Making a claim for a service-related condition

Last updated:

11 May 2023

Find out what you need to do when you submit a claim. If you’ve already submitted your claim, don’t worry. You can still provide additional documents. The sooner you provide them, the sooner we’ll be able to finalise your claim.

The 3 Acts
The Claims Process
When lodging a claim for initial liability, follow our 3-step guide
Step 1: Get your medical practitioner to confirm your diagnosis
Step 2: Supply the documents you need to
Step 3: Check if you are already eligible for free health care and treatment
Open Arms – Veterans & Families Counselling is here to help
Find an Advocate
Your privacy is protected
What to expect after you submit a compensation claim

Transcript of How to submit a claim

The 3 Acts

Veterans’ service is covered by 3 Acts, known as the MRCA, VEA and DRCA. Which Act you are covered by will depend on the service that relates to your injury or disease. As a general rule, if your condition relates to service:

after 1 July 2004, then the MRCA will apply
before 1 July 2004, then either the VEA, the DRCA or both will apply
that spans 1 July 2004, then one or more of the VEA, DRCA and MRCA will apply.

For information on the 3 different Acts, go to:

MRCA – Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 2004
DRCA – Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation (Defence-related Claims) Act 1988
VEA – Veterans’ Entitlements Act 1986.

The Claims Process

If you have an injury or health condition that relates to your service you need to submit a claim to access medical care and compensation. One claim can include multiple conditions.

To establish liability we need to consider the evidence provided to support your claim and we will use that evidence to decide whether or not to accept that the condition is service related.

For claims under MRCA & DRCA once liability has been accepted for a service related condition, a needs assessment will be completed before any compensation can be paid. A needs assessment is a discussion between you and one of our delegates to identify the types of benefits, services and support you may require. A needs assessment can be completed at any time after liability has been accepted.

For information on the different types of compensation that might be payable visit:

Incapacity compensation, permanent impairment under MRCA and permanent impairment under DRCA

If you have an injury or disease arising out of, or aggravated by, a period of full-time service when you were covered under the VEA, you may be eligible for a Disability Compensation Payment and medical treatment.

If we accept your claim we will check if you can get a Disability Compensation Payment. You may apply for a higher rate if you already receive a Disability Compensation Payment and your service made your injury or condition worse.

Your pension amount will depend on how severe your injury or health condition is and its impact on your ability to work.

When lodging a claim for initial liability, follow our 3-step guide

To make the claiming process smoother, follow these 3 steps:

Step 1: Get your medical practitioner to confirm your diagnosis.
Step 2: Supply the documents you need to. (see below)
Step 3: Check if you are already eligible for free health care and treatment.

Step 1: Get your medical practitioner to confirm your diagnosis

A medical diagnosis is required in order to determine your claim. Your claim will be investigated more quickly if you provide a diagnosis with your claim. If you don’t have one, we will arrange for you to see a medical practitioner as part of the investigation.

Claiming via MyService

When you claim using MyService, you can upload diagnoses there. Also, if you claim through MyService, you can upload any additional documents at any time before your claim is finalised.

If you haven’t already, sign up to MyService to make claiming easier.

Submitting a paper claim

If you are making a claim for more than one condition, you should:

fill out a separate Injury or disease details sheet for each one
where possible, have your treating medical practitioner provide a separate diagnosis for each condition and sign each separate sheet.

If you need to provide additional information that you didn’t include when you sent us your claim, you can contact us. Email us at primary.claims [at] dva.gov.au (primary[dot]claims[at]dva[dot]gov[dot]au) to find out more.

Step 2: Supply the documents you need to

When you make your claim, you need to make sure that you provide all of the necessary documents and sign the claim form.

You must provide proof of identity documents

You can complete the proof of identity process online at MyService. Go to MyService to sign up.

You will not need to provide proof of identity documents if you are already a registered user in MyService. By having a secure MyService login, you are known to us.

If you are submitting a paper claim and you haven’t already, you must provide us with proof of identity documents. For information on requirements, read more on our proof of identity page.

You can provide supporting documents

As part of the claim investigation process, we will obtain relevant records from Defence, such as medical records, Defence incidence reports and service records, and we may need to request supporting documents from your medical practitioner.

To help us assess your claim more quickly, you can provide copies of any supporting documents that you have, such as:

clinical notes
specialists reports
scans, MRIs or X-ray reports
witness statement(s)
Authority to Participate in Civilian Sport
Hazardous Material Exposure Report
Entry Medical Board Questionnaire

Providing these documents up-front can help to save time later.

Step 3: Check if you are already eligible for free health care and treatment

In some cases, we can cover the cost of your treatment before your claim is finalised.

Fully funded non-liability health care

For eligible veterans, we will pay for the treatment of certain conditions, including mental health conditions and cancer, without accepting them as service related.

For more information on non-liability health care, go to:

Provisional access to medical treatment (PAMT)

You may be eligible for free treatment while we are considering your claim if it is for one or more of the most commonly accepted conditions. This only applies if you are claiming under either the:

You can go to PAMT for details.

Open Arms – Veterans & Families Counselling is here to help

It can take some time to process a claim. While we are processing your claim, we encourage you to get extra support.

Open Arms is a free service available to current and former ADF members and their families.

Open Arms offers:

counselling for individuals, couples and families
case management for clients with more complex needs
group programs to develop skills and enhance support
community and lived experience veteran and family peer workers
after-hours telephone counselling
suicide prevention training
mental health literacy and awareness training
information, education and self-help resources
referrals to other services or specialist treatment programs as needed.

For more information on these services and others, you can contact Open Arms on 1800 011 046. You can also visit their website at openarms.gov.au.

Find an Advocate

Advocates are people who are trained to help you access DVA services and payments. They are generally volunteers and work for one or more ESOs. Advocates can take the stress out of the claiming process for you by helping you prepare and lodge a claim.

If you are looking for advocate, you may like to visit the ‘Finding an advocate’ page on the DVA website.

Your privacy is protected

Go to our privacy page to find out more about how we handle your personal information. This includes what information we can ask for, how we manage it and who we share it with.

What to expect after you submit a compensation claim

For more information about the claims investigation process, visit the What to expect after you submit a compensation claim page.