Podiatrists

Last updated:

21 March 2024

Find the information you need to deliver and claim for podiatry services to Veteran Card holders.

If you’re a member of the veteran community, go to Podiatry services.

DVA Forms
Become a DVA health care provider
Services covered by Veteran Cards – Gold and White
Referrals and treatment cycle
DVA Provider Notes
Schedule of Fees
Claiming
Your obligations
Common compliance issues
Prior approvals
Rehabilitation Appliances Program (RAP)
Medical grade footwear (MGF)
RPBS wound care dressings
Residential Aged Care Facilities (RACF)
Useful links

DVA Forms

Visit Provider forms to access all the forms you need to do business with us. This includes forms for prior approvals, RAP orders and claims.

Become a DVA health care provider

Services covered by Veteran Cards – Gold and White

Please check What a DVA health card covers for full details about card entitlements to ensure your client’s condition is covered.

A Veteran Card – Gold or White covers podiatry treatment that is clinically necessary:

for all conditions, if the patient holds a Veteran Gold Card
for specific, accepted conditions only, if the patient holds a Veteran White Card.

If you are unsure whether a DVA client is eligible to receive physiotherapy services, contact us on 1800 550 457.

Referrals and treatment cycle

If you are treating a Veteran Card holder, they will need a valid referral from their GP. For an initial treatment cycle, the referral could alternatively come from a:

medical specialist
treating hospital doctor
hospital discharge planner.

Under DVA treatment cycle arrangements, a referral to an allied health provider will last up to 12 sessions or one year, whichever ends first.

Once a treatment cycle has ended, the client needs a new referral from their GP before you can provide further treatment. The client can have as many treatment cycles as their GP determines are clinically necessary.

For full details about the treatment cycle and referral arrangements, please check Treatment cycle information for allied health providers.

DVA Provider Notes

By accepting a patient’s Veteran Card – Gold or White, you agree to follow the Notes that apply to your profession.

The Notes are legally binding, and it is your responsibility to become familiar with them. They are divided into two sections, and you need to comply with both.

Section 1: General notes for allied health providers

Section 2: Specific to podiatrists

Please also refer to:

Referrals and treatment cycle
Schedule of Fees
Claiming.

Schedule of Fees

The Schedule of Fees – (Podiatrists) defines the treatments and services you can provide to DVA clients and the payment amounts you can claim.

By accepting a Veteran Card – Gold or White, you agree to accept the DVA fee as full payment. You cannot charge the Veteran Card holder any ‘gap’ fee.

For your profession’s up-to-date schedule, visit DVA Fee Schedules.

Claiming

Visit Provider claiming for full details on how to claim payment from us.

Please note you are responsible for your provider number and you will be accountable for any claiming errors.

If someone else submits claims on your behalf, you should ensure they do not make any mistakes.

Your provider number cannot be shared, and multiple providers cannot claim under the one provider number. The provider who owns the number will bear the consequences of misuse.

For invoicing and billing enquiries, call 1300 550 017.

Your obligations

Each year we review unusual provider claiming, which may result in an education process or financial recoveries.

For full details about complying with DVA requirements, please refer to Provider compliance.

Common compliance issues

Before you treat a DVA client, please check the Schedule of Fees and Notes for full details about limits and restrictions on podiatry services.

Some common compliance issues include the following. Please note these are not exhaustive and you must check the Schedule of Fees for complete details about your profession’s Schedule of Fees item numbers.

Consultations and assessments

For each treatment cycle, you can only claim one initial consultation and one initial footwear assessment.

On any given day, the same patient cannot receive:

an initial consultation and an initial footwear assessment
an initial and a subsequent consultation
more than one subsequent consultation.

Diagnostic services

You can undertake the following assessments only if they are relevant to the client’s specific, referred condition:

biomechanical assessments
Doppler assessments.

For example, you can undertake biomechanical assessments for plantar fasciitis, but a Doppler assessment would not be justified for that condition.

For an ingrown toenail, prior to surgery, you can undertake a Doppler assessment but not a biomechanical assessment.

Orthotic devices

You can only provide one pair of orthoses at a time. DVA clients are expected to transfer the orthoses between their various shoes as needed.

In any 365-day period, a client can only receive either:

1 each of items F222 and F266
2 each of items F221 and F265.

If your client needs more items in that time, you need to request prior approval from us.

When a DVA client returns for a review of their orthotic device, you need to claim this as a standard consult. It cannot be claimed under a diagnostic item number.

We will only accept a claim for a repeat diagnostic assessment if it is clinically necessary and guided by evidence-based, best practice standards.

Physical podiatry

You can only claim for treatments that are in the Schedule of Fees for Podiatrists.

If you have provided a treatment that is not in the Schedule, you cannot use an item number that is meant for another type of service.

If a treatment is not listed in the Schedule, you need to get prior approval from us before you start the treatment.

Electrophysical therapy

You can only claim for electrophysical therapy if:

there is evidence-based research to validate that specific intervention for the client’s referred condition
the treatment is clinically necessary.

For all other electrophysical therapy treatments, you need to get prior approval from us before you start the treatment.

You will also need prior approval for:

laser therapy for fungal nails
low level laser for soft tissue conditions
shockwave therapies.

Other treatments

We will not pay for non-evidence based treatments including:

dry needling
myofascial release
trigger-point therapy.

You can only claim for the following treatments if they are clinically necessary for the patient’s specific, referred condition:

paraffin wax bath
feet joints manipulation.

Clinical decisions about the number of treatments should be evidence-based and have measurable outcomes. For example, a paraffin wax bath is not necessarily justified for every repeat visit.

Kilometre allowance

We may pay a kilometre allowance if:

you are not a mobile provider
you have a fixed practice location
there is a genuine need to visit a client at home
your client’s home is more than 10 km from their nearest podiatry clinic.

We will only pay the allowance for the part of your trip that is more than 10 km from the practice nearest to the client.

Prior approvals

In exceptional circumstances, you may claim payment for treatments not included in the Schedule of Fees, if they:

can be clinically justified for the client’s referred condition
are evidence-based.

You must ask us for prior approval before providing the treatment.

To submit a request, please complete the D1328 Treatment Prior Financial Approval Request Form and email it tohealth.approval [at] dva.gov.au (health[dot]approval[at]dva[dot]gov[dot]au).

For inquiries, contact us on 1800 550 457.

Rehabilitation Appliances Program (RAP)

Podiatrists can prescribe aids and appliances to eligible Veteran Card holders through the RAP National Schedule of Equipment.

The item must be clinically necessary and support the patient’s referred condition.

You cannot supply these items yourself. You need to place an order through RAP, using the relevant RAP Form. The items will be supplied by a DVA-contracted RAP supplier.

Medical grade footwear (MGF)

Podiatrists can prescribe (but not supply) MGF for your DVA client’s referred condition.

If you do prescribe MGF, you need to become familiar with and adhere to the Guidelines for Assessing Health Providers.

For full details, please visit Medical grade footwear – providers and suppliers.

RPBS wound care dressings

A range of DVA-funded wound care dressings are available on the Repatriation Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (RPBS) for podiatrists to use when clinically required.

To obtain the dressings, you need to ask your patient’s GP for a prescription for a supply of dressings from the patient’s preferred pharmacy. The patient will bring these dressings to the appointment.

If the recommended dressing is not listed on the RPBS, the GP can obtain approval for an authority prescription from the Veterans’ Affairs Pharmaceutical Advisory Centre (VAPAC), when clinically appropriate.

Dressing items: Schedule of Fees - Podiatry

Where a DVA client presents with an acute need for a specialised dressing, padding or taping, the podiatrist can claim for the invoiced cost of the supplied product under the Schedule of Fees – Podiatry Item number F986 or F987.

However, these codes cannot be used to claim for the following:

items that DVA clients can purchase themselves from a supermarket or pharmacy for personal use, such as moisturising foot creams, tea tree oil, muscle rub ointments, topical medications
ongoing wound dressings.

Residential Aged Care Facilities (RACF)

From 1 October 2022, access to allied health care services and the Rehabilitation Aids Program (RAP) was expanded to eligible DVA clients in residential aged care, regardless of their care level.

For full details, please refer to DVA Provider News article, All veterans in age care now eligible to access allied health services.