DVA supports veterans' partners, children and other dependants in several ways. If a veteran's death is related to their service, or the veteran was on certain high-level payments, dependants may get a pension or compensation, their own Gold Card, bereavement and funeral payments, and education help for children. The immediate family of anyone who has served in the ADF can get free counselling from Open Arms – Veterans & Families Counselling on 1800 011 046, at any time.
What changed for families on 1 July 2026
New claims for dependants lodged from 1 July 2026 are assessed under the MRCA. VEA war widow(er)'s and orphan's pensions already granted continue, and DVA still grants them automatically where the veteran was on a qualifying payment. If the veteran died before 1 July 2026 and you claim now, you can get MRCA dependant benefits but not the extra lump sum for a service-caused death.
War widow(er)'s pension and orphan's pension
These VEA pensions compensate the widowed partners and dependent children of veterans who died because of war or eligible defence service. They aren't taxed and aren't affected by other income, except other compensation. Recipients get their own Gold Card. DVA grants them automatically if the veteran was a former prisoner of war or was receiving the Extreme Disablement Adjustment, the Special Rate (TPI), the Intermediate or Temporary Special Rate, or an Additional Disability Compensation Payment for a specific disability.
War widows and widowers may also get the Energy Supplement and Income Support Supplement, which is income and assets tested.
Read about war widow(er)'s and orphan's pensions
Compensation for dependants under the MRCA
Dependants may get compensation if DVA accepts the veteran's death as service related, or if the veteran was eligible for the Special Rate Disability Pension or Additional Disablement Amount at some point, or had 80 or more impairment points. The MRCA recognises three kinds of dependant.
- A wholly dependent partner is a married, de facto or Indigenous custom partner who was living with the veteran, or would have been but for a temporary absence or illness. They can take tax-free weekly payments for life, currently $630.80 (20 September to 31 December 2026), or convert 25%, 50%, 75% or 100% to a lump sum based on age. An extra age-based lump sum is paid if the death was service related.
- An eligible young person is a dependant under 16, or 16 to 25 in full-time education and not working full time. Each gets a lump sum of $115,175.42 and education help. If wholly or mainly dependent, they also get $191.56 a week, a Gold Card and the MRCA Supplement.
- Other dependants, such as parents or siblings the veteran supported, may get a lump sum based on their financial loss and degree of dependence.
Claim with form D2053. DVA can also reimburse the cost of financial and legal advice about the compensation. MRCA dependant compensation can stop or reduce Services Australia income support and family payments, so talk to Services Australia's free Financial Information Service on 132 300 before deciding how to use it. If DVA refuses a claim, a free advocate can help you ask for a review.
Read DVA's compensation for dependants information
Gold Card entitlements for spouses and dependants
A veteran's Gold Card isn't transferred when they die. You get your own Gold Card if you receive the war widow(er)'s pension or orphan's pension, are a wholly dependent partner or eligible young person entitled to compensation for the veteran's death, or are the dependent child of a deceased veteran with operational service and your other parent isn't caring for you. Read about Gold Card eligibility for dependants.
If your partner receives TPI or the SRDP
If a veteran on the Special Rate (TPI) dies, their widow or widower is granted the war widow(er)'s pension automatically and DVA pays the funeral benefit without a claim. If the veteran was eligible for the SRDP or ADA, MRCA dependant compensation and funeral expenses don't depend on the death being accepted as service related. While the veteran is alive, their children may qualify for the education scheme and the family may get the Acute Support Package in a crisis.
Bereavement payments
A bereavement payment is a tax-free payment that helps a surviving partner adjust after the veteran's payments stop. Under the VEA, if the veteran was receiving a Disability Compensation Payment, the partner gets 6 fortnightly instalments at the veteran's rate. If both were on an income support pension, the partner gets the difference between the couple and single rates for 98 days. These are usually paid automatically once DVA is told of the death. Under the MRCA, a wholly dependent partner gets 12 weekly instalments of the veteran's incapacity, permanent impairment, SRDP or ADA payments; claim with form D2053.
To report a death, call 1800 VETERAN (1800 838 372) or email [email protected].
Help with funeral costs
DVA pays a funeral benefit of up to $3,000.00 automatically if the veteran was on the Special Rate (TPI), the EDA, a Disability Compensation Payment with a multiple amputee allowance, or was a former prisoner of war. You can then apply under the MRCA for more, up to $15,530.09, the maximum DVA reimburses where the death is accepted as service related or the veteran was SRDP or ADA-eligible or had 80 or more impairment points. Other veterans' families may get the VEA funeral benefit if they apply within 12 months, for example if the veteran died from an accepted condition, in financial difficulty, or in hospital or a nursing home.
Read DVA's bereavement and funeral information
Education help for children
Since 1 July 2026, the MRCA Education and Training Scheme (MRCAETS) is DVA's only education scheme. Children on the Veterans' Children Education Scheme moved across without reapplying. A child may be eligible if the veteran is or was on the Special Rate (TPI) or EDA, is or was eligible for the SRDP or ADA, has 80 or more MRCA impairment points, was a prisoner of war and has died, or died because of their service. The child must be under 16, or 16 to 25 in full-time education, including apprenticeships, traineeships and cadetships.
The scheme pays an education allowance that isn't means tested: yearly for primary students and fortnightly for secondary and tertiary students. It can also fund tutoring (up to $3,500 a year), special assistance such as speech therapy (up to $3,000 a year), fares, rent assistance, scholarships, and guidance and counselling. Apply in MyService or with form D2697 (under 16) or D2566 (16 and over).
Read about the MRCAETS education scheme
Acute Support Package for families in crisis
If a veteran under 65 is on incapacity payments, the SRDP, the Special or Intermediate Rate or Veteran Payment, DVA can fund practical help when new and challenging circumstances put the family at risk of crisis. Partners and other relatives can apply without the veteran's involvement. A bereaved partner under 65 can apply within two years of a service-related death, including suicide. Help can include childcare, household help, counselling and activities for children. To apply, call 1800 VETERAN (1800 838 372).
Read about the Acute Support Package
Counselling for families
Open Arms offers free counselling to the partners and family members of anyone with one day of continuous full-time ADF service, including some ex-partners. After a death by suicide, parents and siblings can get bereavement support. Call 1800 011 046 at any time. In an emergency, call 000.
Read about mental health support
Rules that are easy to miss
If a veteran lodged a claim before they died, including an initial liability claim that hadn't been decided, the claim continues, and their estate can receive the permanent impairment compensation payable up to the date of death. For deaths from 1 July 2026, the executor or administrator can also choose, within 6 months of DVA's notice, to take that as a lump sum. It's based on the veteran's age at death and leaves out the lifestyle part of the payment. If no claim was lodged before the death, the estate can still claim other compensation owed to the veteran, but not permanent impairment compensation. A veteran who is seriously ill shouldn't hold off lodging claims.
Compensation owed to a veteran who has died is paid into their estate. If DVA decides no one will apply for probate or letters of administration, it doesn't have to pay it, so check with DVA what's owed before deciding a small estate doesn't need probate.
A wholly dependent partner has 2 years from DVA's notice to decide whether to convert weekly payments to a lump sum, and DVA can extend that for special circumstances. The lump sum is based on the partner's age when the veteran died, so taking time to decide doesn't reduce it, and weekly payments are paid from the date of death in the meantime. The choice can't be changed later, and if the partner dies before choosing, their estate can't make it.
If a child with their own Gold Card needs braces, have the orthodontist get DVA's approval and start treatment while the child is still eligible, that is under 16, or 16 to 25 and in full-time education. DVA then keeps paying until the treatment is finished, usually within two years, even if the child's eligibility ends partway through.
If a veteran is seriously ill, lodge their claims now. A claim made before death continues afterwards, and the estate can receive the permanent impairment compensation it would have paid. If the veteran dies without having claimed, the estate can still claim some compensation up to the date of death, but not permanent impairment. Since 1 July 2026, if the veteran claimed but died before choosing a lump sum, the executor can choose to take it as a lump sum within 6 months of DVA's notice.
If a single veteran on the Special Rate (TPI) or Extreme Disablement Adjustment dies and their estate isn't enough to pay their debts and funeral costs, the estate can claim a bereavement payment of 6 fortnights of their pension. This payment isn't automatic. The executor must apply within 12 months of the death.
You don't have to decide about a lump sum straight away. You have 2 years from DVA's letter to choose, and DVA can give you more time if there's a good reason, such as illness or not having had financial advice yet. Weekly payments are backdated to the date of death in the meantime. Once you choose, you can't change it. Taking a lump sum won't increase Income Support Supplement, because DVA still counts the weekly amount you would have received as income.
Common questions
Does DVA pay for funerals?
In the cases set out above. If the ADF paid for a military funeral because the member died in service, DVA doesn't pay as well.
Does DVA pay for funerals for war widows?
A funeral benefit may be paid when an eligible veteran's dependant dies, such as a war widow or widower. Apply within 12 months of the death.
Does the war widow's pension stop if I remarry?
No. DVA says an existing war widow(er)'s pension isn't affected if you remarry or enter a de facto relationship.
Can a spouse get a DVA pension while the veteran is alive?
Partners, separated partners and widows or widowers of veterans may be eligible for Service Pension Partner, which is income and assets tested. Some partners must also be over a certain age.
Checked against DVA's website on 25 September 2026.