Who can claim under the DRCA

Find out about the Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation (Defence-related Claims) Act 1988 (DRCA) and who it covers.

The Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation (Defence-related Claims) Act 1988 (DRCA) closed to new compensation and rehabilitation claims on 30 June 2026. All new claims will be determined under an improved Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 2004 (MRCA).

It is important to note that the DRCA legislation does not split initial liability and permanent impairment claims into separate steps. Instead, once an initial liability claim is accepted, DVA looks at all relevant compensation payable. This means:

• If you lodge a claim under the DRCA before 1 July 2026 and your condition is accepted as related to your service (either before or after that date), DVA will:
  • assess how much the condition affects your impairment and loss of function, and
  • decide the lump sum compensation you are entitled to for permanent impairment under the DRCA.
• If your condition gets worse, any new claim for increased impairment will be assessed under the MRCA. 

For claims lodged under the DRCA prior to 1 July 2026, appeal rights under the DRCA will still be available after this date until their relevant review periods expire. Review periods begin at the date the claim was determined and last for a specific period depending on the type of claim. 

Find out about the Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation (Defence-related Claims) Act 1988 (DRCA) and who it covered.

What is the DRCA

The DRCA covered certain ADF service before 1 July 2004, and it provided treatment, rehabilitation and compensation for service-related injuries and conditions.

In 2017, the DRCA replaced the Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 1988 (SRCA) for ADF service. The entitlements under both Acts were the same.

Find out:

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

The DRCA also covered payments and support for dependants following a death related to certain ADF service before 1 July 2004. Go to Comparison of benefits for dependants to find out more.

What service was covered

The DRCA covered:

• most peacetime ADF service between 3 January 1949 and 30 June 2004
• British Nuclear Test defence service
• hazardous and peacekeeping service between 3 January 1949 and 30 June 2004
• operational service between 7 April 1994 and 30 June 2004, including warlike and non-warlike service.

Some service was covered by both the DRCA and the Veterans’ Entitlement Act 1986 (VEA). If DVA accepted an injury or condition under both Acts, your VEA payments may have been reduced so that you weren’t compensated twice for the same condition. This is called compensation offsetting.

Payments that can be affected included:

• Disability Compensation Payment 
• income support payments, such as the service pension.

Go to Disability Compensation Payment and compensation offsetting to find out more.

Service covered by both the DRCA and VEA

Peacetime service was covered under both the DRCA and VEA if it was continuous full-time service (CFTS) between 7 December 1972 and 6 April 1994, but only if either:

• it was CFTS of 3 years or more
• you were engaged for at least 3 years of CFTS but served less than 3 years because you were medically discharged before 7 April 1994.

The period of CFTS may have started before 7 December 1972, as long as it finished on or after that date. Only the portion from 7 December 1972 was covered under both the DRCA and VEA.

If you enlisted before 22 May 1986 and served full-time and continuously until at least 7 April 1994, the entire period of that CFTS between 7 December 1972 and 30 June 2004 was covered under both the DRCA and VEA. If this applies to you, and you later served another period of CFTS, only the period that started before 22 May 1986 was covered under both Acts.

If you were called up for a period of full-time national service in the Regular Army Supplement, and you completed the full period with an end date after 6 December 1972, you were covered under both the DRCA and VEA for your national service after 6 December 1972.

British Nuclear Test service was also covered under both the DRCA and VEA.

You may be covered under both the VEA and DRCA for service before 1 July 2004 that the Minister for Defence declared to be:

• peacekeeping service after 6 December 1972
• hazardous service after 21 May 1986
• operational, warlike or non-warlike service after 6 April 1994.

Contact us if you have questions about whether your service is covered.

What service was not covered

The DRCA didn't cover:

• any ADF service before 3 January 1949
• any period of declared operational service before 7 April 1994.

These types of service were covered under the VEA.

From 1 July 2026

All ADF service has been covered by only the Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 2004 (MRCA) since 1 July 2026. Visit Who can claim under the MRCA for more information.