DVA lawn mowing and gardening services

Who can get lawn mowing and gardening through DVA

DVA pays for garden help through Household Services. It's compensation for jobs around the home that you can no longer manage because of a condition DVA has accepted as linked to your service. Section 213 of the Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Act (MRCA) defines household services as domestic work needed to run and maintain your home, and it names gardening alongside cooking, cleaning and laundry.

A Gold or White Card doesn't by itself mean DVA will pay for mowing. The garden work has to be approved in a written decision, called a determination, which lists the tasks, the amount of help and the dates it covers. Being assessed, or having sent in a claim, isn't the same as being approved.

The job has to be one you did yourself

Household Services replace work you used to do, not work you used to pay someone else to do. DVA's policy quotes the example Parliament was given when the law was written: if you paid a lawn mowing contractor before your injury or illness, DVA won't supply lawn mowing, however hard mowing is for you now.

DVA also looks at whether it's really your accepted condition that stops you. It won't approve garden help because of ageing on its own, because a job was always unsafe and would normally go to a professional, or because a gardener you used to pay has become too expensive.

So when you claim, say which garden jobs you did yourself before your injury or illness, and which ones you can't do safely now.

Garden work DVA can approve

DVA's policy lists lawn mowing and gardening as household services. In practice that means the routine upkeep of your yard, such as mowing, edging, weeding and keeping paths clear of leaves, along with other regular garden jobs your assessment finds you can't manage.

The same policy lists a few outdoor jobs that people often don't think to ask for:

• gutter cleaning, which we also do (DVA gutter cleaning)
• solar panel cleaning
• chopping and stacking firewood you've bought

Jobs that come up every so often, rather than on a regular schedule, have to be written into your approval with how often they can happen. DVA's own example is pool cleaning approved up to three times a year. If there's a garden job you only need a few times a year, raise it at your assessment so it's included.

What DVA won't pay for in the garden

DVA treats some outdoor work as home maintenance, or as a job for a tradesperson, and these aren't household services even if you always did them yourself. Its policy rules out:

• anything to do with trees, including removing, lopping, trimming, drilling or treating them
• landscaping
• laying synthetic lawn
• pest control
• taking away big rubbish, such as old furniture or whitegoods that won't fit in your bins
• repairing fences, doors or windows, and painting

If one of these jobs needs doing, it has to be arranged outside your DVA approval. We only do work that your approval covers.

Mowing on a rural or semi-rural block

If you live on acreage, DVA won't pay to mow the whole property. Its policy, which is based on two tribunal decisions, limits mowing to the land around the house that you use in everyday life. That area has to be next to your home, used mainly for private and domestic purposes, and no bigger than 2 hectares.

In those tribunal cases, a 5.06 hectare block was narrowed down to a smaller area around the house, while all of a low-maintenance 1.25 hectare block was included. The area DVA will fund is usually worked out during your assessment, from what the assessor sees of the property and how you use it.

Two other points catch people out on rural land:

• If the ground is too steep to mow safely with an ordinary slasher or tractor, DVA may decide it's the slope, not your condition, that stops you, and not approve it.
• If you move to a bigger or rural block knowing you won't be able to look after it, more mowing isn't automatic. DVA looks at why you moved. It can approve more help if, for example, the move helps you manage your condition or puts you near a strong support network. Explain your reasons at the assessment.

If you rent

You can get lawn mowing and gardening whether you own your home or rent it. What matters is whether the yard is your responsibility. If your lease says you look after the lawns and garden, show it to the assessor. If you don't have a copy, the assessor can check with your agent or landlord.

The job still has to be one you did before your injury or illness. DVA's policy uses pool cleaning as the example: if you move into a rental with a pool and never had one before, a lease that makes you responsible for it isn't enough for DVA to approve it.

How to apply

You apply with DVA's Claim for Household Services Compensation form, D9319. Describe the garden jobs you need help with and how your condition affects each one, in everyday terms. "I need a gardener" tells DVA much less than a description of which jobs you used to do, which you can still manage, and which you can't do safely any more.

You can email the form to [email protected] or post it to Department of Veterans' Affairs, GPO Box 9998, Brisbane QLD 4001. Keep a copy and note the date you sent it. Send it only to an address DVA has approved: under the MRCA, a claim emailed anywhere else doesn't count as lodged.

You can also make the claim by phone, and it's dated the day you make it. A trained veterans' advocate can help with the paperwork.

The assessment

After you claim, DVA may arrange an assessment of how you're managing at home. It's normally done by an occupational therapist (OT), a health professional who looks at how you manage daily tasks. Let DVA arrange it. Don't book a private assessment expecting DVA to pay for it.

This is where the garden details are settled, including the area around the house on a rural block and any occasional jobs. The OT will also ask about help through the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS), because DVA and the NDIS can't both pay for the same services.

Reading your approval

DVA's decision comes as a written determination. It sets out what's approved, how much, and the start and end dates, and it includes your review rights. DVA's policy is that new approvals and renewals run for five years. A shorter period can apply, for example for short-term help after surgery.

Before any garden work starts, check four things in your approval:

• the task, for example lawn mowing and gardening
• the amount of help, as hours, visits or a limit
• how often, such as each fortnight or a total for the year
• the start and end dates

Garden approvals are often written as a yearly total rather than a visit every fortnight. "28 hours per year" means 28 hours in total. At two hours a visit, that's 14 visits, not a mow every fortnight all year, which would use about 52 hours. Gardening hours can't be moved to cleaning, and missed visits can't be saved up, unless your approval says so.

Booking your lawn mowing and gardening with us

Under Household Services you choose your own provider, and the arrangement is between you and them. DVA decides what help is reasonable and pays for it. Once your approval includes garden work, send us an enquiry with:

• your DVA file number
• your claim reference
• your TRN
• a copy of your current approval letter

We invoice DVA directly through its Provider Upload Page, within your approval, so you don't pay. When you enquire, tell us roughly how big the yard is, which jobs are approved and anything that makes access tricky, like a locked side gate or a steep block.

Visits can only go ahead while your approval is current. DVA can't legally pay for work done without a current determination, so keep an eye on your end date. If the dates on your letter have passed, ask DVA about your renewal before booking.

When your situation changes

If you go into hospital, respite or away

Tell DVA. Your regular visits are put on hold, because DVA only pays for help while you're living at home. If you'll be away for a long stretch, DVA's policy allows a lawn mow and a house clean just before you come home, so ask for them.

If your condition gets worse

You can ask DVA to review your approval during the approval period. That applies if your accepted condition gets worse, or if someone in your home who did some of the garden work moves out. Explain which jobs are now going undone.

If DVA plans to reduce or stop your help

DVA's policy is to give you at least 28 days' notice before it reduces or stops approved services, so you have a fair chance to send more evidence or explain a change.

Household Services or Veterans' Home Care for the garden

Veterans' Home Care (VHC) is a separate DVA program for Gold Card holders and some White Card holders. It includes home and garden maintenance, such as lawn mowing and cleaning gutters, up to 15 hours in a 12-month period, with a small co-payment. VHC has its own assessment, and its services are delivered by providers DVA contracts for the program.

The two programs don't both pay for the same work. If DVA approves Household Services for you under the MRCA, you can't also get VHC home and garden maintenance. Compare Veterans' Home Care and Household Services.

Read DVA's Household Services information