Step 3 - Lodge and be granted initial liability for the injuries and illnesses related to your military service

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Although initial liability claim lodgement itself can be relatively simple, ensuring that your claim has sufficient evidence to get accepted is more complicated.

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While there are slight variations depending on which legislation your injury or illness is covered by, all initial liability claims will require the following:

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• Evidence that an injury occurred or that an illness developed

  • Health records

  • Injury/accident reports

  • Statutory Declarations, particularly if health records are insufficient or not available

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• Confirmation of the injury/illness diagnosis

  • Completed and signed diagnosis forms

    • Dentist-signed for dental conditions

    • Psychiatrist-signed for mental health conditions

    • GP/Specialist-signed diagnosis form for other conditions

  • Note there are two Diagnosis Forms that can be used:

    • D2049, a more detailed form useful for when claims are lodged via email (paper-based claim submission) - https://www.dva.gov.au/sites/default/files/dvaforms/d2049.pdf

    • D2987, a simpler form useful when claims are lodged online (through MyService or the ESO portal) - https://www.dva.gov.au/sites/default/files/dvaforms/d9287.pdf

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• A statement that outlines why the injury/illness is considered to be the result or consequence of a veterans military service

  • ​For initial liability claims covered by the VEA or the MRCA, DVA is bound by the Statements of Principles (SOPs) produced by the Repatriation Medical Authority (RMA) when accessing a link between an injury/illness and a veteran’s military service.

  • For initial liability claims under the DRCA, the SOPs are considered a guide and are not legally binding.

  • SOPs are publically available from the RMA website - http://www.rma.gov.au/sops

    • Reasonable Hypothesis SOPs apply if the injury/illness is directly related to warlike/non-warlike service

    • Balance of Probability SOPs apply in all other circumstances

  • It is extremely important that the ‘statement of contention’ aligns to one of more relevant factors in the applicable SOP, especially if the injury/illness is covered under the VEA or the MRCA

  • Additionally, it is not sufficient that a factor applies but that the factor itself is related to the veteran's military service

    • for example, under the Haemorrhoids SOP, one of the potential factors is that a veteran was pregnant at the time of the onset of haemorrhoids

    • for the haemorrhoids to be recognised as being related to the veteran's military service it would therefore be necessary that the pregnancy be related to the veteran’s military service.

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There are several companies that can assist you, once you have a digitised version of your health records, to determine what injuries or illnesses you have suffered and to compile claim evidence packs on your behalf. Some of these will also provide the required diagnosis forms for claimable conditions. Some organisations provide these services for free while others charge a fixed fee or commission if compensation is paid.

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Lodgement options

 

There are multiple ways a veteran can lodge an initial liability claim:

 

1. Submit the claim online via your MyService portal

• upload (if available) relevant evidence and a diagnosis form

• the statement of contention is part of the online claim submission form

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2 & 3. Via email or post:

• complete the appropriate initial liability claim form

  • D2051 for MRCA claims - https://www.dva.gov.au/sites/default/files/2021-08/d2051.pdf

  • D2020 for DRCA claims - https://www.dva.gov.au/sites/default/files/2021-08/d2020.pdf

  • D2582 for VEA claims - https://www.dva.gov.au/sites/default/files/dvaforms/d2582.pdf

• include with the claim submission:

  • proof of identity

  • relevant medical evidence

  • diagnosis form

 

Claims submitted via MyService are registered by DVA within 48 hours.

Claims submitted via email or post are registered by DVA within 3 months.

 

Post lodgement

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Once your initial liability claim is registered, you will receive an acknowledgement letter from DVA. If applicable, that acknowledgement letter will include instructions on how to access the Provisional Access to Medical Treatment Scheme (PAMT) https://www.dva.gov.au/financial-support/compensation-claims/get-treatment-while-you-wait-claim-pamt

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• PAMT is only available to veterans who are not in the permanent forces (SERCAT 7, SERCAT 6, SERVOP C)

• If you transition out of the permanent forces while your initial liability claims are still being determined, you can still access the PAMT scheme, but DVA need to be advised by you of this requirement

• In order for PAMT to be initiated, DVA need to have received the PAMT form signed by a Doctor (GP or Specialist)

• Even once PAMT is authorised, there are specific ways in which you need to obtain treatment in order for DVA to fund this

 

Currently, without prioritisation, initial liability claims are waiting approximately two years before a DVA Delegate is assigned. Prioritisation can be granted by DVA for specific circumstances such as:

• Severe financial distress

• Veteran homelessness

• Initial liability claims relating to Defence abuse

• Pending or post medical discharge

• Terminal illnesses

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If you think your claim should be prioritised, you will need to let DVA know of the specific circumstances and reasons for the prioritisation request.

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Your first initial liability claim lodgement assigns you a place in the ‘initial liability queue’; any claims you submit after this will be grouped together by DVA so that when a Delegate is assigned to you they will deal with all your claims at the same time.

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Depending on how your initial liability claim was submitted and for what condition(s), you may be requested by the Screening Team and/or your assigned Delegate to provide further information if any is missing from your claim submission. This will delay the time taken for the Delegate to determine your claim, so do your best to be thorough.