Claims against the department

Claiming compensation from DVA

If you think DVA has made a mistake that has caused you a financial loss or some other detriment, you may be able to make a claim for compensation under the Compensation for Detriment caused by Defective Administration (CDDA) Scheme.

What is the CDDA Scheme?

The CDDA Scheme provides a mechanism for government agencies such as DVA to compensate people who have experienced detriment as a result of defective actions or inaction, in cases where it has been established that there is no legal liability to pay compensation.

The CDDA Scheme is discretionary as well as permissive. It does not oblige the DVA decision-maker to approve a payment in any particular case.

Who has the authority to make decisions?

The CDDA Scheme is an administrative, not a statutory (legislative) scheme. It has been established under the executive power of section 61 of the Constitution.

Portfolio Ministers have responsibility for decisions made under the CDDA Scheme. Ministers may also authorise departmental officers to make decisions.

When are compensation payments made?

Payments made under the CDDA Scheme are discretionary. This means there is no automatic entitlement to a payment.

Payments may be made by the relevant portfolio Minister or authorised officer if a Departmental Officer or the Department has directly caused an applicant to experience detriment as a result of defective administration.

The CDDA Scheme is generally an avenue of last resort and is used only where there is no other viable avenue to provide redress.

That a mistake has been made by an entity or an official of an entity does not automatically mean compensation is payable under the CDDA Scheme.

What is defective administration?

Defective administration is defined as:

• a specific and unreasonable lapse in complying with existing administrative procedures
• an unreasonable failure to institute appropriate administrative procedures
• an unreasonable failure to give to (or for) an applicant, the proper advice that was within the officer's power and knowledge to give (or reasonably capable of being obtained by the officer to give)
• giving advice to (or for) an applicant that was, in all the circumstances, incorrect or ambiguous.

What is detriment?

Detriment means quantifiable financial loss that the applicant has suffered.

Detriment may include:

• detriment relating to a personal injury including mental injury (personal injury loss)
• economic detriment that is not related to a personal injury (pure economic loss)
• detriment relating to damage to property.

Who can apply for compensation?

Any individual, company or other organisation can apply for compensation, either for themselves or for an authorised third party. There is no guarantee of a favourable outcome.

How do I apply?

If your claim is under the CDDA scheme, you should complete the CDDA application form.

See Application Claim Form for Compensation for Detriment caused by Defective Administration

Your application should:

• address the criteria for determining defective administration;
• explain how the actions or inactions by DVA were defective;
• provide details of the detriment being claimed, including an explanation of how the amount claimed is calculated; and
• explain how the defective administration directly caused the loss.

Please attach all relevant documentation to support your claim, such as correspondence between yourself and DVA, and relevant supporting evidence.

You can send the completed application form and documents by email to cdda [at] dva.gov.au (cdda[at]dva[dot]gov[dot]au).

You can also send your claim form and supporting documentation in the post to:

Department of Veterans' Affairs
GPO Box 9998
Brisbane QLD 4001
Attention: Discretionary Claims and External Reviews, Dispute Resolution Branch, Legal and Audit Division

Assessing a claim

The criteria used by decision makers in deciding CDDA claims is set out in the Department of Finance's Resource Management Guide 409.

Losses that can't be considered

Generally, claims for the following types of losses can't be considered under the CDDA Scheme:

• claims for personal time spent resolving an issue
• claims for stress, anxiety, inconvenience
• costs of putting in a claim or conducting a claim for compensation

Losses we can consider

Types of compensation we can consider are financial losses with a direct connection to our actions that lead to a finding of defective administration. 

These can be losses such as:

• professional fees, where evidence of payment is provided and the fees are considered by the decision maker to be reasonable (our assessment of what is reasonable may differ from yours);
• bank or other administrative fees you incurred because of our actions.

Timeframes

We aim to acknowledge receipt of your compensation claim in writing within two (2) business days of receiving it.

CDDA claims received by DVA are often complex and lengthy and take some time to investigate and consider. DVA will regularly communicate with you about the progress of your CDDA claim. If you require an update about how your claim is progressing, you can contact DVA by email to cdda [at] dva.gov.au (cdda[at]dva[dot]gov[dot]au).

If you did not provide us with all the information we need to investigate, consider and make a decision on your claim, we will contact you to tell you what information we need.

We will not consider your claim until your original issue (that led to your claim) is resolved. If you are involved in other dispute resolution processes, including court or tribunal action (such as proceedings in the Veterans Review Board or the Administrative Appeals Tribunal), these need to be resolved before we can consider your claim.

Reviewing the decision

Internal review

DVA’s approach is to offer claimants with an opportunity to provide new and relevant information or contentions in support of the claim once a preliminary assessment has been conducted, and before any final decision is made.

There is no automatic right of administrative review of decisions under the CDDA Scheme.

Ombudsman review

If you have a complaint about DVA in regard to the CDDA Scheme, or you are dissatisfied with DVA’s decision under the CDDA Scheme, you can contact the Commonwealth Ombudsman.

The Commonwealth Ombudsman has also produced a factsheet on the CDDA Scheme. Contact details for the Commonwealth Ombudsman are below:

Commonwealth Ombudsman
GPO Box 442
CANBERRA ACT 2601
1300 362 072
www.ombudsman.gov.au