Household Services, Attendant Care and Veteran Home Care
DVA offers a number of services to assist members of the veteran community who need help at home. These include domestic assistance in and around the home, as well as support to manage personal care tasks.
Eligibility for some of these services will change from 1 July 2026 when DVA will consider all new claims for services under an improved Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 2004 (MRCA).
Back to topWhat personal care and domestic assistance services are available?
Household Services compensation can be provided to assist you with routine domestic tasks in and around your home you can no longer do because of your accepted service-related injury or condition. Common services include assistance with domestic cleaning, laundry, ironing, gardening, lawn-mowing, window cleaning and gutter cleaning.
Attendant Care compensation can be provided to assist with regular and essential personal care tasks you can no longer do because of your accepted service-related injury or condition. Common services include toileting, showering, dressing and grooming. Medical or clinical services and nursing care are not covered by Attendant Care.
The Veterans’ Home Care (VHC) Program offers Domestic Assistance, Home and Garden Maintenance, Personal Care, and Respite Care (In-home Respite, Residential Respite and/or Emergency Short-term Relief) to Veteran Gold Card or Veteran White Card (Specific conditions and/or Non-liability Health Care) holders with functional limitation.
You must be living at home and have an assessed need for support to access these programs.
Back to topAm I eligible?
You may be eligible for Attendant Care or Household Services if you:
- are a veteran;
- are unable to independently manage tasks you were responsible for before you were injured or became ill during your ADF service;
- are assessed as needing services because of an injury or condition that has been accepted as related to your ADF service under the DRCA or MRCA; and
- are living at home.
You will need to lodge a claim for Attendant Care or Household Services to test your eligibility.
You may be eligible for support at home through the Veterans’ Home Care program if you:
- hold a Veteran Gold Card or Veteran White Card (Specific conditions and/or Non-liability Health Care); and
- are living at home; and
- are assessed as having difficulty performing activities of daily living without help due to Functional Limitations.
Service limits and co-payments apply to some VHC services.
Back to topThings I should know
Unlike the VHC program, compensation for Household Services and Attendant Care is only available to veterans.
Attendant Care, Household Services and the VHC Program all offer practical support for eligible persons living at home.
Personal care services such as toileting, showering and dressing provided through Attendant Care services and VHC are not designed to meet complex or clinical care needs. If you have complex or clinical personal care needs, please contact your GP to discuss a referral to the DVA Community Nursing Program.
You may also be eligible for support from other government programs, such as National Disability Insurance Scheme or My Aged Care. Please contact them directly if you think this is the case.
Back to topHow do I apply?
For compensation for Household Services or Attendant care, complete the relevant claim form and send:
- by email to hhs@dva.gov.au.
For support through Veterans’ Home Care Program (VHC):
- Call 1300 550 450 to arrange an assessment.
- The VHC assessor will discuss your circumstances to identify the range, frequency and duration of services required.
- If you are approved for VHC services, you will be linked with a VHC service provider.
What is happening from 1 July 2026?
From 1 July 2026, the Veterans’ Entitlements Act 1986 (VEA) and Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation (Defence-related Claims) Act 1988 (DRCA) will close to new claims for rehabilitation and compensation.
From 1 July 2026, DVA will consider all new claims under an improved Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 2004 (MRCA).
Back to topWhat does this mean for me?
From 1 July 2026, all new claims for Household Services and Attendant Care compensation will be assessed under the MRCA, irrespective of when or where you served, when your injury or illness occurred, or which Act your service-related conditions were previously accepted under.
The VHC Program is not impacted by legislative change and will continue to be available to all eligible Gold and White Veteran Card holders.
The DVA Community Nursing Program is also not impacted by legislative change and will continue to be available to eligible Gold and White Veteran Card holders.
Current MRCA veterans
If you are currently receiving Household Services or Attendant Care services under the MRCA, these services will continue unchanged.
The legislative rules about interactions between VHC and Attendant Care and Household Services compensation will continue to apply. This means you cannot receive Domestic Assistance or Home and Garden Maintenance from VHC if you are receiving Household Services. You cannot receive Personal Care services from VHC if you are receiving Attendant Care.
All eligible Gold and White Veteran Card holders can request an assessment for, or continue to access, Respite Care services through VHC. This is because Respite Care services are only available through VHC.
Current DRCA veterans
From 1 July 2026, if you are already receiving compensation for Household Services and/or Attendant Care, you will continue to receive all of your approved services, without interruption, until the review/renewal date identified in your determination letter. At this point, your services will be reviewed and approved under the MRCA.
Household Services and Attendant Care are the same under MRCA and DRCA, except for the weekly statutory limit.
If you are already receiving services at the DRCA statutory limit, and your needs and circumstances have not changed, you can choose to contact DVA after 1 July 2026 to discuss transitioning your services to MRCA before the end of your approval period. This will give you access to the slightly higher MRCA weekly statutory limit.
Once your services are transitioned to MRCA, the MRCA legislative rules about interactions between VHC and compensation for Household Services and Attendant Care will apply. You will not be able to receive Domestic Assistance or Home and Garden Maintenance from VHC if you are receiving Household Services. You will not be able to receive Personal Care services from VHC if you are receiving Attendant Care.
If you hold a Veteran Gold or White Card you can request an assessment for, or continue to access, Respite Care services through VHC. This is because Respite Care services are only available through VHC.
Current VEA veterans
From 1 July 2026, if you are a veteran with service-related conditions accepted under the VEA and are having difficulties managing domestic or personal care tasks because of these conditions, you will be able to consider lodging a claim for compensation for Household Services or Attendant Care. Previously this compensation was not available for conditions accepted under the VEA.
There are some differences between VHC, Household Services and Attendant Care. Unlike VHC, your need for compensation for Household Services or Attendant Care must be due to conditions that have been accepted as related to your service in the ADF.
For Household Services, you must also have been responsible for doing specific domestic tasks around your home before your service-related injury or disease. DVA is required to consider whether it is reasonable for a member of your household to assist you with specific tasks without being paid to do so.
If your needs are due to the impacts of ageing or frailty, rather than your accepted service-related conditions, you may consider seeking an assessment for VHC services. You can contact the VHC Assessment Agency directly by calling 1300 550 450, and they will organise an appropriate time for your VHC phone assessment.
The VHC Program will not be affected by the legislative change. Therefore, if you are already receiving VHC services, and are happy with them, you can continue to access them after 1 July 2026.
However, if you choose to claim compensation for Household Services or Attendant Care under MRCA, the MRCA legislative rules about interactions between VHC and Household Services and Attendant Care will apply. If you are approved to receive compensation for Household Services, you can no longer receive Domestic assistance or Home and Garden maintenance from VHC. If you are approved to receive compensation for Attendant Care, you can no longer receive Personal Care from VHC.
If you hold a Veteran Gold or White Card you can request an assessment for, or continue to access, Respite Care services through VHC. This is because Respite Care services are only available through VHC.
Current MRCA & DRCA veterans with conditions accepted under the VEA
From 1 July 2026, if you are already receiving Household Services and/or Attendant Care compensation, the impact of your service-related conditions accepted under the VEA can be considered for the first time. You can ask for a reassessment of your compensation if you:
- feel your current Household Services and/or Attendant Care compensation is not meeting your needs; and
- your VEA conditions are contributing to your difficulties managing domestic or personal care tasks.
To request a reassessment, email hhs@dva.gov.au.
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