Accepted VEA and DRCA conditions

From 1 July 2026, conditions that have already been accepted under the VEA or DRCA will automatically be recognised under the MRCA. You do not need to reapply or re-establish liability, and your current payments will continue as normal.

No need to claim liability again

From 1 July 2026, the improved Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 2004 (MRCA) recognises conditions that have already been accepted under the Veterans' Entitlements Act 1986 (VEA) or the Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation (Defence-related Claims) Act 1998 (DRCA). You do not need to reapply or re-establish liability for these conditions under the MRCA. From 1 July 2026, your previously accepted conditions will be treated as accepted MRCA conditions.

Your current VEA and DRCA payments

Your payments will continue under your existing VEA or DRCA eligibility. They will be paid and indexed as usual. There is no change to your current payment arrangements.

How liability is assessed from 1 July 2026

The MRCA uses a set of rules called heads of liability to decide whether to accept a claim. To accept liability, you must have rendered defence service and your condition must be linked to that service. Even if there are multiple causes for your condition, liability can still be accepted if your service contributed to a material degree.

Claims are assessed in an order to find the simplest and fastest pathway:

• Presumptive liability is considered first.
• Medical event on duty is the second test. This applies to injuries only (not diseases) that occurred while on ADF duty.
• Other liability tests are applied if the above two do not apply. These include using the Statements of Principles (SoPs), where relevant.

Compensation from 1 July 2026

From 1 July 2026, all new claims after this date for new service-related conditions or for the worsening (deterioration) of existing conditions will be assessed and compensated under the MRCA.

Re-claiming a previously rejected condition

You can lodge a new claim under the MRCA for a previously rejected condition if you have new additional evidence since your last claim and the previous claim has been ‘finally determined’ (ie the appeal timeframe has passed). New legislative provisions such as presumptive liability can be considered 'additional evidence'.

Deaths related to accepted conditions

If a person dies from a condition that DVA has already accepted as service-related, their death is automatically considered service-related. No additional investigation is required.

Further information

Contact DVA for more information about MRCA compensation or if you have questions about your accepted VEA or DRCA conditions.