Access to Veterans' Review Board extended

Following passage of the Veterans’ Entitlements, Treatment and Support (Simplification and Harmonisation) Act 2025, the first level of external merits review for all claim decisions made after 21 April will be to the Veterans’ Review Board (VRB), regardless of which Act a veteran has coverage under. The VRB is a non-adversarial, low-cost jurisdiction.

This extends access to the VRB for veterans whose claims came under the Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation (Defence-related Claims) Act 1988 (DRCA).   

The introduction of a ‘single review pathway’ simply means that if you are not happy with your claim outcome after 21 April, you can lodge an appeal for the decision to be reviewed by the VRB, without having to go straight to the Administrative Review Tribunal.  

Information on how to appeal to the VRB will be included in determination letters from April. If the VRB does not uphold your appeal, you can then take the matter to the Administrative Review Tribunal.  

More information is on our website: www.dva.gov.au/legislationreform