Discounts and concessions

Last updated:

States, territories and local governments offer concessions, discounts and free services to those in the veteran community.

State, territory and local governments may offer discounts or concessions on the fees or charges on services they provide, usually to eligible residents. For example, electricity, vehicle registration, public transport and house rates. They often use Department of Veterans’ Affairs (DVA) cards and other entitlements to recognise those on low incomes or with disability for concession purposes.  

Please refer to your state or territory website for the concessions they offer to the veteran community:

Proof of eligibility

There is a variety of ways that other governments (and their agencies) process eligibility. They may sight your DVA card (hard copy or digital), use the Centrelink Confirmation eService online or require a letter from DVA.

If another government agency chooses to use an Australian Government-issued card for verification of their own concessions, such as a Veteran Gold Card, it is that government agency which decides on the sort of concession offered and to whom it is offered.

There are other DVA entitlements which other governments use to recognise disability, such as a threshold of impairment points. Sometimes, they require those impairment points to be the result of overseas war service.

DVA letters

If a DVA letter is required by another government agency to prove eligibility, you can:

  • generate some of these yourself through MyService
  • call 1800 VETERAN (1800 838 372) and DVA will email or post the relevant letter to you.

Reference number

If another government agency uses the Centrelink Confirmation eService, they will require your Veteran File Number (VFN) or Unique Identification Number (UIN). Your VFN contains a prefix of the state you resided in when issued, for example, ‘N’ for NSW or ‘Q’ for Queensland. The VFN will be on your DVA card. Your UIN is a 7-digit number and appears on your Pensioner Concession Card or any DVA letter. Please call DVA on 1800 VETERAN (1800 838 372) if you require assistance with your VFN or UIN.

Moving interstate

If you move interstate and are in receipt of income support (Service Pension, Age Pension, Income Support Supplement), you are required to contact DVA to update your change in circumstances. DVA will issue you with a new Veteran File Number and card with the new prefix.

If you do not receive income support, you may like to apply to DVA for a new Veteran File Number and Veteran Card because some state government agencies require the prefix to reflect your state of residence for concession purposes.

Please make sure that the address you have given to DVA is the same as you gave to the concession provider.

Energy Bill Relief Fund

The Commonwealth Government is providing $3.5 billion to extend and expand the Energy Bill Relief Fund to provide electricity bill rebates to all Australian households and eligible small businesses in 2024-25.

For further information, see the Energy.gov.au website.

State and territory support for veterans

Separate to DVA services, state and territory governments offer additional supports to veterans. To find out more about these, please refer to your state or territory website:

Was this page useful?

Ask Pat a Question