Summary
With RAAF Base Amberley on our doorstep, Department of Veterans' Affairs compensation is part of everyday life across Ipswich and Greater Springfield. The payments can be substantial, the rules changed on 1 July 2026, and one of the biggest choices is permanent. In many cases, DVA will cover the cost of the advice.
Part of life here, not a niche
Amberley is Australia's largest RAAF base, and generations of serving and ex-serving families have settled across Ipswich, Springfield and the western corridor. For our team, DVA claims are not an occasional specialty. They are weekly work, and you will find us alongside the Defence community at local events like this month's Legacy Golf Day.
The sums involved deserve that attention. Compensation for a permanent impairment, paid alongside other entitlements built up over a career of service, can be one of the largest amounts a family ever receives. In some cases it runs well into seven figures over a lifetime.
What a claim can include
Depending on your service and circumstances, a DVA claim may involve:
- Permanent impairment compensation, paid tax-free for the lasting effects of service-related conditions.
- Incapacity payments that replace income while a condition keeps you from working as you did.
- Treatment and extras: health cards including the Gold Card, and additional amounts where dependants are involved.
- Support for widowed partners, including pensions and income support after the loss of a veteran.
Lodging and advocating a claim is a job for an accredited advocate or claims specialist. Where we come in is the question that follows: what should happen with the money?
The decision you cannot take back
When permanent impairment compensation is awarded, many veterans face a choice: fortnightly payments for life, an age-adjusted lump sum, or a combination. Once made, that choice generally cannot be changed.
The right answer looks different for a 32-year-old with a young family than for a 58-year-old approaching retirement. It depends on tax treatment, how a lump sum is deemed for Centrelink and service pension purposes, your super, your partner's position, and how you actually want to live.
Use the moment to look wider
The DVA-funded advice is narrow by design. It covers your payment options. But it tends to open the right conversation. A veteran may have left the ADF years ago and built up super since; a partner has super and entitlements of her own; there is a mortgage, insurances, and an estate plan no one has touched since before deployment.
Getting the claim decision right is step one. Making it work with everything else you own, from contributions and investment structure to protection for your family, is where the lasting value sits.
If you have recently lost your partner
DVA support extends to widowed partners of veterans, and the decisions arrive at the hardest possible time: pensions, super death benefits, the family home, what to do first. There is no obligation to decide anything quickly. When you are ready, structured advice can carry some of that load.
*Figures accurate as at 28 July 2026 and subject to change
Frequently asked questions
What changed with DVA claims from 1 July 2026?
All new veteran compensation claims are now lodged under a single scheme, the Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Act (MRCA), instead of being split across three different Acts depending on when and where you served.
Will my existing DVA payments be affected by the changes?
No. The changes are designed so that veterans already receiving payments under the older schemes are not left worse off. Existing entitlements are protected.
Can DVA pay for financial advice on my compensation payment?
Yes. If your compensation is assessed at 50 or more impairment points, DVA can reimburse the cost of professional financial and legal advice on how you take your payment, up to a capped amount currently around $3,200.
Do I need to be reassessed under the new rules if my claim was decided years ago?
Not automatically, but it can be worth revisiting your situation with your advocate, especially if you were assessed under the older schemes, since some veterans may now be able to access benefits, such as certain pension or Gold Card pathways, that were previously out of reach.
What should I bring to a first conversation with an adviser?
Bring your DVA determination or offer letter, your impairment points assessment, recent super statements for you and your partner, and anything your advocate has already prepared.
Is the advice reimbursement a discount or a favour from DVA?
No, it's an entitlement you've earned through your compensation assessment, in the same way the compensation itself is an entitlement, not something granted at DVA's discretion.
