{"id":"F2018L01421","name":"Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation (Defence-related Claims) (Catastrophic Injury) Rules 2018","slug":"safety-rehabilitation-and-compensation-defence-related-claims-catastrophic-injury-rules-2018","collection":"legislative_instrument","jurisdiction":"commonwealth","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":null,"makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":98108,"registerId":"commonwealth-F2018L01421-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 Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation (Defence-related Claims) (Catastrophic Injury) Rules 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 122A(1) of the Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation (Defence-related Claims) Act 1988.","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 in section 4 of the Act.","sortOrder":3},{"sectionNumber":"5","sectionType":"section","heading":"Definitions","content":"#### 5 Definitions\n\nIn this instrument:\n\nAct means the Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation (Defence-related Claims) Act 1988.\n\ncatastrophic amputation injury, see section 9.\n\ncatastrophic blindness injury, see section 11.\n\ncatastrophic brain injury, see section 8.\n\ncatastrophic burn injury, see section 10.\n\ncatastrophic injury, see subsection 4(1) of the Act.\n\ncatastrophic nerve injury, see section 7.\n\nemployee, see subsection 4(1) of 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\ninjury means an injury in respect of which compensation is payable under the Act.\n\nNote: Under paragraph 5A(1)(a) of the Act, an injury includes a disease suffered by an employee. For disease, see subsection 5B(1) of 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":4},{"sectionNumber":"6","sectionType":"section","heading":"Conditions of a catastrophic injury","content":"#### 6 Conditions of a catastrophic injury\n\nFor the purposes of the definition of catastrophic injury in subsection 4(1) of the Act, an injury is a catastrophic injury if both of the following conditions are satisfied:\n\n(a) the injury 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 is:\n\n(i) a catastrophic nerve injury; or\n\n(ii) a catastrophic brain injury; or\n\n(iii) a catastrophic amputation injury; or\n\n(iv) a catastrophic burn injury; or\n\n(v) a catastrophic blindness injury.","sortOrder":5},{"sectionNumber":"7","sectionType":"section","heading":"Catastrophic nerve injury","content":"#### 7 Catastrophic nerve injury\n\nAn injury is a catastrophic nerve injury if the injury 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":6},{"sectionNumber":"8","sectionType":"section","heading":"Catastrophic brain injury","content":"#### 8 Catastrophic brain injury\n\nAn injury is a catastrophic brain injury if the injury 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":7},{"sectionNumber":"9","sectionType":"section","heading":"Catastrophic amputation injury","content":"#### 9 Catastrophic amputation injury\n\nAn injury is a catastrophic amputation injury if the injury 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":8},{"sectionNumber":"10","sectionType":"section","heading":"Catastrophic burn injury","content":"#### 10 Catastrophic burn injury\n\nAn injury is a catastrophic burn injury if the injury is:\n\n(a) full thickness burns:\n\n(i) for a person aged 16 years or above at the time of the injury–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–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":9},{"sectionNumber":"11","sectionType":"section","heading":"Catastrophic blindness injury","content":"#### 11 Catastrophic blindness injury\n\nAn injury is a catastrophic blindness injury if the injury 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":10}],"analysis":{"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 of prescribing medical criteria for the statutory definition of 'catastrophic injury'. The scope has not expanded beyond this definitional function; it does not create substantive rights or obligations beyond those necessary to operationalise the definition in the parent Act."},"complexity_factors":["11 defined terms in the interpretation section, including two external documents (FIM™ score sheet and SMMSE tool) incorporated by reference with specific version-locking to commencement date","Nested definitional structure: 'catastrophic injury' depends on five sub-definitions (nerve, brain, amputation, burn, blindness), each with their own technical medical criteria","Dual-condition gateway test in section 6 requiring both functional impairment (FIM™ score) AND specific injury category satisfaction","Medical measurement specificity requiring precise clinical assessments (FIM™ credentialed professional, specific percentage thresholds for burns/amputations, specific cognitive test scores)","Age-differentiated thresholds for burn injuries (16 years cut-off with different percentage requirements)","External hyperlinks to documents that may change location or availability, creating potential interpretive uncertainty despite version-locking language"],"plain_english_summary":"These Rules set a two-step medical test to decide when an injury to current or former Australian Defence Force members (and related Defence employees) counts as “catastrophic” for compensation: a functional test using the FIM™ and confirmation the injury meets specified severe medical criteria. \n\nThat classification determines access to enhanced rehabilitation and compensation and guides the Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Commission’s decisions, replacing subjective judgments with objective, measurable standards."},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":true,"description":"This instrument narrows and operationalises the Act’s catastrophic‑injury definition by prescribing specific clinical thresholds and listed injury types (FIM ≤5 plus nerve/brain/amputation/burn/blindness), shifting eligibility determinations toward measurable medical criteria and Commission satisfaction (see Purpose, s6–s11). The practical scope of who qualifies for catastrophic classification — and therefore associated compensation — is determined by those thresholds and required credentialled assessments."},"complexity_factors":["Use of clinical measurement thresholds (FIMTM score ≤5) to trigger legal status — requires interpretation and reliable assessment (see s6 and Definitions).","Multiple categorical definitions with quantitative cutoffs (amputation lengths/percentages, burn TBSA %, visual acuity) that need precise medical measurement (see ss9–11).","Reliance on specific published tools and their versions (FIMTM score sheet, SMMSE) creating document‑version and accessibility dependencies (see Definitions).","Delegated fact‑finding and judgement by the Commission ('is satisfied') introduces administrative discretion in borderline cases (see s6(b)).","Requirement for credentialed medical/health professionals to conduct assessments imposes compliance and evidentiary burdens on claimants (see s6(a)).","Cross‑reference to the Act for statutory meaning of 'catastrophic injury' and 'employee' requires practitioners to read instruments together (see Purpose, Definitions)."],"plain_english_summary":"This instrument prescribes objective medical criteria for when an injury counts as a “catastrophic injury” under the Defence‑related Claims Act. It requires a FIMTM assessment score of 5 or less and that the Commission is satisfied the injury fits one of several listed categories (nerve, brain, amputation, burn, blindness), with the SMMSE used for some brain assessments.\n\nIt affects employees making defence‑related compensation claims by fixing measurable thresholds and diagnostic tools that determine catastrophic classification and therefore eligibility for related entitlements."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/safety-rehabilitation-and-compensation-defence-related-claims-catastrophic-injury-rules-2018","history":"/api/acts/safety-rehabilitation-and-compensation-defence-related-claims-catastrophic-injury-rules-2018/history","analysis":"/api/acts/safety-rehabilitation-and-compensation-defence-related-claims-catastrophic-injury-rules-2018/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/safety-rehabilitation-and-compensation-defence-related-claims-catastrophic-injury-rules-2018/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/safety-rehabilitation-and-compensation-defence-related-claims-catastrophic-injury-rules-2018/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/safety-rehabilitation-and-compensation-defence-related-claims-catastrophic-injury-rules-2018/documents"}}