DVA window cleaning services

Window cleaning under Household Services

A Household Services determination may include window cleaning when the work is reasonably required and cannot be performed safely because of an accepted service-related condition. DVA's policy lists window cleaning as part of domestic cleaning, alongside dusting and vacuuming.

A Gold or White Card doesn't by itself mean DVA will pay for window cleaning. It has to be approved in your written determination, which sets out 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.

Who is eligible

You may be eligible if you can't clean your windows safely because of a condition DVA has accepted as linked to your service, and DVA assesses that you reasonably need help. DVA has to have accepted the condition before it can pay for household help. From 1 July 2026 all new claims are assessed under the MRCA. If you already have an approval under the DRCA, it carries on for the period it was approved for.

What window cleaning can include

The approved service may cover accessible internal or external glass. Screens, tracks, upper-storey windows and work requiring specialist access depend on the determination and the property.

Window cleaning often doesn't need doing every week. DVA's policy says 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 you want your windows done a few times a year, raise it at your assessment so the frequency is written into your approval.

Window cleaning can sit alongside other cleaning in the same approval. We do regular house cleaning and gutter cleaning too.

What DVA won't pay for

DVA's policy treats repairs to windows, doors and fences, painting, and other home maintenance as outside Household Services, even if you always did them yourself. More generally, DVA won't fund work a householder would normally hire a professional for.

If a window job needs a tradesperson, such as fixing a cracked pane or a broken track, it has to be arranged outside your DVA approval. We only do work your approval covers.

The job has to be one you did yourself

Household Services replace work you used to do yourself and can't manage any more because of your accepted condition. If you always paid a window cleaner before your injury or illness, DVA won't take that over. DVA also won't approve window cleaning because of ageing on its own, or because a cleaner you used to pay for has become too expensive.

When you claim, say how you used to clean your windows, how often, and what stops you doing it safely now.

If other people live with you

DVA has to consider who else lives in your home, their ages, and how much they could reasonably be expected to do. It doesn't expect the people you live with to give up work, study, sport or community commitments to take on extra housework. When you claim, explain who lives with you and what they already do.

How to apply

Claim with DVA form D9319, Claim for Household Services Compensation. Describe the jobs you need help with and how your condition affects each one, in everyday terms. Saying which windows you can still reach and which you can't tells DVA far more than "I need a window cleaner".

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, because 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.

If filling in the form is hard, a trained veterans' advocate can help. Ask about any fees before you agree to their help.

Read how DVA Household Services work

The assessment

After you claim, DVA may arrange an assessment of how you manage at home. It's normally done by an occupational therapist (OT), a health professional who looks at how you manage daily tasks. DVA has to request the assessment itself. If you book a private one, DVA has no way to pay for it.

DVA also checks whether you already get help at home from somewhere else, such as Veterans' Home Care, the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS), My Aged Care or your local council. The same help can't be paid for twice, so tell the OT about any window cleaning you already get.

Reading your approval

DVA's decision comes as a written determination with your review rights. DVA's policy is that new approvals and renewals run for five years, although a shorter period can apply, for example for short-term help after surgery. Before any window cleaning starts, check four things:

• the task, for example window cleaning or domestic cleaning
• the amount of help, as hours, visits or a limit
• how often, such as a number of times a year
• the start and end dates

Keep separate limits separate. Unused hours for one task can't be moved to another, and missed visits can't be saved up, unless your approval says so. If two cleaners work for an hour each, that uses two service hours.

Window cleaning with AusVeterans

Under Household Services you choose your own provider, and DVA pays for the help it has approved. We invoice DVA directly through its Provider Upload Page, within your approval, so you don't pay. Once your approval includes window cleaning, send us an enquiry with:

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

Tell us roughly how many windows you have, whether you want them done inside, outside or both, and whether there are sliding doors, screens or upstairs windows. Visits can only go ahead while your approval is current, because DVA can't pay for work done without a current determination.

When your situation changes

If you go into hospital, respite or away

Tell DVA. Your regular services 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 house clean and a lawn mow just before you come home.

If your needs change

You can ask DVA to review your approval during the approval period, for example if your accepted condition gets worse, or if someone in your home who used to help moves out.

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 windows

Veterans' Home Care (VHC) is a separate DVA program for Gold Card holders and some White Card holders. Its home and garden maintenance includes cleaning internal and external windows, gutters, ceiling fans and split-system air conditioners, 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.

You can't use both programs for the same work. Once DVA approves Household Services for you under the MRCA, you can't also get VHC home and garden maintenance. If DVA decides you don't need Household Services, you can ask for a VHC assessment on 1300 550 450. Compare Veterans' Home Care and Household Services.

Read DVA's Household Services information