Who can claim under the MRCA

Information about the Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 2004 (MRCA) and who it covers.

What is the MRCA

The MRCA covers current and former ADF members with service after 30 June 2004. It provides treatment, rehabilitation and compensation for service-related injuries and conditions.

However, the Veterans' Entitlements Act 1986 (VEA) and the Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation (Defence-related Claims) Act 1988 (DRCA) closed to new compensation and rehabilitation claims on 1 July 2026, and all new claims will be determined under an improved MRCA.

Who is covered

You are covered under the MRCA as a current or former member of the ADF if you have served as a:

• permanent member of the ADF
• member of the Reserve Forces
• cadet, officer or instructor of cadets
• person getting assistance under the Career Transition Assistance Scheme under an arrangement approved by the ADF
• person who holds an honorary rank or appointment in the ADF and performs acts at the request or direction of the Defence Force
• person who performs acts at the request or direction of the Defence Force as an accredited representative of a registered charity
• person declared in writing by the Minister for Defence to be a member of the ADF under the MRCA.

What is not covered

There are some situations the MRCA doesn’t cover. You can find details in Chapter 2 Part 4 of the Act. Your injury or condition may not be covered if:

• it was caused by a serious default or wilful act you committed, such as being under the influence of alcohol or drugs or being involved in a serious breach of discipline
• it happened because of reasonable counselling about your performance, or not getting a promotion
• you made a false representation, such as not declaring you already had the condition when you enlisted
• it happened during travel that isn’t covered, such as a non-work related detour
• it was caused only by your use of tobacco products.

Most of these rules apply even if the injury or condition has left you seriously and permanently impaired, but there are some exceptions. 

Who can lodge a claim

You can either lodge a claim for compensation yourself, or approve someone to lodge it on your behalf.

Go to How to claim under the MRCA for information about claiming, including how to get help with making a claim.

The Rehabilitation Commission (RC) can appoint someone to lodge a claim on your behalf if you are not capable of approving someone to do so.

Your legal personal representative can lodge a claim after your death, or if you are legally disabled. If you don't have a legal personal representative who is able to lodge your claim, the RC can appoint someone to claim on your behalf. If we owe you compensation after death, we will pay it to your estate.

Permanent impairment payments cannot be paid to your estate after death.

If you die as a result of your service and you have dependants, they may be able to claim compensation. Visit Compensation for dependants under the MRCA for details.

How service type affects your eligibility

All types (or classifications) of ADF service are covered under the MRCA, and include peacetime, warlike, operational and peacekeeping service.

The type of service can affect your claim in two ways. It determines the:

• standard of proof we use to establish liability (ie. the more-generous ‘reasonable hypothesis’ standard applies to all service except peacetime service)
• rate of any permanent impairment payments (for example, if you suffered an injury while on a deployment classified as warlike service, you may receive a higher rate of payment than if you had suffered the same injury on peacetime service).

How to claim under the MRCA has more details.

Where to get help

Contact us if you have questions about whether you can claim under the MRCA.

Find out about:

• what help you can get under the MRCA
• how to claim under the MRCA.

Many ex-service organisations have advocates who are trained to help you with questions about claiming. You can use the Advocate Register to find one near you.

You can also nominate:

• a friend or family member to be our contact person for your claim
• someone you know and trust to act on your behalf for all DVA matters.

If you have nominated someone to act on your behalf, they can submit a claim for you online by registering for their own MyService account.

If you need counselling or support

You may be able to get free mental health treatment without needing to lodge a claim for a mental health condition. For details and to find out if you’re eligible, go to Non-Liability Health Care (mental health) for veterans.

Open Arms – Veterans & Families Counselling is a free and confidential 24-hour service for current and ex-serving ADF members and their families. Call 1800 011 046 or go to their website to get support or find out more.