{"id":"F2018L01422","name":"Military Rehabilitation and Compensation (Catastrophic Injury or Disease) Determination 2018","slug":"military-rehabilitation-and-compensation-catastrophic-injury-or-disease-determination-2018","collection":"legislative_instrument","jurisdiction":"commonwealth","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":null,"makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":98110,"registerId":"commonwealth-F2018L01422-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-02","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Name","content":"#### 1 Name\n\nThis instrument is the Military Rehabilitation and Compensation (Catastrophic Injury or Disease) Determination 2018.","sortOrder":0},{"sectionNumber":"2","sectionType":"section","heading":"Commencement","content":"#### 2 Commencement\n\nThis instrument commences on the day after it is registered on the Federal Register of Legislation.","sortOrder":1},{"sectionNumber":"3","sectionType":"section","heading":"Authority","content":"#### 3 Authority\n\nThis instrument is made under subsection 213(2) of the Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 2004.","sortOrder":2},{"sectionNumber":"4","sectionType":"section","heading":"Purpose","content":"#### 4 Purpose\n\nThe purpose of this instrument is to prescribe conditions that must be satisfied for the purpose of the definition of catastrophic injury or disease in subsection 213(1) of the Act.\n\n5 Definitions\n\nIn this instrument:\n\nAct means the Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 2004.\n\ncatastrophic amputation injury or disease, see section 9.\n\ncatastrophic blindness injury or disease, see section 11.\n\ncatastrophic brain injury or disease, see section 8.\n\ncatastrophic burn injury or disease, see section 10.\n\ncatastrophic injury or disease, see subsection 213(1) of the Act.\n\ncatastrophic nerve injury or disease, see section 7.\n\n    disease means a disease in respect of which compensation is payable under the Act.\n\nFIMTM score sheet is the Functional Independence Measure score sheet which is a basic indicator of severity of functional limitation, being the version of the document as it exists on the day of commencement of this instrument and published by the Australasian Rehabilitation Outcomes Centre.\n\nNote: The FIMTM score sheet is available at: [https://ahsri.uow.edu.au/aroc/whatisfim/index.html](https://ahsri.uow.edu.au/aroc/whatisfim/index.html) by opening the page and clicking on the excel diagram under the heading “AN-SNAP Calculator With Benchmarks”.\n\n    injury means an injury in respect of which compensation is payable under the Act.\n\nStandardised Mini\\-Mental State Examination (SMMSE) tool is a common cognitive screening or assessment tool used in clinical practices, being the version of the document as it exists on the day of commencement of this instrument and published by the Independent Hospital Pricing Authority.\n\nNote : The Standardised Mini-Mental State Examination (SMMSE) tool is available at: [https://www.ihpa.gov.au/what-we-do/standardised-mini-mental-state-examination-smmse](https://www.ihpa.gov.au/what-we-do/standardised-mini-mental-state-examination-smmse) by opening the page and clicking on the heading “Standard Mini-Mental Examination (SMMSE) tool”.","sortOrder":3},{"sectionNumber":"6","sectionType":"section","heading":"Conditions of a catastrophic injury or disease","content":"#### 6 Conditions of a catastrophic injury or disease\n\nFor the purposes of the definition of catastrophic injury or disease in subsection 213(1) of the Act, an injury or disease is a catastrophic injury or disease if both of the following conditions are satisfied:\n\n(a) the injury or disease results in an impairment assessed by a FIMTM credentialed medical or health care professional at a score of 5 or less on any of the items on the FIMTM score sheet;\n\n(b) the Commission is satisfied that the injury or disease is:\n\n(i) a catastrophic nerve injury or disease; or\n\n(ii) a catastrophic brain injury or disease; or\n\n(iii) a catastrophic amputation injury or disease; or\n\n(iv) a catastrophic burn injury or disease; or\n\n(v) a catastrophic blindness injury or disease.","sortOrder":4},{"sectionNumber":"7","sectionType":"section","heading":"Catastrophic nerve injury or disease","content":"#### 7 Catastrophic nerve injury or disease\n\nAn injury or disease is a catastrophic nerve injury or disease if the injury or disease is a lesion of the spinal cord, cauda equina, brachial plexus, lumbosacral plexus, cervical plexus or coccygeal plexus which results in one or more of the following:\n\n(a) sensory deficit;\n\n(b) motor deficit;\n\n(c) bladder dysfunction;\n\n(d) bowel dysfunction.","sortOrder":5},{"sectionNumber":"8","sectionType":"section","heading":"Catastrophic brain injury or disease","content":"#### 8 Catastrophic brain injury or disease\n\nAn injury or disease is a catastrophic brain injury or disease if the injury or disease results in an impairment of cognitive, physical or psychosocial functions and it results in:\n\n(a) one or more of the following:\n\n(i) a period of post traumatic amnesia of at least 7 days;\n\n(ii) a significant brain imaging abnormality;\n\n(iii) a score for the Standardised Mini\\-Mental State Examination (SMMSE) tool of less than 25; or\n\n(b) damage to the brain similar in effect and severity to that referred to in subparagraph (a)(i), (ii) or (iii).","sortOrder":6},{"sectionNumber":"9","sectionType":"section","heading":"Catastrophic amputation injury or disease","content":"#### 9 Catastrophic amputation injury or disease\n\nAn injury or disease is a catastrophic amputation injury or disease if the injury or disease results in:\n\n(a) one or more of the following:\n\n(i) a forequarter amputation;\n\n(ii) a shoulder disarticulation;\n\n(iii) a hindquarter amputation;\n\n(iv) a hip disarticulation;\n\n(v) an amputation involving the loss of 65% or more of the length of the femur; or\n\n(b) the loss of at least two of the following:\n\n(i) 50% or more of the length of the tibia of the left leg;\n\n(ii) 50% or more of the length of the tibia of the right leg;\n\n(iii) the thumb of the left hand at or above the first metacarpophalangeal joint;\n\n(iv) the thumb of the right hand at or above the first metacarpophalangeal joint.","sortOrder":7},{"sectionNumber":"10","sectionType":"section","heading":"Catastrophic burn injury or disease","content":"#### 10 Catastrophic burn injury or disease\n\nAn injury or disease is a catastrophic burn injury or disease if the injury or disease is:\n\n(a) full thickness burns:\n\n(i) for a person aged 16 years or above at the time of the injury or disease–greater than 40 per cent of the total body surface area; or\n\n(ii) for a person aged under 16 years at the time of the injury or disease–greater than 30 per cent of the total body surface area; or\n\n(iii) to the hands, face or genital area; or\n\n(b) inhalation burns resulting in vital capacity or forced expiratory volume in one second which is less than 50% of that predicted for the person’s age, height and ethnicity.","sortOrder":8},{"sectionNumber":"11","sectionType":"section","heading":"Catastrophic blindness injury or disease","content":"#### 11 Catastrophic blindness injury or disease\n\nAn injury or disease is a catastrophic blindness injury or disease if the injury or disease results in one or more of the following:\n\n(a) visual acuity after correction by suitable lenses of less than 6/60 in both eyes;\n\n(b) constriction to within 10 degrees of fixation in the better eye irrespective of corrected visual acuity;\n\n(c) a combination of visual defects resulting in the same degree of visual impairment as that specified in paragraph (a) or (b).\n\nNote: A person would have visual acuity of 6/60 if he or she is only able to see at a distance of 6 metres a symbol which a person with normal vision could see at a distance of 60 metres.","sortOrder":9}],"analysis":{"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":4,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The instrument remains tightly focused on its original purpose of prescribing medical criteria for catastrophic injury classification. It does not expand beyond the definitional role authorised by subsection 213(2) of the parent Act."},"complexity_factors":["Multiple nested definitions: 'catastrophic injury or disease' depends on five sub-categories (nerve, brain, amputation, burn, blindness), each with their own detailed criteria","Technical medical terminology throughout (e.g., 'cauda equina', 'brachial plexus', 'metacarpophalangeal joint', 'forced expiratory volume')","External document incorporation by reference: FIM™ score sheet and SMMSE tool are defined by reference to specific versions published by external bodies, with URLs provided","Age-dependent thresholds for burn injuries (different percentages for under 16 vs 16 and over)","Dual condition requirement in section 6: must satisfy both FIM™ score AND specific injury type","Mathematical measurements required (e.g., '65% or more of the length of the femur', '50% or more of the length of the tibia')","Visual acuity measurement using clinical scale (6/60) requiring explanatory note"],"plain_english_summary":"This law defines when an injury or disease counts as \"catastrophic\" for Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Act claims, setting strict medical thresholds (e.g., severe burns, brain injury, amputation, blindness, nerve damage) and requiring a FIM™ assessment showing significant functional impairment.  \n\nIt affects current and former ADF members seeking enhanced compensation, the clinicians who assess them, and the Commission that decides eligibility — because the classification triggers substantial additional benefits and ensures objective, consistent determinations."},"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":4,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The instrument does not expand or narrow the statutory definition beyond prescribing the clinical conditions and thresholds required by subsection 213(1) of the Act. It specifies which injuries/diseases meet the existing catastrophic definition and the types of evidence and assessments required (ss 4, 6–11)."},"complexity_factors":["Dependence on clinical measurement tools and credentialing (FIMTM score sheet; FIMTM credentialed professional) (s 6 and definitions).","Use of another cognitive instrument (SMMSE) and numeric cut‑offs requiring clinical testing and interpretation (s 8).","Multiple medical categories with distinct objective thresholds (nerve, brain, amputation, burn, blindness) requiring different evidence types (ss 7–11).","Age‑dependent thresholds for burns (different % total body surface area for under/over 16) (s 10).","External references to published instruments as they exist on commencement day, creating reliance on externally maintained documents (definitions).","Requirement that the Commission be ‘satisfied’ introduces administrative discretion and evidentiary assessment (s 6(b)).","Some criteria use qualitative or comparative language (e.g. ‘similar in effect and severity’) that may require expert interpretation (s 8(b)).","Technical measurements (visual acuity, % body surface area, limb length percentages) create evidentiary and measurement burdens on claimants and clinicians (ss 9–11).","Cross‑reference to the Act for eligibility (subsection 213(1)) means implementation depends on broader statutory qualification rules (s 3 authority and s 4 purpose)."],"plain_english_summary":"This instrument sets the medical and evidentiary rules that determine when an injury or disease counts as a “catastrophic” condition under the Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 2004. It applies to people whose service‑related injury or disease is eligible for compensation and matters because meeting these clinical thresholds triggers the Act’s catastrophic entitlements. Qualification requires a FIMTM assessment (score of 5 or less on any item) and the Commission’s satisfaction that the injury fits one of five listed catastrophic categories."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/military-rehabilitation-and-compensation-catastrophic-injury-or-disease-determination-2018","history":"/api/acts/military-rehabilitation-and-compensation-catastrophic-injury-or-disease-determination-2018/history","analysis":"/api/acts/military-rehabilitation-and-compensation-catastrophic-injury-or-disease-determination-2018/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/military-rehabilitation-and-compensation-catastrophic-injury-or-disease-determination-2018/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/military-rehabilitation-and-compensation-catastrophic-injury-or-disease-determination-2018/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/military-rehabilitation-and-compensation-catastrophic-injury-or-disease-determination-2018/documents"}}