or a paraneoplastic neurological syndrome, where the disease or syndrome involves the hypothalamus, midbrain or brainstem, within the 2 years before the clinical onset of narcolepsy; (i) cerebrovascular accident; (ii) disseminated encephalomyelitis; (iii) hypoxic cerebral insult; (iv) multiple sclerosis; (v) neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder; and (vi) Parkinson's disease” [clinical onset]
Reasonable Hypothesis — factor (12): “having a neurological disease, neurodegenerative disease or a paraneoplastic neurological syndrome, where the disease or syndrome involves the hypothalamus, midbrain or brainstem, within the 2 years before the clinical worsening of narcolepsy; (i) cerebrovascular accident; (ii) disseminated encephalomyelitis; (iii) hypoxic cerebral insult; (iv) multiple sclerosis; (v) neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder; and (vi) Parkinson's disease” [worsening]
Influenza
Reasonable Hypothesis — factor (6): “receiving the adjuvanted influenza H1N1 vaccine PandemrixTM within the 2 years before the clinical onset of narcolepsy” [clinical onset]
Reasonable Hypothesis — factor (7): “having infection with H1N1 influenza virus within the 2 years before the clinical onset of narcolepsy” [clinical onset]
Reviewed by Dr Thomas Perkins
Founding doctor, Veterans Health Centre · former RAAF aviation medical officer · 13 years working exclusively with ADF members and veterans. Full profile →
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