DVA stands for the Department of Veterans' Affairs, the Australian Government department that supports veterans and their families. It pays compensation and pensions, funds health care through Veteran Cards, provides counselling through Open Arms, helps with care at home and housing, and runs commemoration of Australia's wartime history. DVA doesn't run its own hospitals or clinics. It pays doctors, hospitals and other providers who accept your Veteran Card.
What does DVA stand for?
DVA is the Department of Veterans' Affairs. In Australia, "DVA" almost always means this department. It isn't the US Department of Veterans Affairs, which Americans call the VA. You may also see "Veterans' Affairs" used for the wider portfolio, which includes DVA, the Australian War Memorial and several other bodies listed below.
Where DVA came from
DVA began as the Repatriation Department, which started operating on 8 April 1918 to support people returning from the First World War. Hospitals set up by the Defence Department were transferred to it and became Repatriation General Hospitals. The department became the Department of Veterans' Affairs on 22 September 1976. In the 1980s and 1990s the government handed the Repatriation General Hospitals over to state health systems, which is why veterans now use public and private hospitals like everyone else.
Read DVA's repatriation history
Who DVA supports
- veterans and their dependants
- serving and former serving ADF members
- war widows and widowers
- Australian participants in the British Nuclear Tests
- members of the Australian Federal Police
- students, teachers and historians, through historical information
You don't need to have deployed overseas to get help. Anyone with at least one day of continuous full-time service in the ADF can get free treatment for any mental health condition, without making a claim. Other support depends on your service and on whether DVA has accepted a condition as caused by it. Read what a veteran is in Australia, or see every veteran benefit in one place.
What DVA does
- Compensation for injuries and illnesses caused by service, through DVA claims and permanent impairment compensation, and pensions such as the Special Rate Disability Pension and the service pension.
- Health care through the Gold Card, White Card and Orange Card, including mental health care. See DVA health care.
- Rehabilitation and help returning to civilian life.
- Help at home, such as Veterans' Home Care, Household Services and aids and equipment.
- Help for partners, children and other dependants. Read about DVA support for families.
- Housing help, including subsidised Defence Service Homes loans and home building insurance.
- Commemoration, recognition and historical information, including nominal rolls of people who served in the Second World War, Korea, Vietnam and the Gulf War.
DVA estimates it will deliver $14.6 billion in payments and services to veterans and families in 2026–27, including $5.7 billion for health and wellbeing.
Read DVA's overview of the veteran support system
The bodies that work with DVA
Several separate organisations sit in the Veterans' Affairs portfolio alongside DVA:
- The Repatriation Commission, which is independent of government and oversees the granting of pensions, compensation and treatment. DVA carries out that work for it.
- The Repatriation Medical Authority, which writes the Statements of Principles used to decide whether a condition is linked to service.
- The Veterans' Review Board, an independent tribunal that reviews some DVA decisions.
- The Australian War Memorial and the Office of Australian War Graves.
- The Veteran and Family Wellbeing Agency, which started on 1 July 2026 to help veterans and families find wellbeing support, especially people leaving the ADF.
Read about the Veterans' Affairs portfolio
DVA and the law
Veterans' compensation has historically been covered by three Acts: the Veterans' Entitlements Act 1986 (VEA), the Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation (Defence-related Claims) Act 1988 (DRCA) and the Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 2004 (MRCA). From 1 July 2026 the VEA and DRCA are closed to new claims, and all new compensation and rehabilitation claims are assessed under the MRCA, whenever you served. Payments you already receive under the VEA or DRCA continue and are indexed as normal. Read what changed on 1 July 2026.
What is a DVA number?
Your DVA number, or Veteran File Number, is printed on your Veteran Card. It starts with a letter for the state you lived in when it was issued, such as N for NSW or Q for Queensland. If you move interstate, DVA issues a new number and card with the new prefix. DVA also gives you a 7-digit Unique Identification Number, shown on your Pensioner Concession Card and DVA letters, which some concession providers use instead.
How to contact DVA
Call 1800 VETERAN (1800 838 372), Monday to Friday, 8am to 5pm AEST. You can also use MyService, which you reach through myGov, to lodge claims, check your accepted conditions, update your details, book travel and ask for a review of a decision. Veteran Support Officers on more than 40 ADF bases help serving members with information and claims.
Trained advocates at ex-service organisations help with claims and appeals for free. Find free help with a DVA claim.
Read DVA's own description of its work
AusVeterans isn't part of DVA
AusVeterans is a private business. It isn't part of DVA or the Australian Government.
Common questions
Is DVA part of the Department of Defence?
No. DVA is a separate department. If you're a full-time ADF member, you get your health care through the ADF first, but DVA can still help serving members, for example with compensation claims and mental health treatment. Reservists and cadets can get treatment from DVA while serving.
Do you have to be a veteran to deal with DVA?
No. Partners, widows and widowers, children and other dependants can get support in their own right, and families of ADF members can get free counselling from Open Arms on 1800 011 046.
How do I find out which conditions DVA has accepted?
Check your accepted conditions in MyService, or call 1800 VETERAN and ask for a letter confirming them. Health providers need this list the first time you use a White Card with them.
Checked against DVA's website on 25 September 2026.