Veterans' Home Care (VHC) is DVA's program of practical help at home for Gold Card holders and some White Card holders. It covers domestic help, personal care, respite, and home and garden maintenance, for a small co-payment. It's one of several DVA programs for help at home.
What Veterans' Home Care covers
- Domestic assistance, such as house cleaning, dishwashing, washing clothes and linen, bed making, shopping from a list, meal preparation and paying bills.
- Personal care, such as help with showering, toileting, dressing, grooming and eating.
- Respite care, at home or in an aged care home, so your carer can have a break, plus emergency short-term relief at home if your carer suddenly can't care for you.
- Home and garden maintenance, such as lawn mowing, cleaning gutters and windows, ceiling fans and split-system air conditioners, changing light bulbs and minor repairs.
How much Veterans' Home Care you can get
It depends on your assessed needs. As a guide, DVA lists:
- domestic assistance as required
- up to one and a half hours a week of personal care
- up to 196 hours of in-home respite, or 28 days of residential respite, or a mix of both within that total, each financial year
- up to 216 hours of emergency short-term home relief in a financial year
- up to 15 hours of home and garden maintenance in a 12-month period
Who can get Veterans' Home Care
You can be assessed for VHC if you hold a Gold Card, or a White Card and/or non-liability health care, you live at home, and you have difficulty with daily activities without help. If you're an Australian veteran with a White Card, the assessment isn't limited to your accepted conditions. British and allied veterans with a White Card can be assessed for respite care only.
VHC co-payments
You pay $5.00 an hour, up to a cap:
- domestic assistance: up to $5.00 a week
- personal care: up to $10.00 a week
- home and garden maintenance: up to $75.00 in a 12-month period
Respite care has no co-payment. If you can't afford the co-payments, you can apply to DVA for a waiver.
How to get Veterans' Home Care
Call the VHC assessment agency on 1300 550 450. An assessor talks through your situation and, if you need services, sends you a VHC Care Plan listing the approved services, how long they're approved for, your co-payment and the VHC provider who will do the work. The provider then calls you to arrange times. The agency reassesses you every six months, or sooner if your needs change.
Read DVA's Veterans' Home Care information
Veterans' Home Care vs DVA Household Services
| Veterans' Home Care | DVA Household Services | |
|---|---|---|
| Who it's for | Gold Card holders, and White Card holders with a functional limitation | Veterans who can't manage household tasks because of an accepted service-related condition |
| What it covers | Domestic help, personal care, respite, home and garden maintenance | Routine household tasks such as cleaning, laundry, ironing, gardening, lawn mowing, windows and gutters |
| Cost to you | $5.00 an hour, capped | Nothing, up to DVA's weekly maximum of $633.47 (MRCA) |
| Who does the work | A VHC provider contracted by DVA | A provider you choose |
| How to apply | Call 1300 550 450 | Claim with form D9319 to [email protected] |
The two programs don't combine for the same work. If DVA approves Household Services for you under the MRCA, you can't also get VHC domestic assistance or home and garden maintenance. Respite care is only available through VHC, so you can still use it.
Read how DVA's home programs fit together
Other DVA help at home
- Attendant Care pays for help with personal care, such as showering, toileting and dressing, that you can't manage because of an accepted service-related condition. Read about DVA Attendant Care.
- Community nursing provides clinical or complex personal care at home for eligible Gold and White Card holders, arranged through your GP. Read about DVA community nursing.
- DVA's Rehabilitation Appliances Program (RAP) provides aids, equipment and home modifications that help you stay independent. Read about DVA aids and equipment.
- An Acute Support Package gives short-term help to eligible veterans and families facing difficult changes in their lives. DVA agrees a support plan with you that sets out the services, funding and length of support.
You may also be eligible for other programs such as My Aged Care or the NDIS. Contact them directly.
Household services with AusVeterans
AusVeterans provides cleaning, lawn mowing, gardening, window cleaning and gutter cleaning funded through DVA Household Services, across Australia including Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide and the Gold Coast. We invoice DVA directly, so you don't pay. VHC services are delivered by DVA's contracted VHC providers.
Read about DVA Household Services or book a service.
Checked against DVA's website on 25 September 2026.