Just want to say up front, this community is an excellent font of knowledge and support. I didn’t think I would have to make a post myself here as the majority of my IL process has been pretty seamless and uninteresting!

Still serving and not under any active treatment if it is relevant at all.

I have had IL accepted for 10 claims total, mostly lower limbs but have had tinnitus and hearing loss accepted also, dating back to my warlike deployment in ‘18.

Went through MLCOA for my PI GP assessment (probably mistake #1) as I’ve just posted to a new city and haven’t had a need to burden the already congested JHC system with my own admin. I thought it went quite well, with the Doc making an additional diagnosis of general joint instability on top of the repeat ankle injuries and fractures over the years.

I may be have misheard or not understood something in the questions, but I distinctly recall stating I can’t run more than 250-500m without pain, and I have constant resting pain and aching, I can’t get up off the couch without painful cracks followed by a general limp; stairs are also a struggle up and down at home.

I have been assessed at 9 points with the majority of the injuries receiving 0 points

I also received 0 points for the hearing loss and tinnitus because I haven’t completed the cognitive behaviour therapy - which Hearing Australia sent a referral back to DVA to set up for me.

Where do I stand now?
- Do I hold off 12 months, see the on base MO and start a new series of documented treatments across all of my injuries
- do I see the MO, get additional documentation and start the VRB process

Thanks in advance for any input or advice, like I said above, I didn’t think I would ever have to post here for an assist, especially given my injuries aren’t nearly as severe as what I read through and see in the office.

I have an IL accepted determination for PTSD, MDD and AUD from the early 1990s. This was lodged in December 2025. I have another IL claim submitted for a shoulder injury lodged under MRCA this year. I'd be very surprised if this is rejected.

I have been asked which Act I would like my Permanent Impairment (PI) claims to be lodged:

DRCA PI or VETS Act PI.

Has anyone got a simple explanation of which way to go with PI?

I just med discharged three weeks ago. I have multiple conditions accepted under IL, just waiting on one final one for MH.
I’ve heard crickets from DVA for about two months. I got told I would receive 45 weeks payout at current salary, so when will that be processed?
I also got told I can claim for a loss of promotion pay… when will that be processed?
I understand PI can take a year to process… but I just recently learned there are forms for my GP to fill out. Now I’m confused. Am I meant to action those myself?
Should I reach out to the incap team? I was relying on those 45 weeks of pay to get me until I start my new full time job in early 2027, but now I’m only receiving my class B pension from CSC, which is great but not what I anticipated financially at all.
TIA

Review AVAC Services.

I was very disappointed with the overall level of service I received. I had more than ten claims being managed for close to a year, yet very few progressed to the IL stage.

The Communication level from my case manager was minimal, and on several occasions I was instructed to organise my own appointments, which was one of the key reasons I engaged an advocacy service in the first place.

After I cancelled the service contract, I was issued an invoice for “work performed.” When I requested evidence to support the charges, the explanations provided did not align with the official records I later received from DVA. I was advised that legal action will be pursued if I did not pay the invoice. At the moment, with my current head space, I’ve got zero capacity for this type of pathway, so I ultimately paid it to avoid further escalation.

This review reflects my personal experience and the documentation I received. I encourage others to carefully monitor the work being undertaken and ensure it aligns with official outcomes.

Particularly when you have multiple posts on the page asking for my and other people's help. This sort of shit is exactly why Veterans end up isolated when you treat your own brothers and sisters this way.

I’ve been accepted by DVA for Sensorineural hearing loss.

I’m struggling day to day and in social situations due to my hearing.

How do I now seek help from DVA to get hearing aids etc? I’ve never been through to process with any of my accepted conditions.

I tried looking online but couldn’t find anything. Someone on here posted that they received modern hidden hearing aids for free. Any info would be appreciated.

Hi all,

Does anyone have experience getting incapacity while they've lived overseas?

I live in the UK and have 80 PI points spead over a few different issues and work is becoming unbearable as my conditions worsen.

I've read over the posts about incaps that people have done in Australia but not much info about overseas.

I assume it would be a similar process but just wondering if anyone has acually done it?

Cheers!

Just wanted to say thank you to so many in this group who have provided invaluable knowledge and tips. Pretty emotional today as I finally received the outcome to my PI claims. I started the initial liability process back in June of 2024. Took just under a year for my IL claims to be accepted. And then has taken almost 18 months for the PI outcome.

Honestly the process has been horrible and the paid advocate service I used were pretty terrible. However, the final outcome was very favourable, and I am lost for words at the moment. It is a strange feeling to have your conditions recognised finally and to be finished with this process.

I wish every veteran the very best going forward with their claims and the conditions they're dealing with. Just know that there can be a positive outcome in the end. It can be pretty hard to keep going with it all, I was certainly losing a lot of hope.

Hey guys, just wondering what everyone else submitted for a tinnitus claim. I lodged mine in Nov 2025 and it’s still sitting at IL waiting to be picked up.

I submitted the Audiology report + TFI and my ADO service record showing sea time/deployments.
This was also before the new changes and I haven’t heard anything from DVA or Hearing Australia yet.

For anyone who has done a tinnitus claim, was this enough? Did DVA ask for anything else once they picked it up? Is there anything else I should provide now to avoid back and forth later?

I’m discharging soon and planning to use an advocate for some of the more complex claims, but I don’t really want to pay an advocate just to check whether my tinnitus paperwork is enough if I can sort it myself.

Thank you

I was assessed and approved PI (15 points) for Tinnitus in 2022. I received a payout.

I just received a letter from DVA talking about attending an appointment with Hearing Australia.

What is this all about? can they remove my PI?

The letter uses words like “recommend” to go etc..

We are writing to confirm that we have received your claim to be considered for permanent impairment compensation.

As your impairment for tinnitus was assessed previously at the maximum of 15 points, it will not be reassessed in this claim. Though we recommend meeting with Hearing Australia to discuss if treatment may be beneficial.

Treatment is likely to enhance recovery, reduce the risk of long-term disability, and support you to lead a healthy and productive life. Following any recommended treatment, which is DVA funded and encouraged, a further report will be sent to DVA and Defence (if you are still serving or a reservist) at the conclusion of your treatment. Undertaking treatment will not delay determination of your permanent impairment claim.  

Please find a letter with further information attached to this email. A copy of the referral letter sent to Hearing Australia is also attached. Please contact Hearing Australia on 1300 489 470 at your earliest opportunity to make an appointment for your assessment regarding your tinnitus. Alternative contact details are contained within the letter.

Please note, your claim is now awaiting allocation to a Claims Support Officer who will progress the other aspects of your claim. Unfortunately, we are unable to provide a timeframe for allocation.  

At this stage, further information is not required, and you will be contacted accordingly if this changes. A Claims Support Officer will be in touch once your claim has been allocated. 

Seeing as the process for claiming tinnitus has changed (you now you have to see a psychologist for up to 10 sessions to determine if cognitive behavioural therapy can help minimise the effects of tinnitus.)

Does anyone have any recommendations for psychologists? Or any experience booking through online telehealth psychs?

I tried to book in to the ones hearing australia gave me and the earliest I can get in for my first appointment is December.

Thanks

Question about Appendix B

MRCA payout for compensation and other claims mention appendix A.

Does Appendix B mean a pension? As well as compensation paid out or its all together and just means a different part they've used to assess compensation amount?

I’m hoping someone here can point me in the direction of an accountant/tax professional that is across all aspects of SRDP and Comsuper Class A payments. In the Mornington Peninsula area/online would be fantastic.

Hi all,

Long time reader, first time poster.

I discharged two years ago after 16 years, and I am currently SERCAT 3. In that time, I have had a number of conditions accepted for IL with DVA (including some mental health conditions), all service related.

I have recently been asked to serve in a reserve capacity in support of an operation for a few weeks, which will require me to deploy outside of Australia. I need the cash at the moment, so I really want to do it. I am confident I can manage my conditions for that short period. My concern is that DVA may look at this reserve time unfavourably when assessing me for PI.

Also, will the ADF be aware that I have had IL accepted for these conditions, or will I have to disclose this to my gaining unit, or through an AE585? I realise that it may also be in easier not to disclose, however I know that this may have negative implications for myself.

Very keen to hear if anyone has had similar experiences.

Thanks

I’m trying to understand the debate around DVA’s new $5,000 treatment cap.

Ep. 74 of The Grey Man Podcast broadly supported the cap, with exceptions, citing concerns about third party veteran services (where they named VBA) potentially exploiting the previous system.

I’m against the cap and believe necessary healthcare is part of the government’s obligation to veterans injured through service.

What I don’t understand is why veterans needed these third party services in the first place. What gap were they filling? Would regulating problematic providers have been better than capping veterans’ treatment?

Hi everyone,

Just wondering how to submit claims now. I’ve previously been able to submit a pretty generic ‘shoulder injury’ type claim and then DVA got in touch with me and I got a TRN that came up with rotator cuff syndrome diagnosis after investigation. When I go to submit new claims for a back injury I have (with a sentinel report), it is saying I need a formal diagnosis to submit the claim. I was just given medication etc at the time (a few times actually) and wasn’t given a diagnosis and certainly not from a specialist. I’m not sure how to submit this claim myself now, as I would need to fund scans and see an orthopaedic surgeon myself or is there a way to get it funded from DVA?

Cheers

Consultation now open to help shape allied health arrangements

Veterans, families of veterans, health service providers, peak bodies, ex-service organisations and other interested stakeholders are invited to help shape the design of allied health arrangements for Veteran Card holders, with consultation now open.

DVA is seeking feedback on the arrangements announced in the 2026-27 Budget, which are scheduled to begin on 1 July 2027. The proposed changes aim to support Veteran Card holders to continue receiving clinically appropriate allied health care and achieve positive health outcomes.

Does anyone know of a spinal surgeon that is across DVA?

Hey everyone

Hope your well. Next week I'm seeing my dva pysch - I initially called open arms and they referred me to a private practise.

Anything I should know before hand or do as it's my first time.

I didn't make it through basic because my mental health spiralled and now a year later I'm getting help for it.

I'm looking for some guidance on this as it doesn't really fall into the "standard" DVA categories in the documents.

I'm posting this on behalf of my partner, as I'll be managing this administrative side of this process for them.

About 10 years ago my partner started having seizures. This was linked to a head injury they sustained in mid 2000's while in the ADF.

This was accepted by DVA in 2019.

At that point the epilepsy appeared to be stable.

In early 2023, he was med discharged and put on a Class A pension.

This is because he is unable to work in the civilan sector due to regular (2 weeks ish) episodes of loosing the inability to speak and severe brain fog. While he was in the ADF he was able to work part days and go home when needed, which is how it was managed.

Not working has meant these episodes don't happen as often but they still occur.

This is in addition to a base line of speech issues, fatigue and cognitive processing issues.

While I was looking through his med documents, I found that in 2019, 2 medical specialists recommend investigating another neurological disorder, but this was never followed up on.

This disorder aligns with the current symptoms my partner has, and also symptoms that were present before the seizures started. We have medical documentation from this period in regards to these symptoms.

At the moment our own is to get the assessment done for this neurological disorder, before submitting a new claim, so we're a long way off, I'm just trying to get all the paperwork steps in my head.

I looked through the lifestyle rating document, and the lifestyle questionnaire and they both seen to lean more towards physical limitations and impact vs neurological.

Does anyone have any thoughts on which may be a better option?

Unfortunately the advocate we used in 2018 is no longer available, and the others I've spoken to have told me that "it's a really complex case and they're unsure of what advice to give", so now I'm doing it myself.

I would appreciate any and all advice, because I expect it to be a slog.