The requirement in s 5AB(2)(b) of the Veterans' Entitlements Act 1986 (Cth) that information 'meets the applicable criteria for assessing causation currently applied in the field of epidemiology' does not require that a causal relationship be established according to epidemiological criteria; it requires only that the information be of a kind appropriate to be taken into account in the relevant decision-making process. The SMRC must apply the two different statutory standards — reasonable hypothesis and balance of probabilities — separately when reviewing SOPs under s 196B(2) and s 196B(3) respectively. The SMRC is obliged to give adequate notice to participants when the scope of its review extends beyond the matters raised in the application for review.
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