{"id":"F2005B01746","name":"Statement of Principles concerning tinnitus No. 26 of 2001","slug":"statement-of-principles-concerning-tinnitus-no-26-of-2001","collection":"legislative_instrument","jurisdiction":"commonwealth","status":"repealed","isInForce":false,"actNumber":null,"makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":112181,"registerId":"commonwealth-F2005B01746-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-03","status":"Repealed","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"Inclusion of Statements of Principles","sectionType":"part","heading":"Inclusion of Statements of Principles","content":"## Inclusion of Statements of Principles\n\n7. In this Statement of Principles if a relevant factor applies and that factor includes an injury or disease in respect of which there is a Statement of Principles then the factors in that last mentioned Statement of Principles apply in accordance with the terms of that Statement of Principles.\n\nOther definitions\n\n8. For the purposes of this Statement of Principles:\n\n“adequate ear protection” means a device which plugs the outer ear canal or which covers the outside of the ear so as to protect the wearer from harmful noise;\n\n“an ototoxic drug from the specified list” means one of the following:\n\n(a) \\-difluromethylornithine;\n\n(b) 6-amino nicotinamide;\n\n(c) Amikacin;\n\n(d) Bumetanide;\n\n(e) Cisplatin;\n\n(f) Erythromycin;\n\n(g) Ethacrynic acid;\n\n(h) Frusemide;\n\n(i) Gentamicin;\n\n(j) Kanamycin;\n\n(k) Misonidazole;\n\n(l) Neomycin;\n\n(m) Netilmicin;\n\n(n) Nitrogen Mustard;\n\n(o) Streptomycin;\n\n(p) Tobramycin;\n\n(q) Vancomycin;\n\n(r) Vinblastine;\n\n(s) Vincristine; or\n\n(t) Viomycin;\n\n \n“a source of vascular sound” means one of the following:\n\n(a) acquired arteriovenous fistulae;\n\n(b) benign intracranial hypertension;\n\n(c) carotid occlusion;\n\n(d) carotid stenosis;\n\n(e) cerebral atherosclerosis;\n\n(f) glomus jugulare tumour;\n\n(g) intracranial aneurysm; or\n\n(h) Paget’s disease of the skull;\n\n“death from tinnitus” in relation to a person includes death from a terminal event or condition that was contributed to by the person’s tinnitus;\n\n“ICD-10-AM code” means a number assigned to a particular kind of injury or disease in The International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, 10th revision, Australian Modification (ICD-10-AM), Second Edition, effective date of 1 July 2000, copyrighted by the National Centre for Classification in Health, Sydney, NSW, and having ISBN 1 86487 271 3;\n\n“impulsive noise” means noise which is characterised by a sharp rise and a rapid decay in sound levels and is less than one second in duration;\n\n“intracranial neoplasm” means a neoplasm affecting the brain, meninges, skull or cranial nerves;\n\n“Meniere’s disease” means a clinical condition characterised by fluctuating hearing loss, tinnitus, a sense of fullness in the involved ear associated with recurring attacks of rotational vertigo of sudden onset, often associated with nausea and vomiting;\n\n“otosclerosis” means a primary disorder of the labyrinthine capsule, characterised by new bone formation commonly involving the footplate of the stapes;\n\n“relevant service” means:\n\n(a) eligible war service (other than operational service); or\n\n(b) defence service (other than hazardous service);\n\n“sensorineural hearing loss” means a permanent hearing threshold shift of 25 decibels (dB) or more, at 500, 1000, 1500, 2000, 3000 or 4000 hertz (Hz) due to a defect in the cochlea or the auditory nerve, but excluding congenital deafness;\n\n“terminal event” means the proximate or ultimate cause of death and includes:\n\n(a) pneumonia;\n\n(b) respiratory failure;\n\n(c) cardiac arrest;\n\n(d) circulatory failure; or\n\n(e) cessation of brain function;\n\n“trauma to the auditory apparatus” means injury to the tympanic membrane, ear ossicles, cochlea or acoustic nerve caused by trauma to the head;\n\n“time-weighted average (TWA) with 3‑dB exchange rate” means the time-weighted average noise exposure level calculated according to the following formulae and shown in the table:\n\nTWA = 10.0  Log(D/100) + 85\n\nwhere D = daily dose; and\n\nD = \\[ C1/T1 + C2/T2 + …..+ Cn/Tn\\]  100\n\nwhere Cn = total time of exposure at a specified noise level,\n\nTn = exposure duration for which noise at this level becomes hazardous\n\n \nTable of noise exposure levels and\n\ndurations based on 3-dBA exchange rate\n\n```html\n

Duration, T

Duration, T

Exposure

Level, L

(dBA)

Hours

Minutes

Seconds

Exposure

Level, L

(dBA)

Hours

Minutes

Seconds

80

25

24

106

3

45

81

20

10

107

2

59

82

16

108

2

22

83

12

42

109

1

53

84

10

5

110

1

29

85

8

111

1

11

86

6

21

112

56

87

5

2

113

45

88

4

114

35

89

3

10

115

28

90

2

31

116

22

91

2

117

18

92

1

35

118

14

93

1

16

119

11

94

1

120

9

95

47

37

121

7

96

37

48

122

6

97

30

123

4

98

23

49

124

3

99

18

59

125

3

100

15

126

2

101

11

54

127

1

102

9

27

128

1

103

7

30

129

1

104

5

57

130-140

<1

105

4

43

\n```\n\nSource: National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health 1998 Guidelines\n\nPublication No. 98-126\n\nApplication\n\n9. This Instrument applies to all matters to which section 120B of the Act applies.\n\nDated this First day of May 2001\n\nThe Common Seal of the )\n\nRepatriation Medical Authority )\n\nwas affixed to this instrument )\n\nin the presence of: )\n\nKEN DONALD\n\nCHAIRMAN","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":6,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"This instrument does not itself expand or narrow the statutory jurisdiction: it applies to the same set of matters governed by section 120B of the Act (s9). It instead supplies definitional, diagnostic and exposure criteria and provides for importing other Statements of Principles where relevant (s7), so scope is governed by the Act rather than altered by this instrument."},"complexity_factors":["Many technical medical definitions (e.g. \"sensorineural hearing loss\", \"Meniere’s disease\", \"otosclerosis\") increase medical-evidentiary complexity (s8).","A long specified list of ototoxic drugs requires cross-checking of pharmacological histories (s8).","Detailed acoustic exposure metric (TWA with 3‑dB exchange rate), formulae and a large numeric table create measurement and calculation complexity for assessors (s8).","Cross-reference rule importing other Statements of Principles when a relevant factor applies requires navigation of multiple instruments (s7).","Dependence on an external coding system (ICD-10-AM) for classification ties decisions to a specific edition of a published manual (s8).","Application limited to matters under section 120B of the Act concentrates legal scope but requires familiarity with that statutory provision to determine applicability (s9).","Several defined terms (e.g. \"relevant service\", \"terminal event\", \"death from tinnitus\") affect causation and scope determinations and may require factual findings."],"plain_english_summary":"Mechanically, this Statement of Principles sets the medical, exposure and diagnostic rules used to decide when tinnitus is treated as connected with qualifying service: it supplies technical definitions (including a time‑weighted noise‑exposure formula and table and a specified list of ototoxic drugs) and tells assessors which other Statements of Principles to import. It affects veterans and administrative decision‑makers in matters to which section 120B of the Act applies (see s9), because its definitions determine which clinical findings and exposures qualify for service‑connection."},"kimi_summary":{"_metrics":{"model":"kimi-k2.5","source":"moonshot-realtime","completionTokens":3087},"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":6,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"This instrument establishes the original criteria for determining service connection of tinnitus and has not expanded beyond its original purpose of providing medical evidentiary standards for veterans' compensation claims."},"complexity_factors":["Legislative text embedded with HTML markup for tabular data presentation","Mathematical logarithmic formula for time-weighted average noise exposure calculations (TWA = 10.0 × Log(D/100) + 85)","20 specifically enumerated ototoxic pharmaceuticals with precise chemical nomenclature","Technical medical definitions requiring audiological and pharmacological expertise (otosclerosis, intracranial neoplasms, sensorineural hearing loss)","Cross-referencing mechanism to other Statements of Principles creating interdependent legal framework","Detailed noise exposure matrix spanning 60 decibel levels (80-140 dBA) with granular time measurements to the second"],"plain_english_summary":"This Statement of Principles sets the medical and scientific tests used to decide whether tinnitus is linked to Australian military service. It identifies service-related causes — loud noise (with sound‑level exposure tables and a 3 dB time‑weighted average formula), head/ear trauma, specified medications, vascular conditions, and ear diseases — and technical rules like what counts as adequate hearing protection and coding standards. It applies to current and former ADF members claiming tinnitus compensation or pensions."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/statement-of-principles-concerning-tinnitus-no-26-of-2001","history":"/api/acts/statement-of-principles-concerning-tinnitus-no-26-of-2001/history","analysis":"/api/acts/statement-of-principles-concerning-tinnitus-no-26-of-2001/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/statement-of-principles-concerning-tinnitus-no-26-of-2001/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/statement-of-principles-concerning-tinnitus-no-26-of-2001/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/statement-of-principles-concerning-tinnitus-no-26-of-2001/documents"}}