Compensation under VEA and MRCA pathway

If you have a service related injury or condition you may apply for compensation from DVA. In most cases, if we make a determination about your case that you are not happy with you can ask us to reconsider.

The review pathway

For compensation decisions made under the Veterans’ Entitlements Act 1986 (VEA) and the Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 2004 (MRCA), reviews are undertaken by:

1. The Veterans' Review Board (VRB) which is the first level of merits review of your case. If you disagree with the VRB’s decision, you can move to step 2.
2. The Administrative Review Tribunal (ART) which provides a second tier merits review of decisions regarding under the VEA and MRCA.

When you receive notice of our initial decision about your claim we will let you know how long you have to request a review.

Types of review

Most cases under the VEA fall into one of two categories:

• An Entitlement Case about whether disease, injury or death is service related.
• An Assessment Case about how much DVA pays  as a pension.

Most cases under the MRCA fall into one of the below categories:

• A Liability Case about whether disease, injury or death is service related.
• A Compensation Case about how much compensation you can receive for an injury or disease that is accepted as service related.
• A Rehabilitation Case about rehabilitation programs and other supports that are available in connection with an injury or disease that is accepted as service related.

MRCA reviews

For MRCA decisions, you can ask for a VRB review within 12 months of receiving the decision.

For decisions made prior to 21 April 2025, you can request a review in one of the following ways:

• send an email to appeals@dva.gov.au
• send your application by post to GPO Box 9998, Brisbane QLD 4001.

Further information can be obtained at www.dva.gov.au/appeals

For decisions made on or after 21 April 2025, requests for review must go directly to the VRB in one of the following ways:

• send an email to reviews@vrb.gov.au
• send a letter to Veterans’ Review Board (VRB), GPO Box 1631, SYDNEY NSW 2001.

You can go to vrb.gov.au for further information.

In your application you must state why you think the DVA decision is incorrect.

If you have more information or evidence to support your claim, include it with your request for a review.

After you request a review, you may be asked to provide additional information or to attend a medical examination(s) in support of your review.

If you are unsure about which appeal pathway applies to you, please consult the appeal rights in your determination letter.

VEA Reviews

There are two types of reviews available under the VEA:

• a review under section 115 of the VEA
• a review by the VRB under section 135 of the VEA.

Section 115 reviews

A review under section 115 of the VEA is an internal review by the Commission for certain allowances that are not covered by the VRB.

Section 135 (VRB) reviews

A review under section 135 of the Act is a review made by the VRB.

There are VRBs in each State capital city and in Canberra.

If you are unsure about which appeal pathway applies to you, please consult the appeal rights in your determination letter. 

Costs

We may reimburse you some costs of getting medical evidence or travelling to the VRB for a hearing.

Please contact us to discuss your case and see if we are able to reimburse these costs.

You can also complete form Claim for Costs of Relevant Documentary Medical Evidence Incurred by Applicants to the Veterans' Review Board (VRB).