{"id":"F2024L00169","name":"Social Security (Australian Government Disaster Recovery Payment—South East Queensland Severe Storms and Flooding—December 2023 to January 2024) (LIN 24/0026) Determination 2024 (No. 4)","slug":"f2024l00169","collection":"legislative_instrument","jurisdiction":"commonwealth","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":null,"makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":344865,"registerId":"commonwealth-F2024L00169-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-08","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Social Security (Australian Government Disaster Recovery Payment—South East Queensland Severe Storms and Flooding—December 2023 to January 2024) (LIN 24/0026) Determination 2024 (No. 4)","content":"![Commonwealth Coat of Arms of Australia](image.001.png)\n\nLIN 24/026\n\nSocial Security (Australian Government Disaster Recovery Payment—South East Queensland Severe Storms and Flooding—December 2023 to January 2024) (LIN 24/026) Determination 2024 (No. 4)\n\nI, Murray Watt, Minister for Emergency Management, make this instrument under subsection 1061L(2) of the Social Security Act 1991.\n\nDated 12 February 2024 Time: 9:51 a.m. (AEDT)\n\n![Signature of Murray Watt, Minister for Emergency Management ](image.002.png) \nMurray Watt\n\nMinister for Emergency Management\n\n \n\nContents\n\n1 Name...............................................3\n\n2 Commencement.........................................3\n\n3 Definitions............................................3\n\n4 Persons adversely affected by a major disaster.......................4\n\nSchedule 1—Affected areas 5\n\nList of affected suburbs 5\n\n1 Name\n\nThis instrument is the Social Security (Australian Government Disaster Recovery Payment—South East Queensland Severe Storms and Flooding—December 2023 to January 2024) (LIN 24/0026) Determination 2024 (No. 4).\n\n2 Commencement\n\nThis instrument commences immediately after it is signed.\n\n3 Definitions\n\n(1) In this instrument:\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 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) assets, with a combined market value of at least $20 000, located at the person’s principal place of residence.\n\n> Note: 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\n\n(b) for a major asset or assets other than a water tank—that it is flooded, or damaged by severe weather to the extent that it needs to be replaced; or\n\n(c) for a major asset that is 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.\n\n4 Person adversely affected by a major disaster\n\n(1) This section applies to the major disaster being the severe storms and associated flooding that commenced on 24 December 2023 and continued through to 12 January 2024 (inclusive) in Queensland, affecting the suburbs mentioned in Schedule 1.\n\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\n(a) the person is seriously injured as a direct result of the disaster;\n\n(b) the person is an immediate family member of an Australian citizen or resident who is missing and presumed killed or killed as a direct result of the disaster;\n\n(c) the person’s principal place of residence has been destroyed or has major damage as a direct result of the disaster;\n\n(d) a major asset of the person has been destroyed or suffered major damage as a direct result of the disaster;\n\n(e) the person is a carer of a child to whom paragraph (a), (b), (c) or (d) applies.\n\n5 Repeal\n\nSocial Security (Australian Government Disaster Recovery Payment—South East Queensland Severe Storms and Flooding—December 2023 to January 2024) (LIN 24/019) Determination 2024 (No. 3) is repealed.\n\n6 Savings and transitional\n\nAnything done under the Social Security (Australian Government Disaster Recovery Payment—South East Queensland Severe Storms and Flooding—December 2023 to January 2024) (LIN 24/0019) Determination 2024 (No. 3) continues to have effect as if it had been done under this instrument.\n\n \n\nSchedule 1—Affected Areas\n\nList of Affected Suburbs\n\nThe suburbs mentioned in column 2 of the following table, within the local government areas mentioned in column 1, are the affected areas for the purposes of subsection 4(1) of this instrument.\n\n```html\n

Column 1

Column 2

City of Gold Coast

Arundel

Ashmore

Biggera Waters

Bonogin

Burleigh Heads

Burleigh Waters

Carrara

Clagiraba

Coombabah

Coomera

Currumbin Waters

Elanora

Gaven

Gilston

Guanaba

Helensvale

Hollywell

Hope Island

Kingsholme

Labrador

Lower Beechmont

Maudsland

Mermaid Waters

Merrimac

Molendinar

Mount Nathan

Mudgeeraba

Nerang

Ormeau

Oxenford

Pacific Pines

Palm Beach

Paradise Point

Parkwood

Pimpama

Reedy Creek

Robina

Runaway Bay

Southport

Springbrook

Tallai

Tallebudgera

Tugun

Upper Coomera

Varsity Lakes

Willow Vale

Wongawallan

Worongary

City of Logan

Cedar Creek

Cedar Grove

Cedar Vale

Eagleby

Flagstone

Glenlogan

Holmview

Jimboomba

Logan Village

Mundoolun

Riverbend

Tamborine

Veresdale

Woodhill

Yarrabilba

Scenic Rim Region

Beaudesert

Beechmont

Gleneagle

Tamborine

Tamborine Mountain

Veresdale

\n```","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"This instrument maintains the standard scope of disaster recovery payment determinations. It declares a specific disaster and affected areas, defines eligibility criteria consistent with the parent Act, and replaces a previous version covering the same event. No scope creep beyond the original legislative intent of providing targeted disaster assistance."},"complexity_factors":["Short, single-purpose instrument (6 sections plus schedule)","Only 5 defined terms in section 3, with straightforward criteria","No nested exceptions or conditional logic beyond basic 'if X then Y' structure","Single cross-reference to parent Act (Social Security Act 1991, section 1061L)","Schedule 1 is a simple lookup table of suburbs with no legal tests","Clear repeal and savings provisions (section 5-6) without transitional complexity"],"plain_english_summary":"This instrument declares severe storms and flooding in South East Queensland (24 Dec 2023–12 Jan 2024) a \"major disaster\" under the Social Security Act, activating the Australian Government Disaster Recovery Payment (one‑off, non‑means‑tested — typically $1,000 per eligible adult, $400 per child). It enables Services Australia to pay residents of the listed suburbs whose homes or major assets were destroyed or heavily damaged, who were seriously injured or killed (or their immediate family), or who care for affected children."},"flash_summary_failed":{"failed":true,"reason":"A positive credit balance is required for all requests, including BYOK, so fallback providers remain available. Add credits at https://vercel.com/d?to=%2F%5Bteam%5D%2F%7E%2Fai%3Fmodal%3Dtop-up to continue.","source":"analysis-cron"},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"On its face this instrument replaces an earlier determination (s5) but preserves actions already taken under that earlier instrument (s6). It therefore appears to operate as an administrative replacement that sets the same kind of eligibility criteria, temporal window (s4(1)), definitions (s3) and affected areas (Schedule 1) rather than expanding the statutory scope of the Disaster Recovery Payment. Any practical change to scope would depend on differences between this and the repealed instrument, which are not detailed here."},"complexity_factors":["Statutory cross‑reference to the Social Security Act (subsection 1061L(2)) creating dependency on external statutory rules (s1 preamble, s4(2))","Multiple technical definitions that determine eligibility thresholds (destroyed, major damage, major asset with $20,000 market‑value threshold) which can require evidentiary proof (s3 definitions)","Temporal specificity: fixed disaster period (24 Dec 2023–12 Jan 2024) limits eligibility window and interaction with other events (s4(1))","Geographic specificity: long list of named suburbs in Schedule 1 requires granular administration and mapping (Schedule 1)","Replacement and transitional provisions (repeal of LIN 24/019 and savings clause) introduce administrative sequencing considerations for prior decisions (s5–s6)","A definition of ‘immediate family member’ that is explicitly noted as differing from the Act, raising potential interpretive issues when applying Act provisions (s3)","Narrow set of qualifying circumstances (five categories in s4(2)) reduces discretionary breadth but increases reliance on documentary proof for applicants"],"plain_english_summary":"This instrument declares the severe storms and flooding in South East Queensland (24 December 2023–12 January 2024) a major disaster for the purpose of the Australian Government Disaster Recovery Payment. It sets who counts as \"adversely affected\" (seriously injured; missing/killed immediate family; principal residence destroyed or with major damage; major assets destroyed or with major damage; carers), defines key terms and lists the affected suburbs. It repeals an earlier determination and preserves anything already done under that earlier instrument."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/f2024l00169","history":"/api/acts/f2024l00169/history","analysis":"/api/acts/f2024l00169/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/f2024l00169/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/f2024l00169/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/f2024l00169/documents"}}