AusVeterans does not provide Attendant Care or other personal care.
Attendant Care is DVA compensation that pays for help with personal care, such as showering, toileting, dressing, grooming and eating, when an accepted service-related condition stops you doing these tasks yourself. DVA assesses what you need and pays for care from a provider you choose, up to a weekly limit of $633.47 under the MRCA from 1 July 2026.
What Attendant Care covers
Attendant Care pays for help with regular and essential personal care tasks you can no longer do because of an accepted service-related injury or condition. It can pay for help with bathing, toileting, grooming, dressing and feeding.
It can't be used for medical or clinical services or nursing care. It may be approved for a limited period, such as while you recover from surgery, or long term if your condition has ongoing effects, for example a spinal or brain injury.
Who can get Attendant Care
You may be eligible if:
- DVA has accepted an injury or condition as related to your service
- that condition stops you doing your regular and essential personal care
- an assessment shows you need help because of it
- you live at home
Unlike Veterans' Home Care, Attendant Care is only for veterans, and the need must come from an accepted condition rather than from ageing or frailty. If your needs come from ageing, you can ask for a Veterans' Home Care assessment on 1300 550 450 instead.
Changes from 1 July 2026
Veterans with conditions accepted under the Veterans' Entitlements Act 1986 (VEA) can now claim Attendant Care. Before 1 July 2026 it wasn't available for VEA conditions. All new claims lodged on or after 1 July 2026 are assessed under the MRCA, whenever you served.
If you already receive Attendant Care under the DRCA, it continues until the renewal date in your determination letter, then DVA reviews it under the MRCA. If your DRCA approval is below the weekly limit, you don't need to do anything. If it's already at the DRCA limit, you can ask DVA to move you to the MRCA earlier to get the slightly higher MRCA limit. If you already get Attendant Care and conditions accepted under the VEA make your personal care harder, you can ask for a reassessment by emailing [email protected].
How to claim
- Complete DVA's Attendant Care Services Claim Form (D1351). Your doctor or another health professional completes part of it, confirming you need the care because of an accepted condition.
- Send it to [email protected] or post it to GPO Box 9998, Brisbane QLD 4001. Keep a copy.
- DVA confirms whether you're eligible and may refer you for an Activities of Daily Living assessment with a health professional such as an occupational therapist.
- DVA decides what care is reasonably required and sends you a written determination setting out the type and level of care and how long it's approved for.
The assessor looks at your personal care needs, who else lives with you and whether it's reasonable for them to help without pay, any medical or nursing care you already get, and whether the care helps you keep living at home or keep working. DVA also considers whether aids and equipment from its Rehabilitation Appliances Program could help you manage on your own.
Get the Attendant Care claim form from DVA
How much DVA can pay
The amount is based on your assessed needs, up to a weekly limit set in law and indexed each 1 July:
| Act your Attendant Care is approved under | Weekly limit from 1 July 2026 |
|---|---|
| MRCA | $633.47 |
| DRCA | $609.74 |
DVA can go above the limit only if it has decided you have a catastrophic injury or disease, such as certain brain, nerve, amputation, burn or blindness injuries. The Attendant Care limit is separate from the Household Services limit. As a general rule, the hourly rate DVA pays depends on the provider's qualifications under the Social, Community, Home Care and Disability Services Industry Award.
Choosing a provider
If Attendant Care is approved, you choose a provider from one of these groups:
- organisations accredited by the Australian Community Industry Alliance (ACIA)
- registered NDIS providers who deliver personal care
- personal care providers registered with My Aged Care
You arrange suitable times with the provider, make sure it only delivers the services DVA approved, and deal with it about any concerns. You can pay the provider and claim the cost back from DVA, or ask DVA to pay the provider directly.
DVA only considers paying a relative or partner to provide the care in exceptional circumstances, such as living in a remote area, significant language barriers or significant cultural expectations. A senior DVA delegate decides these requests on the evidence.
Attendant Care and other DVA support
If you're approved for Attendant Care under the MRCA, you can no longer get Personal Care through Veterans' Home Care, so that VHC service stops. You can still get respite care through VHC. Personal care you get from community nursing or other programs affects how much Attendant Care DVA approves, because DVA won't fund the same care twice. If you need clinical nursing or complex personal care, ask your GP about DVA community nursing.
Getting Carer Payment from Services Australia doesn't stop you getting Attendant Care, but Attendant Care may affect income support payments.
What to tell DVA
Tell DVA if:
- you're getting or applying for services from the NDIS, My Aged Care or another program
- the help you need changes
- you go into hospital or respite, or move into residential aged care
- you plan to move house or travel away from home
If DVA refuses or approves less than you asked for
Read the reasons in your determination letter, then follow its review instructions and deadline. A free advocate from an ex-service organisation can help you decide whether to ask for a review. Read about DVA reviews and appeals.
Other ways to get personal care
Veterans' Home Care can include some personal care for lower levels of need, after an assessment, for Gold and White Card holders. Community nursing provides personal care when a health professional identifies a clinical need. If you're 65 or over, or 50 or over for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness, you can also ask My Aged Care on 1800 200 422 for an assessment for Support at Home, as long as services don't overlap.
Read DVA's Attendant Care information
Read DVA's guide to help with personal care
Rules that are easy to miss
Attendant Care stops from the day you move permanently into residential aged care or palliative care, because the facility provides your personal care. It also isn't paid while you're temporarily in hospital or respite. If you go back home, it can be restarted, possibly after a new assessment.
Attendant Care doesn't pay for companionship, supervision or managing behaviour, for transport, accommodation or meals, or for a carer's costs to travel with you. If a carer needs to come with you to treatment, ask about DVA's treatment travel rules instead. If you're on a rehabilitation plan and need 24-hour care, a professional carer's travel for approved rehabilitation activities can be paid through the plan.
Common questions
What is the DVA attendant allowance?
Attendant Allowance is a separate fortnightly VEA payment for veterans with certain war-caused or defence-caused injuries, such as blindness in both eyes or loss of limbs, who need an attendant. It's closed to new claims from 1 July 2026, but people already receiving it keep getting it. From 20 September to 31 December 2026 it's $444.10 a fortnight at the higher rate and $221.80 at the lower rate. It isn't paid if your carer gets Carer Payment for caring for you, and DVA takes it into account when deciding how much Attendant Care to approve.
Can DVA pay my partner to look after me?
Only in exceptional circumstances, such as living in a remote area or where there are significant language or cultural barriers to using an accredited provider.