{"id":"F2018L01587","name":"PGPA Act Determination (Comcover Special Account 2018)","slug":"pgpa-act-determination-comcover-special-account-2018","collection":"legislative_instrument","jurisdiction":"commonwealth","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":null,"makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":439839,"registerId":"F2018L01587-fast-fetch-1775955710634","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-12","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"PGPA Act Determination (Comcover Special Account 2018)","content":"---\nmeta-content-style-type: text/css\nmeta-content-type: application/xhtml+xml; charset=utf-8\n---\n\n?xml version=\"1.0\" encoding=\"utf-8\" standalone=\"no\"?>\n\n![](image.001.jpeg)\n\n \n\nPGPA Act Determination (Comcover Special Account 2018)\n\nI, MATHIAS HUBERT PAUL CORMANN, Minister for Finance and the Public Service, make the following determination.\n\nDated  20 / 11 / 2018\n\nMATHIAS HUBERT PAUL CORMANN\n\nMinister for Finance and the Public Service\n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\nContents\n\nPart 1—Establishment \n\n1  Name ...................................................\n\n2  Commencement.............................................\n\n3  Authority.................................................\n\n4  Definitions................................................\n\n5  Establishment of the special account.................................\n\n6  Accountable authority responsible for the special account.....................\n\nPart 2—Special account credits and debits \n\n7  Amounts that may be credited to the special account........................\n\n8  Purposes of the special account....................................\n\nPart 3—Transitional and repeal provisions \n\n9  Opening balance of the special account................................\n\n10  Repeal of the Comcover instrument.................................\n\n11  Additional repeal provisions.....................................\n\n \n\nPart 1—Establishment\n\n \n\n1  Name\n\n  This instrument is the PGPA Act Determination (Comcover Special Account 2018).\n\n2  Commencement\n\n (1) Each provision of this instrument specified in column 1 of the table commences, or is taken to have commenced, in accordance with column 2 of the table. Any other statement in column 2 has effect according to its terms.\n\n \n\n| Column 1 | Column 2 | Column 3 |\n| --- | --- | --- |\n| Provisions | Commencement | Date/Details |\n| The whole of this instrument | The day mentioned in paragraph 79(5)(a) of the Act. |  |\n\n\n (2) Any information in column 3 of the table is not part of this instrument. Information may be inserted in this column, or information in it may be edited, in any version of this instrument published on the Federal Register of Legislation.\n\n3  Authority\n\n  This instrument is made under subsections 78(1) and 78(3) of the Act.\n\n4  Definitions\n\n  In this instrument:\n\nAct means the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013.\n\nComcover means the Commonwealth’s self-managed insurance fund.\n\nComcover account means the Comcover Special Account, which was established by the Comcover instrument.\n\nComcover instrument means the Financial Management and Accountability Determination 2009/05 — Comcover Special Account Establishment 2009.\n\nComcover Insurance Policy means a policy of insurance issued by Comcover.\n\nCommonwealth company has the same meaning as in subsection 89(1) of the Act.\n\nCommonwealth entity has the same meaning as in section 10 of the Act.\n\ndate of repeal means the date on which subsection 11(1) of this instrument takes effect.\n\nGeneral Government Sector entity means a Commonwealth entity, Commonwealth company, or the High Court of Australia, that is classified as being within the General Government Sector, as determined by the Australian Bureau of Statistics in accordance with the Standard Institutional Sector Classification of Australia.\n\ninsured Commonwealth entity means a General Government Sector entity that holds a Comcover Insurance Policy.\n\nopening balance means the amount that is required to be credited to the special account under section 9 of this instrument.\n\nthe special account means the Comcover Special Account 2018 established by this determination.\n\nthe superannuation legislation means any or all of the following:\n\n (a) Superannuation Act 1922;\n\n  (b) Superannuation Act 1976;\n\n  (c) Superannuation Act 1990.\n\nuninsured superannuation liability claim means a claim (whether based in tort or otherwise) that:\n\n  (a) is against an insured Commonwealth entity;\n\n  (b) relates to the claimant's eligibility to participate in any of the superannuation schemes established under the superannuation legislation; and\n\n  (c) accrued before the insured Commonwealth entity began to hold a Comcover Insurance Policy.\n\n5  Establishment of the special account\n\n  For paragraph 78(1)(a) of the Act, the Comcover Special Account 2018 is established as a special account (the special account).\n\n6  Accountable authority responsible for the special account\n\n  For paragraph 78(1)(d) of the Act, the accountable authority responsible for the special account is the Secretary of the department that administers Comcover.\n\nPart 2—Special account credits and debits\n\n \n\n7  Amounts that may be credited to the special account\n\n  For paragraph 78(1)(b) of the Act, the following amounts may be credited to the special account:\n\n (a) an amount received in the course of the performance of functions that relate to one or more purposes of the special account;\n\n (b) an amount received from any person for one or more purposes of the special account.\n\n8  Purposes of the special account\n\n  For paragraph 78(1)(c) of the Act, the purposes of the special account, in relation to which amounts may be debited from the special account, are the following:\n\n (a) to promote risk management to insured Commonwealth entities;\n\n (b) to administer the Commonwealth’s self-managed general insurance function;\n\n (c) to make payments in respect of any liability claim made against an insured Commonwealth entity, including settlement payments;\n\n (d) to make payments in respect of any uninsured superannuation liability claims against an insured Commonwealth entity;\n\n (e) to make payments incidental to a purpose described in paragraph (a), (b), (c) or (d) above, including for costs associated with administering the special account;\n\n (f) to repay amounts received from an insured Commonwealth entity credited to the special account and residual after any payments have been made for a purpose described in paragraph (a), (b), (c), (d) or (e) above;\n\n (g) to repay an amount where a court order, Act or other law requires or permits the repayment of an amount received;\n\n  (h) to reduce the balance of the special account (and, therefore, the available appropriation for the special account) without making a real or notional payment.\n\nPart 3—Transitional and repeal provisions\n\n \n\n9  Opening balance of the special account\n\n1.               For paragraph 78(1)(b) of the Act, the amount in subsection 9(2) of this instrument (opening balance) is required to be credited to the special account on the date of its establishment.\n2.               The opening balance is equal to the amount standing to the credit of the Comcover account immediately prior to the repeal of the Comcover instrument.\n\n\n10  Repeal of the Comcover instrument\n\n  For subsection 78(3) of the Act, the Comcover instrument is repealed.\n\n11  Additional repeal provisions\n\n1.               For subsection 78(3) of the Act, Part 3 of this instrument is repealed at the end of the seventh day after the repeal of the Comcover instrument (date of repeal).\n2.               For subsection 78(3) of the Act, the following definitions in section 4 of this instrument are repealed on the date of repeal:\n\n\n1.                      definition of date of repeal;\n2.                      definition of opening balance;\n3.                      definition of Comcover account;\n4.                      definition of Comcover instrument.\n\n\n (3) Despite subsection 11(1) of this instrument, the effects of Part 3 of this instrument remain in force after the date of repeal.\n\n \n","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"This determination re-establishes the Comcover Special Account with the same purposes and opening balance as the previous account, so it does not alter existing insurance cover, claim rights or obligations."},"complexity_factors":["References multiple legislative definitions (PGPA Act, Commonwealth entities, General Government Sector)","Includes transitional provisions that transfer a balance and then self-repeal","Covers both standard insurance claims and a specific category of uninsured superannuation liability claims"],"plain_english_summary":"This instrument creates the Comcover Special Account 2018 under the PGPA Act to operate the Commonwealth’s self‑managed general insurance fund. It centralises premiums, recoveries and related receipts, and permits debits for Comcover administration, risk‑management activities, liability claims (including settlements) and certain uninsured superannuation liability claims that pre‑date a policy.\n\nIt affects insured Commonwealth entities and relevant Commonwealth companies (who pay premiums and may have claims met) and makes the Department of Finance the accountable authority, replacing the 2009 determination."},"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The legislation maintains the same scope as its predecessor. It is a direct replacement of the 2009 Comcover Special Account determination, performing the same function (establishing and governing the Commonwealth's self-managed insurance fund) with updated legislative machinery. The purposes in section 8 mirror the original intent, and the transitional provisions are purely mechanical to ensure continuity."},"complexity_factors":["Short, focused instrument with only 11 sections across 3 Parts","12 defined terms in section 4, but most are straightforward (e.g., 'Act', 'Comcover')","Simple conditional logic limited to transitional provisions in Part 3","Single cross-reference to the PGPA Act 2013 (the enabling legislation)","Self-repealing provisions in section 11 create a minor temporal complexity but are clearly drafted","No nested exceptions or heavily qualified operative provisions","Clear purpose-driven structure: establishment → operations → transition"],"plain_english_summary":"**What this legislation does:**\n\nThis instrument establishes a new government bank account called the **Comcover Special Account 2018**. It's essentially a dedicated pot of money to manage the Commonwealth's self-run insurance scheme (called \"Comcover\"), which covers government agencies against risks and liabilities.\n\n**Who it affects:**\n\n* **Insured Commonwealth entities** — government agencies, companies, and the High Court that hold Comcover insurance policies\n* **The Department of Finance** — specifically the Secretary who becomes the \"accountable authority\" (the person legally responsible for managing the account)\n* **People making claims** — anyone claiming against an insured government entity, including unusual claims about old superannuation (pension) entitlements\n\n**Why it matters:**\n\nThis determination does three important things:\n\n1. **Sets up a new legal container for insurance money** — It creates a fresh \"special account\" under the PGPA Act (the main law governing how government handles money). Special accounts are ring-fenced funds with specific rules about what money can go in and what it can be spent on.\n\n2. **Transfers the old balance across** — It moves whatever money was sitting in the previous Comcover account (established in 2009) into this new 2018 account, ensuring no money goes missing during the switch.\n\n3. **Cleans up its own mess** — It includes a clever self-destruct mechanism: the transitional rules and old definitions automatically repeal themselves a week after the old 2009 instrument is repealed, keeping the law tidy.\n\n**What the money can be used for:**\n\n* Promoting risk management to government agencies\n* Running the Commonwealth's self-managed insurance operations\n* Paying out insurance claims and settlements\n* Paying specific old superannuation-related claims that aren't covered by insurance\n* Admin costs and refunds where appropriate\n\n**The bottom line:** This is administrative housekeeping — replacing an old legal instrument with a new one to ensure the government's insurance fund continues operating with proper legal authority, while tidying up the legislative framework behind it."},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The instrument largely continues the existing Comcover functions under a new PGPA Act determination: it re-establishes the special account, carries over the opening balance from the previous instrument, and preserves purposes (insurance administration, claim payments, administration costs). The main mechanical addition is an explicit provision allowing the account balance to be reduced without a real payment (s 8(h)) and transitional repeal timing (s 11)."},"complexity_factors":["Simple, focused purpose: establishes one special account and lists permitted credits and debits (Part 1 & Part 2).","Cross-references to the PGPA Act for statutory authority and to definitions in the Act (ss 3, 5–8).","Defined technical term for uninsured superannuation liability claims, which requires checking superannuation Acts for scope (Definitions).","Transitional mechanics: transfer of opening balance from prior instrument and timed repeal of transitional provisions (s 9–11).","Administrative discretion concentrated in an accountable authority (the Secretary) for account management and payments (s 6, s 8).","A non-standard power to reduce the account balance without a real or notional payment (s 8(h)), which has accounting/appropriation implications."],"plain_english_summary":"This determination creates the Comcover Special Account 2018, replacing the prior Comcover account and transferring its opening balance to the new account, and names the Secretary of the department that administers Comcover as the accountable authority. \n\nThe account can receive receipts and payments tied to Comcover’s self‑managed insurance activities and be used to pay liability and uninsured superannuation claims, meet administration costs, repay amounts, and (explicitly) reduce its balance without making a real payment. Insured General Government Sector entities carry the exposure through premiums, payments or claims."},"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"}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/pgpa-act-determination-comcover-special-account-2018","history":"/api/acts/pgpa-act-determination-comcover-special-account-2018/history","analysis":"/api/acts/pgpa-act-determination-comcover-special-account-2018/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/pgpa-act-determination-comcover-special-account-2018/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/pgpa-act-determination-comcover-special-account-2018/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/pgpa-act-determination-comcover-special-account-2018/documents"}}