Looking for clear, reliable information about veteran support? You’re in the right place.
The DVA Community Questions Answered page brings together current topics where there has been confusion or misinformation in the community. This page is your straightforward and reliable source of truth about how DVA support works. It will be updated to provide clear and factual information for the veteran community as new issues or common themes arise.
If you’re looking for more detailed or general information about veteran support and services, you can use the full website search to find the most relevant information on dva.gov.au for your situation.
Top 3 questions
No. You will not lose access to entitlements that you are receiving from DVA prior to 1 July 2026 when the changes commence.
The Veterans’ Entitlements Act 1986 (VEA) and Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation (Defence-related Claims) Act 1988 (DRCA) will close to new claims for compensation and rehabilitation on Tuesday 30 June.
All new claims for compensation and rehabilitation lodged on or after 1 July 2026 will be determined under an improved Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 2004 (MRCA) as the single ongoing Act for veterans’ entitlements.
If you are already receiving a compensation payment under the VEA or DRCA it will be ‘grand-parented’ from 1 July 2026.
This means your payment will continue uninterrupted and be indexed as normal.
All claims for compensation and rehabilitation received before 1 July 2026 will be determined under the tri-Act system of the VEA, DRCA and MRCA.
In summary, your current entitlements will continue uninterrupted, and new rehabilitation and compensation claims received on or after 1 July 2026 will be assessed under a single, improved Act, to simplify and enhance support for veterans and families of veterans.
For more detailed information visit Veterans' Legislation Reform
Yes. Veterans can receive the allied health support they need — including more than $5,000 per year — where there is a valid clinical need.
From 1 July 2027, Veteran Card holders will be able to spend up to $5,000 on allied health services each financial year, based on their individual treatment preferences. This helps support fair access, reduce overservicing, and is part of a significant investment to improve the availability and quality of allied health care for veterans.
This measure includes a mechanism for DVA to consider funding allied health services for veterans above their $5,000 package where there is a valid clinical need. For example, during periods of acute mental health crisis or periods of acute rehabilitation following a major surgery.
These arrangements will come into effect from 1 July 2027, and DVA will continue to communicate with the veteran community about how this will work in practice in the lead-up to implementation.
For more detailed information on Allied Health Services visit Changes for allied health from July 2027
Yes. Veterans can choose their own treating doctor and are encouraged to receive ongoing care from a doctor who knows their medical history.
In most cases, veterans will continue to see their usual GP or specialist. DVA’s preference is to obtain medical evidence from a veteran’s treating doctor wherever possible, as clinical evidence consistently shows this supports better health outcomes.
DVA uses Independent Medical Examinations (IMEs) in a limited number of circumstances, including;
- Where a veteran cannot access a medical provider
- Where the information provided is incomplete or unclear
- Where the claim is complex
- Where there are integrity concerns regarding the evidence
In these cases, DVA arranges an appropriate provider through contracted services to ensure the process is consistent for all veterans, impartial and based on independent clinical advice. DVA cannot influence the outcome of these assessments.
These assessments support administrative decision-making and do not replace the veteran’s treating doctor or their role in providing care.
DVA’s approach is to support veterans to receive care from their own doctor, while ensuring decisions about claims and treatment are informed by independent and appropriate medical evidence where required.
For more detailed information on Independent Medical Examinations visit Strengthening the reliability of medical reports.
More questions
No. The updated framework is designed to support safe and appropriate care, not to reduce access to treatment.
The Medicinal Cannabis Framework puts appropriate guidelines in place to ensure this medication is prescribed appropriately, and importantly, is not over-prescribed or prescribed without appropriate clinical oversight, which can have serious negative health impacts.
Eligible veterans can still access this treatment. The updates to the Framework have been welcomed by both the health and veteran community including by the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists and the RSL.
More detailed information on the medicinal cannabis framework is available Medicinal cannabis
No. You do not need an advocate to submit a claim to DVA. You can lodge a claim yourself through MyService.
More than half of veterans choose to submit their claims themselves and that number is expected to rise with the simplification of legislation from 1 July 2026.
If you would like help with your claim, free, trained advocates are available through ex-service organisations.
You do not need to give up part of your legislated entitlement to receive support.
To find out more about submitting a claim or accessing a free ESO advocate, Making a claim for a service-related condition
More than half of veterans lodge claims themselves through MyService, without needing assistance, and the majority of claims are accepted. With legislative changes from 1 July designed to simplify the system, more veterans are expected to choose this approach.
Importantly, veterans can access many services without needing to go through the claims process — including 24/7 counselling through Open Arms and a range of health and wellbeing supports.
If veterans would like help with a claim, free, trained advocates are available through ex-service organisations. You do not need to give up any part of your legislated entitlement to receive this support.
Improving access continues to be a key focus. We are making services clearer, simpler and more responsive, guided by feedback from veterans and families.
More detailed information on DVA services is available from Veteran Support and Services Guide | Department of Veterans' Affairs
No. It is important to understand the Budget figures relate to average staffing levels over time, not a sudden reduction in people on the ground. Staffing at DVA changes as programs start, expand or come to an end — that’s a normal part of the Budget process.
Importantly, DVA’s workforce today remains significantly higher than it was just a few years ago, growing from a budgeted 2,617 in 2022–23 to 3,417 in 2026-27 to support growing demand and improvements in services.
We are continuing to bring on additional resources in priority areas like claims processing, while also strengthening the range of supports and services available to veterans.
The 2026–27 Budget provides additional funding to strengthen support for veterans and families and to deliver key Royal Commission recommendations.
There will be a mechanism for DVA to consider funding allied health services for veterans above their $5,000 package where there is a valid clinical need.
These changes do not commence until 1 July 2027 and DVA will consult with the veteran and provider community from August 2026 on how the arrangements will work.
The detailed arrangements will be communicated to the veteran community before the new arrangements commence.
To ensure veterans receive quality care, the Medicinal Cannabis Framework stipulates that prescribers must have specialist registration with the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (Ahpra). This includes most general practitioners (GPs) and other medical specialists (e.g. pain medicine physicians, rehabilitation physicians and anaesthetists).
Prescribers who have specialist registration with Ahpra can be found on the Ahpra website. The Ahpra website will not provide detail on which providers prescribe medicinal cannabis. In Australia health practitioners are not allowed to advertise to the public that they are able to prescribe a particular medicine. DVA is not able to publish a list of prescribers.
DVA considers that a patient’s treating GP should be at the centre of a veteran’s care. All veterans, including those who currently access, or who are seeking to access, medicinal cannabis are encouraged to discuss this with their treating GP. It remains best practice for health providers to refer their patients to suitably qualified peers, should they be unable to provide treatment for any reason.
No, DVA does not fund medicinal cannabis for mental health or PTSD treatment.
There is very little evidence that medicinal cannabis is an effective treatment for mental health conditions like PTSD, and there are much more effective treatments available (which DVA does fund). In fact, there is evidence that, medicinal cannabis can have a negative health impact on people with mental health conditions.
DVA funds medicinal cannabis for specific conditions such as chronic pain, chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting, palliative care indications, anorexia and wasting associated with chronic illness, spasticity from neurological conditions and/or refractory paediatric epilepsy in line with the DVA Medicinal Cannabis Framework.