{"id":"F2018L01161","name":"Seafarers Rehabilitation and Compensation (Catastrophic Injury) Rules 2018","slug":"seafarers-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":439725,"registerId":"F2018L01161-fast-fetch-1775955637403","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-12","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Seafarers 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\nSeafarers 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 Seafarers 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 144 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 Seafarers Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 1992.\n\n  injury means an injury for 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 section 3 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":4,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"This instrument does not change who is covered by the Act; it specifies the medical conditions and objective thresholds that qualify an injury as a ‘catastrophic injury’ for the Act’s definition (s6). It applies to injuries before, on or after commencement (s4), so it clarifies and standardises determination criteria rather than expanding or narrowing the statutory coverage established in section 3 of the Act (s6)."},"complexity_factors":["Multiple distinct medical categories with different tests and thresholds (spinal, brain, amputation, burn, blindness) (s6–s11).","Use of the FIM™ Functional Independence Measure with a numeric cutoff (score of 5 or less on any item) and a detailed Schedule 1 assessment sheet (s8, s10, Schedule 1).","Compound criteria for brain injury requiring both functional impairment and either >=7 days post‑traumatic amnesia or significant imaging abnormality (s8).","Detailed anatomical and percentage thresholds for amputations and combined‑injury rules referencing prior injuries (s9(1)–(3)).","Age‑graded and body‑surface thresholds for full‑thickness burns and pulmonary function cutoffs for inhalation injury (s10).","Precision measurements and clinical judgments (e.g. % of tibia/femur length, visual acuity <6/60, constriction to 10°) that will require expert medical assessment (s9, s11).","Retroactive application to injuries before commencement (s4) which may complicate ongoing claims management and reclassification of past claims.","Legal cross‑references to the Act (definition in s3 of the Act) and rule‑making authority (s3 of the instrument, made under s144 of the Act) that bind interpretation to the parent statute (s3, s6).","Operational requirement that assessments be performed or recorded using specified instruments (FIM™) and by credentialled assessors noted in the Schedule, creating administrative compliance tasks (Schedule 1)."],"plain_english_summary":"This instrument sets the medical rules that decide when a seafarer’s workplace injury counts as a “catastrophic injury” under the Seafarers Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 1992. It lists five categories (spinal cord, brain, amputation, burn, blindness) and gives objective thresholds—including use of the FIM™ score, imaging, % body surface or limb loss—to determine eligibility. It applies to injuries suffered before, on or after commencement and therefore affects which injured employees qualify for enhanced compensation and services."},"flash_summary_failed":{"failed":true,"reason":"Unauthenticated. Configure AI_GATEWAY_API_KEY or use a provider module. Learn more: https://ai-sdk.dev/unauthenticated-ai-gateway","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: defining medical criteria for catastrophic injury eligibility. The scope has not expanded beyond establishing objective standards for the five specified injury types."},"complexity_factors":["Medical terminology throughout (e.g., 'brachial plexus avulsion', 'cauda equina', 'metacarpophalangeal joint') requires specialist knowledge to interpret","Nested conditional logic in section 8 (brain injury): requires impairment AND FIM score AND one of two additional conditions","Cross-references to external medical assessment tool (FIM™) which is trademarked and licensed, creating dependency on third-party intellectual property","Multiple measurement thresholds requiring precise calculation (e.g., '65% or more of the length of the femur', '50% or more of the tibia')","Complex amputation rules with 'single injury' vs 'multiple injuries' pathways and interaction with prior injuries (subsections 9(2) and 9(3))","Age-dependent thresholds for burn injuries (40% for adults vs 30% for under 16s)","Schedule 1 reproduces a detailed 18-item assessment form with scoring methodology and administration requirements"],"plain_english_summary":"These rules define medical criteria for a \"catastrophic injury\" under the Seafarers Rehabilitation and Compensation Act, triggering lifetime care and support regardless of fault. They affect seafarers, employers, insurers and medical assessors by listing five injury categories (severe spinal and brain injuries, major amputations, serious burns, and blindness) and introducing a standard FIM-based assessment. The rules apply retrospectively, giving clear, objective eligibility for enhanced benefits."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/seafarers-rehabilitation-and-compensation-catastrophic-injury-rules-2018","history":"/api/acts/seafarers-rehabilitation-and-compensation-catastrophic-injury-rules-2018/history","analysis":"/api/acts/seafarers-rehabilitation-and-compensation-catastrophic-injury-rules-2018/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/seafarers-rehabilitation-and-compensation-catastrophic-injury-rules-2018/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/seafarers-rehabilitation-and-compensation-catastrophic-injury-rules-2018/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/seafarers-rehabilitation-and-compensation-catastrophic-injury-rules-2018/documents"}}