DVA CLAIMS & MEDICAL REPORTS
Claims work as part of your ongoing care
DVA claims are not separate from health.
An injury or illness related to service can affect work, finances, relationships, independence and the life someone expected to be living.
A claim necessarily asks us to look backwards — to understand what happened, when it began and how it has affected your health over time. But good care also needs to look forward.
Part of my role as your GP is helping you make sense of where you are now, reorient when health has taken you somewhere you didn't expect, and find a way forward.
Claims can provide recognition and compensation for the consequences of service-related injury or illness, as well as pathways to treatment, rehabilitation and financial support.
For patients under my care, I am happy to assist with DVA claims and medical reporting where appropriate.
I undertake this work on a case-by-case basis, taking into account the nature of the claim, whether I am the appropriate doctor to provide the evidence required, and my capacity to undertake the work.
I do not provide a stand-alone DVA claims or medico-legal service.
My role is first and foremost as your treating GP.
WHY THE TREATING RELATIONSHIP MATTERS
DVA increasingly seeks medical information from a veteran's treating doctor where appropriate.
That makes sense.
A useful treating-doctor opinion comes from more than completing a form. It is informed by an understanding of your medical history, diagnoses, treatment, function and how your health has changed over time.
For that reason, I undertake claims work as part of a genuine treating relationship rather than seeing someone once simply for the purpose of completing DVA paperwork.
Sometimes another practitioner or specialist will be better placed to answer a particular question. If that is the case, we can discuss what evidence is needed and who is best placed to provide it.
NEW TO MY CARE?
If you would like me to assist with a DVA claim but you are not yet an established patient, the first step is to enter my care.
This is important clinically as well as administratively.
It gives me an opportunity to understand you, your health, the relevant conditions and the broader clinical picture before I am asked to provide an opinion about them.
If the conditions we are assessing are not yet accepted or provisionally accepted by DVA, and you do not hold a Gold Card that covers your care:
INITIAL CLAIMS CONSULTATION/s
$450
This is a dedicated long consultation for your initial assessment and claims work.
During this appointment, I will take a thorough history of your military service, significant service events and your broader medical history.
My approach is the same careful clinical approach I use in general practice: to take a thorough history, understand the health conditions you are concerned about, examine you where appropriate, review the available medical information and consider how the different parts of your health may be connected.
Sometimes a thorough assessment identifies symptoms, diagnoses or clinical relationships that need further investigation or treatment. Where something may also be relevant to your DVA claim, we can document the medical information accurately and work out what evidence is required.
Taking this broader view helps build a more complete picture of your health. It also keeps the focus on what matters beyond the claim — appropriate treatment, rehabilitation, prevention and the healthcare you may need going forward.
CLAIMS APPOINTMENTS AND FEES
Providing this level of assessment takes time. I therefore bill privately for claims consultations at a rate appropriate to the time involved, including work undertaken outside the consultation such as reviewing records, preparing documentation and completing associated paperwork.
DVA does not generally fund the medical work involved in preparing a new initial liability claim simply because a claim has been lodged.
The initial assessment may require one or two long consultations.
If further appointments are needed to assess, document or finalise the medical information for your initial liability claim, these will be privately billed at the standard practice private consultation rates.
TREATMENT WHILE YOUR CLAIM IS BEING DECIDED
Claims work and treatment are not quite the same thing.
If a condition has not yet been accepted by DVA, treatment relating to that condition may need to be privately billed. However, some conditions may be eligible for DVA-funded treatment while the claim is still being determined under provisional treatment arrangements or another existing DVA entitlement.
Once DVA confirms treatment eligibility for a condition, eligible treatment can be billed to DVA in accordance with your entitlement.
DVA-REQUESTED ASSESSMENTS AND REPORTS
There may also be circumstances where DVA specifically requests and funds further medical assessment, information or reporting as part of your claim.
Where DVA has authorised that work, it can be billed in accordance with the relevant DVA arrangements.
INITIAL CLAIMS CONSULTATION/s
$450
This is a dedicated long consultation for your initial assessment and claims work.
During this appointment, I will take a thorough history of your military service, significant service events and your broader medical history.
My aim is not to work from a predetermined list of “what to claim”. It is to understand the health conditions you are concerned about, how they may relate to your service, and whether there are other relevant conditions or connections that you may not have recognised.
Taking this broader view helps us build a more complete picture of your health and ensures that relevant conditions are considered as part of your claim. Importantly, it also helps us think beyond compensation to the healthcare you may need going forward — with the aim of helping you get back to feeling more like you.
CLAIMS APPOINTMENTS AND FEES
Providing this level of assessment takes time. I therefore bill privately for claims consultations at a rate appropriate to the time involved, including work undertaken outside the consultation such as reviewing records, preparing documentation and completing associated paperwork.
DVA does not generally fund the medical work involved in preparing a new initial liability claim simply because a claim has been lodged.
The initial assessment may require one or two long consultations.
If further appointments are needed to assess, document or finalise the medical information for your initial liability claim, these will be privately billed at the standard practice private consultation rates.
TREATMENT WHILE YOUR CLAIM IS BEING DECIDED
Claims work and treatment are not quite the same thing.
If a condition has not yet been accepted by DVA, treatment relating to that condition may need to be privately billed. However, some conditions may be eligible for DVA-funded treatment while the claim is still being determined under provisional treatment arrangements or another existing DVA entitlement.
Once DVA confirms treatment eligibility for a condition, eligible treatment can be billed to DVA in accordance with your entitlement.
DVA-REQUESTED ASSESSMENTS AND REPORTS
There may also be circumstances where DVA specifically requests and funds further medical assessment, information or reporting as part of your claim.
Where DVA has authorised that work, it can be billed in accordance with the relevant DVA arrangements.
Permanent Impairment
Permanent Impairment assessment may also be something I can assist with for patients under my care.
This work is undertaken on a case-by-case basis.
Whether I undertake a PI assessment will depend on the conditions involved, the assessment required, whether it falls appropriately within my expertise, and my capacity to undertake the work.
Some conditions or questions may require assessment by another practitioner or specialist.
What should I bring?
If DVA has asked you to obtain medical information, an assessment or a report, please bring the request with you.
- which condition is being considered
- what DVA is asking the doctor to address
- any particular forms or assessments requested
- any deadlines you have been given
Knowing exactly what DVA has asked for helps us work out what information is needed, whether further assessment is required and whether I am the appropriate person to provide it.
Your claim may be about something that happened during service. Good medical evidence still begins with understanding what is happening with your health now.
If you are already under my care and need assistance with a DVA claim, bring the paperwork to an appointment and we can work out what is required.
If you are new to my care and would like to discuss whether I may be able to assist, please book an appropriate initial appointment.