Medical and allied health in aged care

This page helps aged care teams arranging health services for residents with a DVA Veteran Card including travel to off-site appointments.

GP and medical specialists

DVA clients can choose to keep their own doctor and/or specialist/s after they begin living in your aged care home, if they are local to your facility. Those services continue to be funded under DVA Veteran Card arrangements.

It is expected that the aged care home team will help DVA clients to make appointments and access GPs and/or specialists of their choice. These appointments can be either offsite or at the aged care home. Clients can use their Veteran Card - All Conditions to pay for all medical appointments, including admission into hospital. Veteran Card - Specific Conditions holders can use their card to pay for medical appointments, including admission into hospital, only when it relates to their specific DVA accepted condition.

 Veteran Card - All Conditions and Veteran Card - Specific Conditions holders and their attendant can access travel assistance for offsite medical appointments for treatment covered by their veteran card. The aged care team should arrange this for the client.

Allied health

Under AN-ACC aged care homes are funded to provide access to the allied health care services clients require. It is the responsibility of aged care home teams to help clients make appointments with the allied health care provider(s) they require.

DVA will only pay for an allied health service if the facility is not otherwise funded to provide that service. For example, if an aged care home offers only group physiotherapy sessions and not individual sessions for residents then a DVA client may access individual sessions with a physiotherapist.

The aged care home must work out if the client’s need for the allied health service is outside of the services available through the standard funding or if the client may be eligible for additional allied health treatment.

DVA may fund allied health treatment for Veteran Card - All Conditions holders and Veteran Card - Specific Conditions holders (if their treatment is for a DVA accepted condition) following a stay in hospital, for a chronic health condition, an injury or surgery which requires further or ongoing rehabilitation. Please note the treatment cycle arrangements apply to these services.

Find out more on the dental, psychology and allied health professionals page.

Dental services

Good oral health is an important part of a resident’s overall health. DVA clients with a Veteran Gold Card and Veteran White Card (if their treatment is for a DVA accepted condition) can access clinically required dental services.

Find out more on the dental service providers page.

Optical services

DVA clients with a Veteran Card - All Conditions and Veteran Card - Specific Conditions where the treatment is for a DVA accepted condition that affects their vision, may be able to receive DVA funded optical services.

Eligible clients living in residential aged care over 65 years may access 1 appointment with an optometrist or ophthalmologist every year and a second appointment if eligible under a progressive eye disorder that needs review.

DVA will fund one pair of glasses with multifocal lenses or one pair of reading glasses and one pair of distance glasses.

Find out more on the optical dispensers page.

Travel for treatment

Veteran Card holders and their travel attendant may be eligible to access transport assistance to and from medical treatment covered by their Veteran Card.

Travel for treatment includes the Booked Car with Driver Scheme, emergency and non-emergency ambulance and reimbursement of travel expenses.

A travel attendant (normally the client’s partner, family member or friend) is someone who is responsible, competent and able to help with physical, emotional or logistical needs of the Veteran Card holder while they are travelling to treatment. They do not need any medical qualifications or training.

DVA cannot pay the salary or cost for a healthcare worker or qualified nurse to assist the client to travel for treatment.

Find out more on the travel for treatment bookings page.

DVA has created a poster to help you and your team understand who is eligible for BCWD and where clients can travel using the service. Download the poster now from our aged care provider resources page.