New Governance Arrangements

The Governance provisions within DVA administer the legislation that provides benefits and support to Australia’s defence and veteran community. 

What is the current governance structure?

Veterans’ compensation legislation is administered by two independent statutory bodies:

• the Repatriation Commission (RC) established by the Repatriation Act 1920 and continued under the VEA, and 
• the Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Commission (MRCC) established under the MRCA.

The Repatriation Commission grants pensions and benefits, provides treatment and other services under the VEA to veterans and members of the ADF, their partners, widows, widowers and children. 

The Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Commission provides compensation and other benefits for current and former members of the Australian Defence Force who suffer an injury or disease due to service on or after 1 July 2004. It also provides for the dependants of members whose deaths were the result of an injury or disease due to service on or after 1 July 2004.

Other independent bodies that form part of the DVA’s governance structure are:

Repatriation Medical Authority

The Repatriation Medical Authority (RMA) determines Statements of Principles (SoPs) for any disease, injury or death that could be related to eligible military service, based on sound medical-scientific evidence. 

Specialist Medical Review Council

The Specialist Medical Review Council (SMRC) is able to review the decisions the RMA makes about SoPs. The SMRC will consider all of the material that was available to the RMA and any material that the review applicant wants to make available. The SMRC decides whether it would have made a different decision than the RMA on the basis of the same sound medical-scientific evidence. 

Veterans Ministerial Advisory Council 

This Council will be an independent body reporting directly to the Minister for Veterans’ Affairs and Defence Personnel. It will consult (and act) on advice from stakeholders on issues relating to the lifetime wellbeing of veterans. 

National Advisory Committee

Open Arms' National Advisory Committee (NAC) provides the Minister for Veterans and Defence Personnel with independent advice on the needs of the veteran community and how these can be addressed through Open Arms.

What will happen from 1 July 2026?

From 1 July 2026, all new claims will be processed under the improved MRCA. 

In order to streamline all elements of this change, there will be a consolidation of powers through the merging of the MRCC into the RC. 

The RC will create a single body commission which will administer veterans’ compensation legislation, remove duplication of responsibilities, and provide greater administrative clarity about governance matters.

The RMA and the SMRC will be transferred into the MRCA. There will be no change to the functions or powers of either body.

Additional Resources

There is a range of additional resources available on the Legislation Reform website covering a variety of topics such as the Single Review Pathway.

There are individual pages for different veteran cohorts including VEA veterans, DRCA veterans, MRCA veterans and family members of veterans.