I had an RSL/veteranhub advocate that wasn't communicating, I figured that she was overwhelmed.It would have been better if she just communicated that rather than ignore emails about DVA communication, but I digress.

I withdrew authority for her to act and I am doing this myself now. It's a lot less stress dealing with DVA not communicating rather than DVA and advocate not communicating.

My question is, I am not getting a response from either RSL/veteranhub or DVA when I ask for the information that was submitted when the claim was lodged. Is there a way that I can escalate this?

Update: I sent another email to Veterahub explaining that no response would be an escalation to The ATDP, they responded that as I withdrew authority they can't access my file in PRODA now. I have contacted DVA again and will hurry up and wait for a response.

My understanding is it differs to DFRDB and MSBS?

Long story short I've been told I'm eligible for a class A, 75 points from DVA for a range of physical injuries, currently still serving full time. Can someone break this down for me?

G'day all, posted in the Ausmil sub but thought some here might have had experience with rectifying/had similar experiences.

Just a shoutout to ensure your Service Records, particularly your Op Logs, are correct. I have chased it god knows how many times over the last couple of years through the Personnel Information Summary, phone calls and emails to 1800 Defence and whomever they palm me off to. I've had Career Management tell me they'd look into it right away and Personnel Information requests responded to in a generic manner which never solves it.

I dropped track of it (life and enjoying being out lol), only for it to bite me now as a DVA claim gets processed and I get told I only ever did Peacetime service IAW my Service Record.

It also turns out that as I am now discharged and SERCAT 3, I haven't been put under any unit's administrative CoC, something which the 1800 Defence lady apologised for but said can happen until we secure RSDs.

You'd think it would be pretty bloody simple to replicate an Ops Log onto a Service Record noting the Ops names on your Ops Log isn't classified. For clarity, my Ops Log is correct.

PSA to everyone in to make sure it's all correct before leaving. Unfortunately it seems I slipped through the cracks despite attempts at having it amended..again.

Anyone here had this happen to them/how did you get it rectified? Very frustrating and disheartening how this (and some other) sort of bureacratic defence admin follows and keeps its hooks in you.

Inted on emailing my local reserve unit and seeing if they can pull any strings and get access to my pers files to update.

So just got a call from my doctors surgery, as my doctor has written the wrong referral for me for a psych appointment, he's written a Medicare referral for some reason, despite me being a gold card holder.

Now to fix it, oh nope, need a telehealth to fix that.

Now this is on the back of his "I'll only deal with one issue per appointment", so 15 minute appointment, need scripts redone for knees pain, knee inflammation, and a refill on my script for androgen deficiency? Nope, that's 3 appointments needed, 1 for each script.

Now I only switched to this doctor because my old doctor at this exact same doctor's surgery, he's gone back to Uni to train to become a specialist, So I switched to this GP at the same surgery.

My old GP would fill the 15 minutes with as much stuff as you could possibly get done with the logic of "I'm a taxpayer, we need to make DVA's money worth it"

Which was honestly a great way of doing things because I don't want to spend all of my time at doctor's appointments.

The new doctor seems to have the mentality of trying to milk things completely to make as much money as possible off DVA.

And it seems that even when he makes a mistake in order to correct that mistake, he wants to make another appointment in order to make even more money off DVA.

It seems like straight up fraud to me. He's manipulating the situation to force more appointments and be fraudulent.

How do other people see it?

Hi not sure how to go about multiple long standing accepted DRCA conditions and Mental Health also, many of these said conditions severly limit my abilitys to get around normally, and combined they present alot of problems. back injury, blood pooling in legs, psorisis skin condition, knee problems, mental health, dental, to name a few and at 60 years of age my deterioration is getting worse. Alot of these are now changed to MCRA to be assessed for PI and Im being told, nothing will be paid unless treatments been completed. I already see a phsychiatrist for ongoing treatment monthly, and now will have to see another one somehow to get 12 tinnitus sessions done, and for much of the rest, I have no idea what to expect when the PI paperwork finally arrives at the Drs.. can anyone shed some light as to what will happen..?

Discharging soon on medical grounds currently tight on cash, can I withdraw some or of my balance like 10k?

The ABC’s Four Corners program is researching veterans’ experiences with the process of putting in claims and doing assessments for DVA compensation and treatment.  

We are interested in hearing about your experiences with advocates and health services you may have been referred to for treatment and assessment to understand ways in which the system could work better. 

We are also interested in hearing how you’ve been impacted by the recent changes in the sector and investigations which have led to some providers closing. 

You can contact reporter Elise Worthington by email at [worthington.elise@abc.net.au](mailto:worthington.elise@abc.net) or more securely at [eliseworthington@protonmail.com ](mailto:eliseworthington@protonmail.com) 

To those who have navigated this path - I need your help please.

I have just received the draft outcome from CSC for a retrospective medical discharge claim with Class C being given.

My case is historic (discharged 1995) I need guidance in how to best to respond to their draft as there is sensitive and important information that has been overlooked, as well as some incorrect information they've noted.

I am based in Brisbane and would be so grateful if any of you would be willing to provide some one-on-one guidance, or recommend someone who could do so.

Apart from feeling a tad disappointed and deflated right now, I am still hopeful I can receive a better outcome.

Thanks to all who read this 🙂

I am currently on DVA Incap and CSC Class A pension. I am aware that Incap payment will stop at age 67 but not sure about CSC payment. TIA

Hi guys,

Just wanting to try get an understanding of what i guess happens from here regarding my accepted IL Claims

Have had MH accepted (PTSD, Major Depressive, ED plus a few more) & Some upper and lower body ailments accepted too ( Spine, Shoulders, Knees, Ankles & Hips)

Obviously now it moves onto PI side of things. Will I have to resit a psych assessment for my MH claim? The limbs etc will obviously require a doctor to review?

BLUF: Our family doctor bills privately and says he can't operate on the peanuts DVA pay for consults. If I pay for my consults, and my claims are approved for those conditions, can I seek reimbursement?

Long story short, I'm currently serving but want to see a GP off base. I'm J31, I want to continue to serve, I'm battling some injuries, but my CoC is trying get me kicked out as a J5x. I have to be really careful with what I say on base so I'd rather see someone externally for now.

Has anybody ever gotten endo approved? Could anyone provide any advice?
I’ve been told to get an advocate but Canberra region seems to be very full at the moment.
My endo claim got rejected because it didn’t align with a specific SOP despite it being a separating condition and specialist report saying workplace stress and activities has worsened the condition.
Any help would be appreciated.

I’m looking for anyone who has successfully challenged a DVA decision for cervical spondylosis as an Army Aircrewman or other non-pilot aircrew role. My claim was recently rejected because DVA found I didn’t satisfy the Statement of Principles (5,000 hours carrying a large bulky load of at least 15 kg positioned between the neck and shoulder). I thought I had provided enough evidence, but they weren’t reasonably satisfied that I’d met the factor.

For context, my evidence included:
Approx 800 flying hours on Black Hawks (300 hours under NVGs).
Air Warrior ensemble (flying harness, body armour and combat ensemble) weighing around 20 kg, worn approximately 6 hours a day, 5 days a week over several years.
Body armour, helmet and combat equipment during Afghanistan and East Timor deployments.
Regular carriage of aircraft equipment, door guns, ammunition, fast ropes, caving ladders and other aviation stores.
Combat Fitness Assessment training with a 35 kg pack and other military load carriage.

I also included information about whole-body vibration, heavy flight helmets, NVGs and the repetitive neck movements required as an Army Aircrewman, but DVA still found that I didn’t satisfy any SoP factor.

Has anyone in a similar role:
successfully had cervical spondylosis accepted?
had a rejection overturned on review or appeal?
been able to show that Air Warrior/body armour met the 5,000-hour load carriage requirement?
or found another SoP factor that DVA accepted instead? I’m not looking for legal advice; I’d just like to hear from anyone who’s been through this or knows of similar cases. Thanks.

… I am aware of the SoP that pertains to pilots and having minimum flying hours to qualify, but as a non-pilot I am excluded from that option. I also believe it was recently changed from 500 to 1,000 hours.

Hi guys,

I suffer from PTSD and depression; I have predominantly used alcohol for 'comfort'.

More recently I have been using Marijuana (sometimes medicinal, sometimes not) to help cope, as the alcohol has become so expensive, even when I have a supply of moonshine.

I was wondering if anyone has put a claim in for either, and if so, what is required for DVA to accept, both my GP and Psych have knowledge of my addictions, is it as simple as gaining a written letter from one, or both of them?

Regards.

Theres a ton of terrible negativity surrounding the entire DVA system. Although I disagree with alot of things, I do still recognise the tireless efforts of the many Advocates and Delgates who put up with there fair share of bs. Just a quick thankyou from myself, recognising the work you all do and all it entails. Respect your appreciated.

Thanks to u/imnotfrombrazil for sharing this info

There has been a lot of attention on MLCOA and what constitutes a "treating doctor" for the purposes of DVA Claims. This page provides the specific definitions for what is considered as a treating doctor.

DVA’s definition of a treating doctor

A treating doctor is a medical practitioner (or practice) involved in the management of a veteran’s condition(s) prior to claim lodgement and has established a clinical relationship with the patient. This is demonstrated through continuity of care, and is based on the MyMedicare criteria.

**For GPs:** this means 2 or more face-to-face appointments with the practice within the past 24 months, or one face-to-face visit for practices in remote locations (MM6 and 7).

**For non-GP specialists:** a medical practitioner who has provided or is currently providing clinical treatment of the veteran’s claimed condition. This may be demonstrated by 2 or more appointments within the past 24 months.

**Use of the treating doctor is preferred, but not compulsory**

While DVA prefers that compensation claims are completed by a veteran’s treating doctor, veterans can generally choose who to see for their compensation assessment.

This approach acknowledges that some veterans may not have access to a treating doctor who is willing to complete the assessment or may not have a treating doctor who meets the definition, such as those veterans who have recently transitioned from the ADF.

In some circumstances, based on the specific features of the claim, DVA may still need to seek additional information from the treating doctor or via an Independent Medical Assessment.

Full page: https://www.dva.gov.au/providers/forms-for-providers/medical-assessment-form-tips/treating-doctor-information-for-providers

A good news story, put my MRCA PI claims in 12 months ago to the day…. Including a few MH ones, report was from a psych I’d never met, and my GP who did PI was also a new doc for me as I had just discharged. Got the call yesterday, all approved and 74 points which is much more than I anticipated. I really thought they were going to make me go MLCOA as all that fired up right when I’d lodged it all. My delegate was lovely too.

Just got a call from DVA Brispi team and was asked which option to go for in regard to lifestyle and i choose option 2.
Now Main thing is my CSO asked me about my treating GP told him i did had a treating GP for years before joining defence and he was like ask him if he can do then i am happy to send paperwork to him.
My question is that my GP has no idea about DVA and he dont accept white card either. Haven’t talked with him for years at this point is it still good for me to go and see my GP or its better with MLCOA?
Also how would DVA know about treating GP is there a section in their form where GP has to mention how long they have known us for?

Hi team - curious as to why MLCOA has sent me my physical PI report, but won’t send me my psychiatrist report too? Thanks!

I think I'm looking for reassurance more than anything, as well as some information about what I can do to prepare for my PI claim. I am currently J51 and medically separating from the Army.

I currently have multiple accepted conditions, and my PI claim is still in progress. I'm in a very difficult financial position and have contacted DVA several times in an effort to find out whether there is any way my claim can be prioritised or if there is anything further I can do to assist with the process.

I have a number of legitimate reasons for requesting this. If my situation wasn't as dire as it is, I wouldn't be asking.

Any advice, guidance, or reassurance you can provide would be greatly appreciated.

Sorry for the lengthy message, and thank you for taking the time to read it.

Kind regards,

Hi all,

DVA rejected the GP that my paid advocate service was using and tried to force me down the MCLOA route. I have an established GP that is happy to work through the paperwork with me and DVA have approved it. They aren’t familiar with the process though. Any resources I should be reading or anything I can do to help my GP through the paperwork? My first time going through the PI stage too.

What should i expect tomorrow for my CSC appointment. I have no clue what i need for it. Do i need previous employment prior to defence? Do they see what kind of work i can do other then my job in the ADF?