Veteran Cards for providers

To help you identify our clients, we issue health cards to our veterans and their dependants.

About our health cards

We issue health cards to veterans and their:

• widowed partners
• dependants

We will pay many of the health care costs for people who have our health cards. To have us pay you to provide health care to people who have a DVA health card, you will first need to become a provider with us. 

We issue 3 types of cards that entitle the holder to different care services:

• Veteran Gold Card
• Veteran White Card
• Veteran Orange Card

Each card will have the client's:

• full name 
• file number

People can now access digital versions of their plastic Veteran White Card or Veteran Gold Card through the myGov wallet in the myGov app, and through the online portal MyService. 

The digital Veteran Cards provide the same information that is currently available on the physical card and can be used in the same way.

The myGov app has some additional security features to confirm the card is genuine and valid. You can find out more in the myGov community resources.

The Veteran Card in the myGov app also has a ’Manage your card’ feature.  This links to the ’Cards’ screen in the person’s online DVA account, MyService.  

In MyService, the Veteran Card holder can navigate to the Conditions Listed, where you will be able to check the health conditions that are covered by DVA.

Treat a client who has a Veteran Gold Card

A person who has a Gold Card may be a veteran or a veteran's:

• widowed partner
• dependant

We will only cover health care costs for the person whose name is on the card. Their health condition or injury does not need to be from war service.

Generally, people who have Gold Cards can access all health care services that the government lists on the Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS). The MBS time and service limits still apply to people who have a Gold Card. 

The Gold Card covers: 

• medical and surgical care
• medical consultations and procedures that the MBS covers
• medical services and surgical procedures the MBS lists and which a health care professional performs in public and private hospitals and day surgery facilities
• medical specialist services the MBS lists
• medication reviews

Sometimes we may allow medical services that the MBS does not list. You will need us to approve these services before you provide them.

The Gold Card covers other types of care such as: 

• allied health services
• optical services
• dental services
• community nursing
• veterans home care
• rehabilitation aids and appliances
• pathology and x-rays
• nuclear medicine imaging
• ultrasound and computerised tomography

A person who has a Gold Card:

• can access the Repatriation Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme
• may have access to transport assistance when travelling for approved treatment.  

Visit the Travel for Treatment web page for further information.

Treat a client who has a Veteran White Card

A person who has a White Card may be a:

• veteran
• current or former member of the Australian Defence Force (ADF)

We cover a person with a White Card for disabilities and health conditions that came from military service. 

When we accept cover for someone's health condition we list it against their Veteran White Card record. To find out if we accept cover for someone's health condition you can do 1 of the following:

• have the client show you their Veteran White Card in MyService, with the Conditions Listed opened to display the conditions covered
• contact us on 1800 550 457

Veterans with continuous full time service in the ADF or certain types of reserve service can access mental health treatment under NLHC arrangements.  In addition, some veterans may be eligible for non-liability treatment of cancer (malignant neoplasm) and pulmonary tuberculosis, depending on their service type and timing.

These health conditions do not need to be from war or military service.

A person who has a White Card can also get:

• free transport to the place where a health care professional will see or treat them
• may have access to transport assistance when travelling for approved treatment.  

Visit the Travel for Treatment web page for further information.

Treat a client who has a Veteran Orange Card

A person who has an Orange Card may be a Commonwealth or allied veteran who:

• has qualifying service from the First World War or Second World War
• is aged 70 years or over 
• has been a resident in Australia for 10 years or more 

A person with an Orange Card will pay less for medicines under the Repatriation Pharmaceuticals Benefits Scheme (RPBS). 

The RPBS contains:

• all items that the general public can access
• an extra list that people who hold an Orange Card can access

How you can claim for your service

There are steps you can take to invoice us. 

Use a health card image

If you want to use a health card image in advertising, complete a D9208 application form.

Email the form with a mock-up image of the publication the health card will be in to publications [at] dva.gov.au (publications[at]dva[dot]gov[dot]au)