Schedule 1, Part 8
An impairment is only permanent after appropriate treatment
From 1 January 2028 an impairment is not permanent unless the person has undertaken all appropriate treatment for it and it is likely to persist for life, and appropriate treatment is defined by evidence, expected effect and availability in Australia.
What does the provision require?
New subsection 24(5) and subsection 25(1B) change the permanence test for the disability requirements and the early intervention requirements. An impairment only counts as permanent, or likely to become permanent, where the person has completed every appropriate treatment for it and it is expected to last the person's whole life. A person may still need ongoing treatment to maintain function after all appropriate treatment has been undertaken.
Section 25A defines appropriate treatment: it must be evidence based, it can be relied on to improve, reverse or ease the impact of the impairment in a material way, and it is routinely carried out in Australia. The note says public funding for the treatment is the test of regular availability. Restrictive practices involving seclusion, chemical, mechanical, physical or environmental restraint are excluded. A person's own financial or geographic circumstances do not stop a treatment from being appropriate, and a person counts as having completed every appropriate treatment where the only remaining treatment cannot be undertaken for medical reasons, or where the rules say so. The early intervention test also changes from mitigating or alleviating to reducing the impact.
Why does it matter to an insurer or a provider?
Permanence is the gateway to the scheme, and from 1 January 2028 the gateway requires a treatment history. For an insurer, that is a documentary question: what treatment was available, was it evidence based, did the person undertake it, and if not, why not. A claim file that shows an untreated condition with a good expected response now has a stronger argument that the impairment was not permanent when the person entered the scheme.
What did the amendment change?
The Act replaces an assumption of permanence with a test that requires treatment to have been undertaken. It defines appropriate treatment for the first time, excludes restrictive practices from the definition, and protects a person whose circumstances make treatment hard to access by saying those circumstances do not make the treatment inappropriate.
Suggested evidence
These are the publisher's control suggestions, not statutory requirements. The provision's own requirement is above; an auditor or regulator decides what is sufficient.
- The treatment history, with dates, provider and outcome
- The evidence base for each treatment, and whether it is publicly funded in Australia
- The medical reason why any appropriate treatment could not be undertaken
- The prognosis that the impairment will persist for life
- Any restrictive practice in the history and confirmation that it is not counted as treatment
What should be done before the date?
- Add the treatment history questions to the claim file for any permanence based entitlement
- Check whether a settlement assumed permanence before all appropriate treatment was tried
- Diarise 1 January 2028 as a review date for open files that turn on permanence
What the text does not say
The text does not list the treatments that count. It does not define evidence based. It does not say who decides whether a treatment can reliably be expected to work, beyond the CEO being satisfied.
Where this sits
subsections 24(5) and 25(1B) and section 25A, inserted by items 88 to 93 in Schedule 1, Part 8, Tightening meaning of permanence (items 88 to 94). Read the official text at https://www.legislation.gov.au/C2026A00066/latest/text. The record was read on 21 October 2026.
Not legal advice; does not certify. This page is a reading of the provision in our own words, not a reproduction of it, and not advice on your own facts.