My Epilepsy is controlled 129

cauldrick Wrote:

Hi Cauldrick

You will have to tell the Panel Doctor about your epilepsy, and unless you can produce a recent report from your specialist, DIMA might insist that you get one before they will make a final decision about you on medical grounds.

There is said to be a "rule of thumb" in which if your medical condition is unlikely to cost more than $20,000 or so to deal with during your first 3-5 years in Australia, you would almost certainly be OK on your meds. However, the cost is not the cost of pills, specialist doctor involvement etc on its own. They also take into account the applicant's fitness to work and to be self-supporting financially. The presumption is that if an applicant is granted PR, then that applicant potentially has a right to claim the whole range of State Benefits that an Australian citizen living in Australia would be able to claim. Obviously, if State Benefits enter the costs-equation, they can raise the cost-factor exponentially, even though the cost of the actual medication required might be trifling.

The chances are that the Panel Doctor would tick Box B on your medical form, but that does NOT mean that you would not be successful. The only effect of the PD ticking Box B is that your medical file would be sent to the Medical Officer of the Commonwealth for an opinion about whether you satisfy the health criteria or not. If Box A has been ticked, the medical file is not referred to the Medical Officer for an opinion.

Have a look at this link, I suggest:

If you search for Epilepsy + 4005, and you tell the machine to search in the Full Court, the Federal Court and the Migration Review Tribunal cases, you can read about many cases where the applicant has had epilepsy. I've had a quick look, and believe me, you do NOT sound sick to me compared to some of those unfortunate souls!

For specialist advice about what type of visa it is best to apply for if one has a known medical condition that could cause a problem, Peter Bollard and Mark Webster are said to be the gurus in this specialised area of work. If you tell any search engine their names + migration agent, the links will come up. The reason why you might have to consider what type of visa to apply for is because some of them allow an appeal to the MRT, which is fairly informal and relatively inexpensive. Others do not permit an appeal except to the Court. Also, it is possible to ask for a Review Medical Officer of the Commonwealth to give a second opinion about the condition to the MRT, but that is not possible in an appeal to the Court. The RMOC has overturned the original MOC's opinion in more cases than I would have expected to find.

However, if your condition is only very mild, and really has no impact on your likely ability to work now or in the future, it is very unlikely that you would run into any real problems. The worry is likely to make you much more unwell than your epilepsy would, I can tell you, from personal experience!!

You will have to have a blood test, but I think it is only for HIV for most people. If you go to www.australia.org.uk and follow the link to medical information, right at the end of that section you can download think that if you read Form 26, you will see that it is not scary. They are not looking for Superman only!

Good luck, and please feel free to e-mail or PM me if I can buttist further. I am not a doctor or nurse, and I have no involvement with DIMA. I've merely had to help a family member with the procedural and practical side of the meds hurdle very rcently. But if you feel I can help, I'll do my best.

Good luck again

Gill