{"id":"F2018L01160","name":"Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation (Catastrophic Injury) Rules 2018","slug":"safety-rehabilitation-and-compensation-catastrophic-injury-rules-2018","collection":"legislative_instrument","jurisdiction":"commonwealth","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":null,"makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":439723,"registerId":"F2018L01160-fast-fetch-1775955637399","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-12","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation (Catastrophic Injury) Rules 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\nSafety, Rehabilitation and Compensation (Catastrophic Injury) Rules 2018\n\nI, CRAIG LAUNDY, Minister for Small and Family Business, the Workplace and Deregulation, make the following rules.\n\nDated  22/8/18  \n\nCRAIG LAUNDY\n\nMinister for Small and Family Business, the Workplace and Deregulation\n\n \n\nContents\n\n1  Name\n\n2  Commencement\n\n3  Authority\n\n4  Application\n\n5  Definitions\n\n6  Conditions of a catastrophic injury\n\n7  Catastrophic spinal cord injury\n\n8  Catastrophic brain injury\n\n9  Catastrophic amputation injury\n\n10  Catastrophic burn injury\n\n11  Catastrophic blindness injury\n\nSchedule 1—FIMTM score sheet\n\n \n\n1  Name\n\n  This instrument is the Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation (Catastrophic Injury) Rules 2018.\n\n2  Commencement\n\n  This instrument commences the day after it is registered on the Federal Register of Legislation.\n\n3  Authority\n\n  This instrument is made under section 122A of the Act.\n\n4  Application\n\n  This instrument applies to an injury suffered by an employee whether the injury was suffered before, on, or after the commencement of this instrument.\n\n5  Definitions\n\n  In this instrument:\n\n  Act means the Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 1988.\n\n  injury means an injury in respect of which compensation is payable under the Act.\n\n6  Conditions of a catastrophic injury\n\n  For the purposes of the definition of catastrophic injury in subsection 4(1) of the Act, an injury is a catastrophic injury if one or more of the following conditions are satisfied:\n\n (a) the injury is a catastrophic spinal cord injury; or\n\n (b) the injury is a catastrophic brain injury; or\n\n (c) the injury is a catastrophic amputation injury; or\n\n (d) the injury is a catastrophic burn injury; or\n\n (e) the injury is a catastrophic blindness injury.\n\n7  Catastrophic spinal cord injury\n\n  An injury is a catastrophic spinal cord injury if it is a lesion of the spinal cord or cauda equina which results in one or more of the following:\n\n (a) sensory deficit; or\n\n (b) motor deficit; or\n\n (c) bladder dysfunction; or\n\n (d) bowel dysfunction.\n\n8  Catastrophic brain injury\n\n  An injury is a catastrophic brain injury if it is a brain injury which results in:\n\n (a) impairment of cognitive, physical or psychosocial functions; and\n\n (b) impairment assessed at a score of 5 or less on any of the items on the FIMTM score sheet at Schedule 1; and\n\n (c) one or both of the following:\n\n (i) a period of post traumatic amnesia of at least 7 days; or\n\n (ii) a significant brain imaging abnormality.\n\nNote: The FIMTM (Functional Independence Measure) is a basic indicator of severity of functional limitation.\n\n9  Catastrophic amputation injury\n\nSingle injury\n\n (1) An injury is a catastrophic amputation injury if:\n\n (a) the injury results in at least one of the following:\n\n (i) a forequarter amputation; or\n\n (ii) a shoulder disarticulation; or\n\n (iii) if the injury is a brachial plexus avulsion injury—no residual functioning in the upper extremity; or\n\n (iv) a hindquarter amputation; or\n\n (v) a hip disarticulation; or\n\n (vi) if the injury is a lumbar plexus avulsion injury—no residual functioning in the lower extremity; or\n\n (vii) an amputation involving the loss of 65% or more of the length of the femur; or\n\n (b) the injury results in at least two of the following:\n\n (i) loss of 50% or more of the length of the tibia of the left leg; or\n\n (ii) loss of 50% or more of the length of the tibia of the right leg; or\n\n (iii) loss of the thumb of the left hand at or above the first metacarpophalangeal joint; or\n\n (iv) loss of the thumb of the right hand at or above the first metacarpophalangeal joint.\n\nMultiple injuries\n\n (2) An injury is a catastrophic amputation injury if:\n\n (a) the injury results in any one of the losses specified in paragraph (1)(b); and\n\n (b) prior to the employee suffering the injury, the employee suffered an injury to a different limb or limbs (the earlier injury); and\n\n (c) the earlier injury:\n\n (i) satisfies the conditions for a catastrophic amputation injury in subsection (1); or\n\n (ii) results in any one of the losses specified in paragraph (1)(b).\n\n (3) For the avoidance of doubt, the earlier injury mentioned in subparagraph (2)(c)(ii) is not a catastrophic amputation injury unless the earlier injury satisfies the conditions for a catastrophic amputation injury in subsection (1) or (2).\n\n10  Catastrophic burn injury\n\n  An injury is a catastrophic burn injury if it results in impairment assessed at a score of 5 or less on any of the items on the FIMTM score sheet at Schedule 1, and the injury is one or both of the following:\n\n (a) full thickness burns:\n\n (i) for an employee aged 16 years or above at the time of the injury—greater than 40% of the total body surface area; or\n\n (ii) for an employee aged under 16 years at the time of the injury—  greater than 30% 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 employee’s age, height and ethnicity.\n\nNote: The FIMTM (Functional Independence Measure) is a basic indicator of severity of functional limitation.\n\n11  Catastrophic blindness injury\n\n  An injury is a catastrophic blindness injury if it 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; or\n\n (b) constriction to within 10 degrees of fixation in the better eye irrespective of corrected visual acuity; or\n\n (c) a combination of visual defects resulting in the same degree of visual impairment as that specified in subsection (a) or (b).\n\nNote: An employee would have visual acuity of 6/60 if the employee 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.\n\nSchedule 1—FIMTM score sheet\n\n \n\n- Patient’s name: Date of birth:\n- Type of injury: o Brain injury o Burn Date of injury:\n- Hospital / unit: Date of assessment:\n- Method of administration: o Direct observation o Interview with:\n- Item Score Is score due to the injury? Reasons for score\n- SELF CARE\n- 1. Eating o Yes o No\n- 2. Grooming o Yes o No\n- 3. Bathing o Yes o No\n- 4. Dressing – upper body o Yes o No\n- 5. Dressing – lower body o Yes o No\n- SPHINCTER CONTROL\n- 6. Toileting o Yes o No\n- 7. Bladder management o Yes o No\n- 8. Bowel management o Yes o No\n- Self-care subtotal\n- TRANSFERS\n- 9. Bed / Chair / Wheelchair o Yes o No Mode: W – WalkC – WheelchairB – Both\n- 10. Toilet o Yes o No\n- 11. Bath / Shower o Yes o No\n- LOCOMOTION\n- 12. Walk / Wheelchair o Yes o No Mode: W – WalkC – WheelchairB – Both\n- 13. Stairs o Yes o No\n- Mobility subtotal\n- COMMUNICATION\n- 14. Comprehension o Yes o No Mode: A – AuditoryV – VisualC – Both\n- 15. Expression o Yes o No Mode: A – AuditoryV – VisualC – Both\n- SOCIAL COGNITION\n- 16. Social interaction o Yes o No\n- 17. Problem solving o Yes o No\n- 18. Memory o Yes o No\n- Cognition subtotal\n- FIM™ TOTAL SCORE\n- Administered by: FIM™ credentialed: o Yes o No\n- Qualification:\n- Date of assessment:\n- FIM™ LEVELS No helper7 Complete independence (Timely, Safely)6 Modified independence (Device) Helper – Modified Dependence5 Supervision (Subject = 100%)4 Minimal assistance (Subject = 75% or more)3 Moderate assistance (Subject = 50% or more) Helper – Complete Dependence2 Maximal assistance (Subject = 25% or more)1 Total assistance (Subject less than 25%)\n\n\nFIM is a trademark of Uniform Data System for Medical Rehabilitation, a division of UB Foundation Activities, Inc. AROC (the Australasian Rehabilitation Outcomes Centre) holds the territory licence for the FIM in Australia.\n","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":5,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The instrument does not broaden the Act’s covered population; it defines the term 'catastrophic injury' for subsection 4(1) of the Act by specifying medical thresholds and categories (s3, s6–11). It applies retroactively to injuries before, on or after commencement (s4), thereby clarifying which existing and future compensable injuries meet the catastrophic standard rather than changing who is eligible under the Act."},"complexity_factors":["Use of technical medical metrics (FIM score) and requirement for credentialled administration (Schedule; s8, s10)","Specialised clinical thresholds for brain injury combining cognitive/functional impairment, FIM ≤5 and either ≥7 days post‑traumatic amnesia or significant imaging abnormality (s8)","Detailed anatomical and percentage-based amputation criteria, including aggregation rules for multiple injuries (s9(1)–(3))","Age‑differentiated total body surface area thresholds and lung function metrics for burns (s10)","Objective ophthalmic thresholds for blindness (s11)","Cross-reference to the Act’s definition of catastrophic injury—this instrument specifies criteria rather than creating new entitlements (s3, s6)","Retroactive application to injuries before, on or after commencement, affecting existing claims processes (s4)","Legal precision reduces adjudicative discretion but increases reliance on specialised medical evidence, shifting administrative burden to assessors and insurers (ss 6–11; Schedule)"],"plain_english_summary":"These Rules set out the medical criteria that determine when a work injury is a “catastrophic injury” for the Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 1988. They list objective thresholds—spinal cord lesions, brain injury with low FIM score plus ≥7 days post‑traumatic amnesia or imaging abnormality, specified amputation losses, burn size/airway injury and specific vision tests—that decide catastrophic classification (ss 3–11).\n\nThe Rules apply to employees with compensable injuries (s4) and require clinical measurements (FIM, imaging, lung function, credentialling) to establish entitlement, concentrating evidentiary and assessment burden on medical assessors and claims processes (s4; Schedule; ss 8,10)."},"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"},"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":4,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The legislation remains tightly focused on its original purpose: establishing medical criteria for catastrophic injury classification. The scope has not expanded beyond this definitional function."},"complexity_factors":["Medical terminology throughout requiring clinical expertise to apply (e.g., 'brachial plexus avulsion', 'cauda equina', 'post traumatic amnesia', 'forced expiratory volume')","Nested conditional logic in section 8 (brain injury requires impairment AND low FIM score AND one of two additional conditions)","Cross-referencing between sections required to understand amputation rules—subsection 9(2) creates a composite test combining new injuries with prior injuries","Age-dependent thresholds for burn injuries (40% body surface area for adults vs 30% for under-16s)","External dependency on proprietary medical assessment tool (FIM™) with specific licensing requirements (AROC holds Australian licence)","Precise anatomical measurements (e.g., '65% or more of the length of the femur', '50% or more of the length of the tibia')","Schedule 1 reproduces a complex 18-item assessment instrument with multiple subtotals and scoring modalities"],"plain_english_summary":"This instrument sets the medical criteria for when a workplace injury is classified as a “catastrophic injury” under Comcare, defining five covered injury types and using a standardised FIM™ assessment form and thresholds doctors must apply. \n\nIt affects federal employees and employers in the Comcare scheme, medical assessors, and claims managers — and matters because a catastrophic classification unlocks substantially higher, often lifelong, compensation and care by applying clear, measurable tests to reduce disputes."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/safety-rehabilitation-and-compensation-catastrophic-injury-rules-2018","history":"/api/acts/safety-rehabilitation-and-compensation-catastrophic-injury-rules-2018/history","analysis":"/api/acts/safety-rehabilitation-and-compensation-catastrophic-injury-rules-2018/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/safety-rehabilitation-and-compensation-catastrophic-injury-rules-2018/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/safety-rehabilitation-and-compensation-catastrophic-injury-rules-2018/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/safety-rehabilitation-and-compensation-catastrophic-injury-rules-2018/documents"}}