What can I claim secondary to sinusitis?
6 conditions in the Repatriation Medical Authority's Statements of Principles list sinusitis as a factor. If DVA has accepted your sinusitis, each of these has a documented pathway to a further claim.
At a glance
- Accepted conditionSinusitis
- Conditions it may open6
- 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 sinusitis, and another condition's SoP lists sinusitis 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 sinusitis 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.
Anosmia
RH No. 19 of 2021 · BoP No. 20 of 2021
Reasonable Hypothesis — factor (1): “having sinusitis for at least the two years before the clinical onset of anosmia” [clinical onset]
Balance of Probabilities — factor (1): “having sinusitis for at least the five years before the clinical onset of anosmia” [clinical onset]
Cerebrovascular accident (stroke)
RH No. 45 of 2024 · BoP No. 46 of 2024
Reasonable Hypothesis — factor (60): “having an upper respiratory tract infection, including sinusitis, within the 4 weeks before clinical onset” [clinical onset]
Balance of Probabilities — factor (45): “having an upper respiratory tract infection, including sinusitis, within the 4 weeks before clinical onset” [clinical onset]
Malignant neoplasm of the nasopharynx
RH No. 9 of 2020 · BoP No. 10 of 2020
Reasonable Hypothesis — factor (12): “having chronic sinusitis or chronic rhinitis before the clinical onset of malignant neoplasm of the nasopharynx” [clinical onset]
This factor appears in the Reasonable Hypothesis instrument only, which applies to operational service.
Otitis media
RH No. 62 of 2022 · BoP No. 63 of 2022
Reasonable Hypothesis — factor (3): “having allergic rhinitis or sinusitis within the 7 days before the clinical onset of otitis media” [clinical onset] — factor (18): “having allergic rhinitis or sinusitis within the 7 days before the clinical worsening of otitis media” [worsening]
Balance of Probabilities — factor (3): “having allergic rhinitis or sinusitis within the 7 days before the clinical onset of otitis media” [clinical onset] — factor (15): “having allergic rhinitis or sinusitis within the 7 days before the clinical worsening of otitis media” [worsening]
Sinus barotrauma
RH No. 23 of 2019 · BoP No. 24 of 2019
Reasonable Hypothesis — factor (5): “having allergic rhinitis or sinusitis within the 24 hours before the clinical onset of sinus barotrauma” [clinical onset] — factor (10): “having allergic rhinitis or sinusitis within the 24 hours before the clinical worsening of sinus barotrauma” [worsening]
Balance of Probabilities — factor (5): “having allergic rhinitis or sinusitis within the 24 hours before the clinical onset of sinus barotrauma” [clinical onset] — factor (10): “having allergic rhinitis or sinusitis within the 24 hours before the clinical worsening of sinus barotrauma” [worsening]
Trigeminal neuralgia or trigeminal neuropathy
RH No. 84 of 2024 · BoP No. 85 of 2024
Reasonable Hypothesis — factor (14): “having invasive bacterial or fungal paranasal sinusitis or viral meningoencephalitis, at the time of clinical onset or clinical worsening of trigeminal neuralgia” [onset and worsening] — factor (15): “having one of the following infections involving the affected trigeminal nerve, at the time of clinical onset or clinical worsening of trigeminal neuropathy: (a) abscess; (b) Lyme disease (Borrelia burgdorferi infection); (c) brainstem meningitis or encephalitis; (d) herpes simplex virus infection; (e) invasive bacterial or fungal sinusitis; (f) leprosy (Mycobacterium leprae infection); (g) odontogenic infection; (h) osteomyelitis; (i) suppurative otitis media; (j) syphilis (Treponema pallidum infection)” [onset and worsening]
Balance of Probabilities — factor (13): “having invasive bacterial or fungal paranasal sinusitis or viral meningoencephalitis, at the time of clinical onset or clinical worsening of trigeminal neuralgia” [onset and worsening] — factor (14): “having one of the following infections involving the affected trigeminal nerve, at the time of clinical onset or clinical worsening of trigeminal neuropathy: (a) abscess; (b) Lyme disease (Borrelia burgdorferi infection); (c) brainstem meningitis or encephalitis; (d) herpes simplex virus infection; (e) invasive bacterial or fungal sinusitis; (f) leprosy (Mycobacterium leprae infection); (g) odontogenic infection; (h) osteomyelitis; (i) suppurative otitis media” [onset and worsening]
Other accepted conditions that also open anosmia
If any of these is also on your file, it reaches some of the same conditions sinusitis does.
What DVA means by sinusitis
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.
Sinusitis, for the purposes of the Statement of Principles, for the purposes of this Statement of Principles, sinusitis (also known as rhinosinusitis): (a) means inflammation of the nasal cavity and the paranasal sinuses; and (b) includes acute sinusitis and chronic sinusitis.
Aggravation-only factors. In this instrument, subsections 9(11) to 9(22) apply only to material contribution to, or aggravation of, sinusitis where it was already present before or during service. If service caused sinusitis outright, those factors are not available to you.
RH No. 73 of 2018 · BoP No. 74 of 2018 · 20 factors
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 →
Sinusitis accepted?
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