Your DVA card can get you cheaper public transport, energy bills, council rates, water charges and licences, but DVA doesn't set these discounts. State, territory and local governments, and some businesses, decide what they offer and which cards they accept. What you get depends on where you live, which card you hold, and sometimes on your DVA entitlement, such as a Gold Card printed TPI or EDA, or impairment points from overseas service.
Which DVA cards count as concession cards
- The Pensioner Concession Card (PCC) is the main concession card. DVA sends you one automatically if it pays you the service pension, Income Support Supplement or Age Pension. It's the same card Services Australia issues. A Disability Compensation Payment on its own doesn't give you a PCC, and Veteran Payment recipients don't get a DVA PCC.
- The Commonwealth Seniors Health Card is for veterans aged 60 or over with qualifying service, and some partners and war widow(er)s, who don't get an income support payment because of their income or assets. It gives cheaper medicines, and some states accept it for energy, rates and transport concessions.
- The Gold Card (Veteran Card – All Conditions) and White Card (Veteran Card – Specific Conditions) are health cards. Most state concessions that accept a DVA health card ask for the Gold Card rather than the White Card, and many of the larger ones need a Gold Card printed TPI, EDA or War Widow(er).
A PCC also gives you PBS prescriptions at $7.70 each, a lower Medicare Safety Net threshold, access to the National Diabetes Services Scheme and Hearing Services Program, and discounted mail redirection from Australia Post.
Read DVA's Pensioner Concession Card information
Public transport and train concessions by state
The card you need varies from state to state:
| State | Who qualifies | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| NSW | Any DVA Gold Card, including cards printed TPI, EDA or War Widow | A Gold Opal card, with travel capped at $2.50 a day across the Opal network. It may also get you regional travel discounts |
| NSW | A VEA Disability Compensation Payment for a disability from overseas warlike or non-warlike service, or 10 or more MRCA impairment points from that service | A Transport Concession Entitlement Card for free travel on most NSW public transport |
| NSW | A NSW or ACT Pensioner Concession Card | 4 Pensioner Travel Vouchers a year for NSW TrainLink regional trains |
| VIC | Overseas war, warlike or peacekeeping service, a Gold or White Card or DVA compensation, and a doctor's confirmation that a service-related condition significantly limits your mobility | A free War Veterans Travel Pass (myki) |
| VIC | A Gold Card printed TPI or EDA | The EDA/TPI Ex-service Personnel Pass, a concession myki pass |
| VIC | Overseas war or peacekeeping service and a PCC, Gold Card, White Card or Health Care Card | Concession fares, and free travel during Veterans' Health Week |
| VIC | Current and former ADF members living in Victoria, with a Veterans Card – Victoria | Free public transport on Anzac Day and Remembrance Day |
| QLD | A Gold Card printed TPI or EDA, with a DVA file number starting with Q | A TPI/EDA Veteran Travel Card for free travel on Translink services (not Airtrain), regional buses and some ferries, and one free return trip a fortnight on Queensland Rail long-distance trains |
| QLD | A PCC, or a Gold Card marked War Widow/Widower | 4 Queensland Rail long-distance trips a year |
| WA | A Gold Card, a Disability Pension of 70–100%, or an EDA, POW, TPI or TTI pension | A free Veterans SmartRider for free Transperth travel and parking for your registered vehicle |
| TAS | TPI and EDA pensioners with a Greencard | Free Metro bus travel |
| ACT | Any Gold Card | Free off-peak travel on buses and light rail, and concession fares at peak times |
| ACT | A Gold Card printed TPI or EDA | Free travel at all times, for you and a companion |
Queensland has charged a flat 50-cent fare on all Translink services since 2024, so the old half-price veteran fares no longer apply. Tasmania has made Metro buses free for everyone until 30 June 2027. In WA, war widow(er)s and wholly dependent partners who don't get the Income Support Supplement can get a Veterans SmartRider for concession fares,
Check with the operator before you travel: Transport for NSW, Public Transport Victoria, Translink, Transperth, Metro Tasmania and Transport Canberra. For SA and the NT, use the government concession pages below.
Energy, water and council rates
You apply through your energy retailer, water supplier or council.
- NSW: the $110 Gas Rebate and the Low Income Household Rebate for Gold Card or PCC holders, a pensioner water rebate for DVA card holders, and council rates rebates through your council. The $200 Seniors Energy Rebate is for Commonwealth Seniors Health Card holders.
- Victoria: the annual electricity, winter gas and water and sewerage concessions for PCC, Gold Card and Health Care Card holders. The municipal rates concession needs a PCC or a Gold Card marked TPI, War Widow(er), EDA or POW.
- Queensland: electricity and gas rebates, a council rates subsidy of 20% (up to $200 a year) and a water subsidy of up to $120 a year in South East Queensland, for PCC or Gold Card holders whose card has the Q prefix.
- WA: Gold Card and PCC holders get the Energy Assistance Payment, $377.14 a year credited to a Synergy or Horizon Power account. Apply through your retailer.
- WA council rates and water: if you have a Gold Card printed TPI, EDA or War Widow but no PCC, you can apply for a State Concession Card, which gives rebates on council rates and water charges for the home you own and live in. Veterans on the Special Rate Disability Pension can also apply, with a DVA letter.
Read Synergy's rebates and concessions or WA's State Concession Card
Cars, licences and outdoor concessions
Car registration, stamp duty and driver licence concessions differ in every state, and most need a Gold Card printed TPI or EDA or a DVA letter. They're set out in DVA Gold Card benefits by state.
In NSW, eligible DVA card holders don't pay for a recreational fishing licence and get 50% off boat licence and vessel registration fees. Victoria has its own Veterans Card – Victoria for current and former ADF members living there, separate from DVA's cards, with $100 off one vehicle's registration, free trailer and caravan registration, a fishing licence exemption and a free marine licence.
Read Victoria's concessions for veterans
Concessions in each state and territory
DVA links to each government's own concessions list:
- New South Wales: Service NSW veterans guide
- Victoria: concessions and discounts for veterans
- Queensland: concessions for veterans
- Western Australia: concessions available in WA
- South Australia: SA.GOV.AU concessions
- Tasmania: Tasmanian Government concessions
- ACT: key concessions
- Northern Territory: concessions and payments
Go to DVA's discounts and concessions page
Proving you're eligible
An agency may look at your card (plastic or digital), check it online through Services Australia, or ask for a DVA letter, for example to confirm your impairment points. You can create some DVA letters yourself in MyService, or call 1800 VETERAN (1800 838 372) to have one emailed or posted.
For online checks the agency needs your Veteran File Number, which is on your card, or your 7-digit Unique Identification Number, which is on your PCC and DVA letters. Make sure the address DVA has for you matches the one you give the concession provider.
Business discounts and the Veterans' Covenant
Some businesses offer discounts to Veteran Card holders. DVA doesn't control these offers, so ask the business directly. Current and former ADF members can also ask for recognition through the Australian Defence Veterans' Covenant, which includes a lapel pin, by choosing Veterans' Covenant under Apply now in MyService.
Read about the Veterans' Covenant
Rules that are easy to miss
The Commonwealth Seniors Health Card income test normally uses your last tax return. If you've just retired and last year's income was over the limit, you can ask DVA to use an estimate of this year's income instead. You'll need to send DVA your tax assessment once you have it.
Common questions
Is a DVA Gold Card a concession card?
It's a health card, but many state concessions accept it, especially for energy, water and public transport. If you have a Gold Card and no PCC, check which cards each concession lists. Read about the Gold Card.
Can veterans travel free on trains?
Some can. TPI and EDA Gold Card holders travel free in Queensland and the ACT, and any Gold Card holder can get a free Veterans SmartRider in WA. In NSW, Gold Card holders pay no more than $2.50 a day, and free travel needs a Transport Concession Entitlement Card.
What happens to my concessions if I move interstate?
Your Veteran File Number starts with a letter for the state you lived in when it was issued, and some states, such as Queensland, check it. If you get the service pension, Income Support Supplement or Age Pension from DVA, you must tell DVA about the move, and it will issue a new file number and card. If you don't get income support, you can ask DVA for a new number and card.
Checked against DVA's website on 25 September 2026.