{"id":"F2020L00140","name":"Social Security (Australian Government Disaster Recovery Payment— New South Wales Bushfires) Determination 2020 (No. 14)","slug":"f2020l00140","collection":"legislative_instrument","jurisdiction":"commonwealth","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":null,"makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":329418,"registerId":"commonwealth-F2020L00140-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-08","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Name","content":"#### 1 Name\n\n  (1) This instrument is the Social Security (Australian Government Disaster Recovery Payment— New South Wales Bushfires) Determination 2020 (No. 14).\n  (2) This instrument may also be cited as LIN 20/097.","sortOrder":0},{"sectionNumber":"2","sectionType":"section","heading":"Commencement","content":"#### 2 Commencement\n\n  This instrument commences on the day it is signed.\n\n> Note: Any retrospective application of this instrument is permitted by operation of subsection 12(2) of the Legislation Act 2003.","sortOrder":1},{"sectionNumber":"3","sectionType":"section","heading":"Definitions","content":"#### 3 Definitions\n\n  (1) In this instrument:\n\n> Act means the Social Security Act 1991.\n\n> destroyed means damaged to the extent that:\n\n> (a) for a residence—it must be demolished; or\n\n> (b) for a major asset or assets—it is unusable.\n\n> immediate family member, of a person, means:\n\n> (a) the person’s partner; or\n\n> (b) the person’s natural child, adoptive child or step-child; or\n\n> (c) the person’s natural parent, adoptive parent or step-parent; or\n\n> (d) the person’s legal guardian; or\n\n> (e) the person’s brother, sister, step-brother or step-sister.\n\n> Note This term is used in a different sense to that used in the Act.\n\n> major asset or assets means:\n\n> (a) an asset, with a market value of at least $20,000, located at the person’s principal place of residence; or\n\n> (b) two or more assets, with a combined market value of at least $20,000, located at the person’s principal place of residence.\n\n> Examples Building, large fixed structure, motor vehicle, caravan, water tank, large scale machinery, heavy equipment.\n\n> major damage means:\n\n> (a) for a residence:\n\n> (i) damage to the interior of the residence; or\n\n> (ii) that the residence is structurally unsound; or\n\n> (iii) damage to the residence that exposes the interior of the residence to the elements; or\n\n> iv) sewage contamination of the interior of the residence or of the water supply to the residence;\n\n> (b) for a major asset or assets other than a water tank—that it is burnt, or damaged by heat, ash or smoke, to the extent that it needs to be replaced; or\n\n> (c) for a water tank—damage to the extent that it needs to be repaired or cleaned, or the water replaced.\n\n> seriously injured, for a person, means:\n\n> (a) the person has sustained an injury; and\n\n> (b) because of the injury:\n\n> (i) the person was admitted to hospital; or\n\n> (ii) under normal circumstances, the person would have been admitted to hospital.\n\n> (2) A place of residence is a person’s principal place of residence if:\n\n> (a) the person regularly lives at the place with a degree of settled purpose; and\n\n> (b) the person has a lawful right to reside at the place; and\n\n> (c) the place is not:\n\n> (i) a prison or a place of detention; or\n\n> (ii) a secondary residence used for holidays.\n\n> Note It is possible for a person to have more than 1 principal place of residence.","sortOrder":2},{"sectionNumber":"4","sectionType":"section","heading":"Person adversely affected by a major disaster","content":"#### 4 Person adversely affected by a major disaster\n\n  (1) This section applies to the major disaster being bushfires occurring in August, September, October, November and December 2019, and January and February 2020 in New South Wales affecting the local government areas of Armidale, Blue Mountains, Bega Valley, Central Coast, Cessnock, Clarence Valley, Coffs Harbour, Eurobodalla, Kempsey, Kyogle, Glen Innes Severn, Greater Hume, Goulburn Mulwaree, Hawkesbury, Inverell, Lismore, Lithgow, Mid Coast, Mid-Western, Nambucca, Oberon, Port Macquarie-Hastings, Queanbeyan-Palerang, Richmond Valley, Shoalhaven, Singleton, Snowy Monaro, Snowy Valleys, Tenterfield, Tweed, Upper Lachlan, Walcha, Wingecarribee and Wollondilly.\n  (2) For subsection 1061L(2) of the Act, a person is taken to be adversely affected by the major disaster if any of the following circumstances apply:\n    (a) the person is seriously injured as a direct result of the disaster;\n    (b) the person is an immediate family member of an Australian who is killed as a direct result of the disaster;\n    (c) the person’s principal place of residence has been destroyed or has major damage as a direct result of the disaster;\n    (d) a major asset or assets of the person has or have been destroyed or suffered major damage as a direct result of the disaster;\n    (e) the person is a principal carer of a child to whom paragraphs (a), (b), (c) or (d) apply.","sortOrder":3},{"sectionNumber":"5","sectionType":"section","heading":"Repeal","content":"#### 5 Repeal\n\n  According to subsection 33(3) of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901, the Social Security (Australian Government disaster recovery payment—New South Wales Bushfires) Determination 2020 (No. 12) (LIN 20/041), is repealed.","sortOrder":4},{"sectionNumber":"6","sectionType":"section","heading":"Savings and transitional","content":"#### 6 Savings and transitional\n\n  Anything done under the Social Security (Australian Government disaster recovery payment—New South Wales Bushfires) Determination 2020 (No. 12) continues to be in effect as if it had been done under this instrument.","sortOrder":5}],"analysis":{"flash_summary_failed":{"failed":true,"reason":"Unauthenticated. Configure AI_GATEWAY_API_KEY or use a provider module. Learn more: https://ai-sdk.dev/unauthenticated-ai-gateway","source":"analysis-cron"},"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"This instrument maintains its original narrow purpose: defining eligibility for a specific disaster payment for specific bushfires in specific NSW local government areas. It is a standard disaster-specific determination under the Social Security Act framework, replacing an earlier version (No. 12) for the same event without expanding scope."},"complexity_factors":["Short, focused instrument (6 sections, ~2 pages)","8 defined terms in section 3, but all are concrete and clearly explained with examples","Single purpose: defining eligibility for one specific disaster event","Simple conditional structure in section 4 (5 alternative circumstances, any one qualifies)","One cross-reference to the Social Security Act 1991 (subsection 1061L(2))","Repeal and savings provision (section 5-6) is standard administrative housekeeping","No nested exceptions or complex temporal conditions beyond the date range in section 4(1)"],"plain_english_summary":"This instrument defines who is \"adversely affected\" by the 2019–20 NSW bushfires for a one‑off Australian Government Disaster Recovery Payment, covering people seriously injured, immediate family of those who died, owners of principal homes destroyed or with major damage, those who lost major assets at their home, and principal carers of affected children. \n\nIt activates the federal payment for the specified council areas, replacing an earlier determination while preserving any claims already made."},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"This instrument restates and formalises eligibility criteria for the same NSW bushfire event, lists the affected LGAs, and repeals the earlier LIN 20/041 while expressly preserving actions taken under it (s5, s6). On its face it appears to carry forward rather than expand or narrow scope materially within the text provided."},"complexity_factors":["Multiple technical definitions that set eligibility thresholds (e.g. 'destroyed', 'major asset', 'major damage', 'seriously injured', 'immediate family') (see s3).","Detailed geographic scope through a long list of affected local government areas (s4(1)), which fixes where the instrument applies.","Direct cross-reference to the Social Security Act (subsection 1061L(2)) so legal effect depends on interpreting that provision alongside this instrument (s4(2)).","Numeric and evidentiary thresholds embedded in definitions (market value >= $20,000 for 'major asset'; hospital admission or would-have-been for 'seriously injured') create concrete proof requirements (s3).","Principal place of residence test with three elements (regularly lives there, lawful right to reside, exclusions) narrows eligibility and may require documentary proof (s3(2)).","Repeal of the prior determination (LIN 20/041) with a savings/transitional clause preserves prior administrative actions but may require administrators to map old decisions to the new instrument (s5, s6).","The instrument specifies criteria but leaves assessment and claim decisions to the agency administering the Act, creating operational discretion in evidence assessment (s4(2) read with s3 definitions)."],"plain_english_summary":"This instrument sets who qualifies for the Australian Government Disaster Recovery Payment for the August 2019–February 2020 NSW bushfires by listing affected local government areas and defining qualifying circumstances: serious injury, death of an immediate family member, destruction or major damage to a principal residence or major assets, or being the principal carer of an affected child.  \n\nIt commences on signing, replaces LIN 20/041 and—by defining ‘destroyed’, ‘major asset’ and ‘principal place of residence’—determines what evidence claimants must supply and how the Social Security Act is applied."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/f2020l00140","history":"/api/acts/f2020l00140/history","analysis":"/api/acts/f2020l00140/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/f2020l00140/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/f2020l00140/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/f2020l00140/documents"}}