The improved Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Act (MRCA) will recognise medical conditions which were previously accepted under the Defence Rehabilitation and Compensation Act (DRCA) and the Veteran Entitlement Act (VEA). There is no need for any veteran or widowed partner already in the system to re-establish any form of liability for accepted conditions or service-related deaths. 

New provisions make it easier for widows 

The new Act includes additions which we class as an absolute advocacy win for many in our community. From 1 July 2026, the definition of a service injury will change, removing the requirement to show that a medical event that occurs on duty, such as a heart attack or stroke, was a result of the member’s service. Making the claim pathway for such deaths simpler. 

Secondly, from 1 July 2026, serving members will be covered for the impacts of any unintended consequences of medical treatment provided while a member is in the ADF. This includes pre-existing conditions or preventative treatment where injuries or deaths arise from that treatment. This means that were a death of injury occurs as a result of medical treatment provided by Defence, the claims pathway is again simplified. 

Both changes are significant wins for the many widow partners who have experienced difficulties in establishing liability for deaths that have arisen because of a medical event on duty, or deaths that result from medical treatment. 

These were the very issues that we raised throughout the veteran’s legislation consultation and are very pleased to see them now included in the enhanced MRCA going forward. 

Enhancements to existing support 

From 1 July 2026, several additional changes made to the MRCA will have a positive impact on widowed partners and veteran families. These include: 

• Additional compensation payments available for the children of severely injured veterans. 

• Posthumous permanent impairment payments will be made available to widowed partners where claims were outstanding at the time of a veteran’s death. 

• The Repatriation Commission will be able to direct particularly vulnerable veterans to receive financial advice before receiving a lump sum permanent impairment payment. 

• All Gold Card holders will be eligible to claim a travel reimbursement amount of $0.68/km when a private vehicle is used for travel to approved treatment. An increase of $0.24/km from the VEA entitlement. Additionally, 50km round trip minimum distance requirements will also be removed ensuring that more veterans and their families can be reimbursed for travel costs relating to their service-related conditions. 

• VEA veterans having difficulties managing their domestic and personal care tasks due to service-related conditions will become eligible to apply for Household Services and Attendant Care for the first time. 

• Children of severely injured DRCA veterans will become eligible for the Education and Training Scheme. 

• Veteran funeral expenses for all service-related deaths occurring on or after 1 of July 2026 will be reimbursed up to a maximum of $14,990. 

• Partners of veterans who meet the requirements of a wholly dependent partner under the MRCA will be entitled to compensation and a Gold Card. 

• There will also be additional flexibility introduced allowing wholly dependent partner compensation payments to be turned into an age based lump-sum for claims made after 1 July 2026. 

We appreciate this is all very technical and there are a number of changes that are coming online from 1 July. 

We are pleased to see the movement and the greater support provided to the widowed partners and the veterans and their families already in the compensation system, however as many know we are keen to see a lot more veteran families included in the compensation system and will continue to advocate in that regard. We also continue to advocate for terminology change — Wholly Dependant Partner remains a terribly offensive choice of words to refer to widowed partners, many of whom are women. 

As the new Act comes into effect it’s really important that we keep the information flowing between DVA and our community, and are looking forward to hosting a series of webinars to help you all get across the information and the additional support that is coming online. 

While there is a lot of change coming into effect soon, a reminder: there are no changes to existing compensation payments or services, and you do not need to take any action to continue to receive payments and services from DVA. 

As always, we are here to help, please give us call. You can also always contact DVA directly to discuss your circumstances; they can be contacted on 1800 383 372 or you can email them at generalenquiries@dva.gov.au.

The post New Veterans’ Legislation first appeared on Families of Veterans Guild.

From 20 March pensions and allowances received by some veterans and their families increased with the first full payment made to veterans and their widows on 16 April 2026. 

The War Widow(er)’s Pension has increased $22.60 per fortnight to $1,223.40 and the Income Support Supplement has increased $6.80 per fortnight to $363.80. Wholly Dependent Partner payments under the MRCA have also increased $22.60 per fortnight to $1,223.40. 

These payments include the Energy Supplement paid to DVA pensioners for more information on other pension rates please visit www.dva.gov.au. 

Advocacy regulation 

DVA has released a public consultation paper regarding regulating compensation advocacy services following an ongoing rise in commercial advocates engaging in behaviours and practices that prioritise profit over the health and wellbeing of veterans and widowed partners. 

While we do not provide claims advocacy, we are highly invested in these reforms as they impact the experiences and wellbeing of widowed partners trying to access the compensation system and families of veterans who are engaging with it for the first time. 

DVA is proposing to: 

• restrict exploitative fee practices; 

• ban offshore hosting of veteran data; 

• prevent misleading or deceptive conduct; 

• ensure fee-charging advocates are properly trained, insured and ethical; and 

• avoid over-regulation of ESOs and volunteers. 

We are supportive of reforms that strengthen regulation of the veterans’ advocacy sector, particularly where such reform improves protections for widowed partners and veteran families navigating the compensation system. 

We are concerned that current and emerging commercial advocacy practices disproportionately expose widowed partners to harm. At the time claims are lodged, widowed partners may be: 

• newly responsible for complex legal and administrative processes; 

• managing mental health impacts, caring responsibilities, or income loss; and 

• highly reliant on advice presented as expert, urgent or essential. 

In this context, commission-based fees, contingency fees, opaque contracts and excessive termination penalties pose significant risks. These practices can materially reduce compensation intended to provide long term financial security for families after service related death, and may pressure widowed partners into agreements they do not fully understand or feel able to challenge. 

The proposed reform provides an important opportunity to signal that the compensation system exists not merely to process claims, but to uphold dignity, fairness and protection for those who bear the enduring cost of service. Widowed partners and vulnerable veteran families should never be placed in a position where grief, urgency or lack of system knowledge leaves them exposed to exploitation. 

Booked car with driver updates 

Many of our widowed partners Gold Cards holders use DVA’s Book Car With Driver transport service. Now DVA has introduced another way to access this service by using their My Service Portal. Through the My Service Portal you can now ask DVA to arrange transport for treatment covered by your Gold Card. 

DVA has also changed how you arrange transport back following your medical appointment. Now when you have finished the medical appointment, you don’t have to ring DVA to book your return back home: you can do this by ringing the transport provider. According to DVA, drivers should be giving a right of return card on the journey to the appointment, which has all the information you need to organise your journey back home. When making your return booking, use your right of return card, when calling them, simply quote your DVA number, and a driver will be back to pick you up from the appointment. If the driver has not offered a card, please ask for one. 

We know that the Booked Car With Driver Service from DVA often causes a lot of angst and anxiety for many widowed partners. If you run into any trouble please do not hesitate to give us a call, and one of our Social Workers will help you out, or call DVA directly on 1800 550 455.

The post Entitlements update first appeared on Families of Veterans Guild.

The post Your DVA Entitlements, a webinar for war widows first appeared on Families of Veterans Guild.

The post Your DVA Entitlements, a webinar for war widows first appeared on Families of Veterans Guild.

Whether you are newly widowed or navigating support systems for some time, this is an important opportunity to connect directly with DVA representatives and gain clarity on what assistance and programs are available to you.

Event details:

Date: Thursday 31 July
Time: 1:00pm AEST
Where: Online via Zoom or in person at our Chatswood office
Cost: Free (registration essential)

Two ways to attend

join online via zoom

Attend from the comfort of your home. War widows across Australia are invited to join the webinar online. Once registered, you will receive a link to join us live.

Click here to register to attend online.

Join in person at the chatswood office

For those located near Sydney, we warmly invite you to join other war widows for a group viewing at the Families of Veterans Guild office in Chatswood. Afternoon tea will be served, and you’ll have the opportunity to watch the live webinar together.

Due to the size of our head office, numbers of in person participants will be capped and registration will close when capacity is reached with the possibility to go on a waitlist. Waitlisted participants will be contacted. Online participation will not be capped. 

Please note: Registration is required for both online and in-person attendance.

Click here to register to attend in Chatswood. 

About the Webinar

This webinar has been developed exclusively for war widows, to ensure that the information shared is relevant, accurate and respectful of your lived experience. You’ll hear from four DVA representatives, each covering a specific area of support and entitlements available to war widows.

After each presentation, you will have the chance to ask questions or share your thoughts during live Q&A sessions.

Meet the Panel

We are pleased to welcome the following DVA representatives:

Sharon Wardle – Income Support Branch, Client Benefits Division
Sharon will provide an overview of the income support available to eligible war widows.

Jonathan Levy – Director, Health Approvals, Payments, RAP and Transport
Jonathan will speak about transport entitlements.

Melanie Kilborn – Assistant Director of the Veterans’ Home Care and Contract Management Team
Melanie will explain how the Veterans’ Home Care program can help you remain safe and independent in your home.

Carolyn Lees – Community Nursing
Carolyn will outline the Community Nursing Program, designed to support eligible war widows with clinical care at home.

Hosted by

This session will be facilitated by Caroline Kirche, Communications & Events Manager at the Families of Veterans Guild. We are proud to present this opportunity to ensure that no war widow feels left behind when navigating their DVA entitlements.

Register Now

To attend the webinar online or in person, please register via the link below. Once registered, you will receive event details including the Zoom link or venue information for our Chatswood afternoon tea.

Click here to register to attend online.

Click here to register to attend in Chatswood. 

The post Upcoming webinar: understanding DVA entitlements for war widows first appeared on Families of Veterans Guild.

On Monday, 2 December 2024, the Australian Government released its response to the Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide’s Final Report. While the government has agreed to many of the Commission’s recommendations, including the establishment of a Veteran Wellbeing Agency within DVA, more needs to be done to address the specific needs of veteran families. You can read more about the gaps impacting the families of veterans in our CEO’s latest opinion piece.

Key takeaways from the Government’s Response:

• Positive Steps: The government’s agreement to establish a Veteran Wellbeing Agency and an independent statutory body is a positive step towards improving veteran mental health and wellbeing.
• Focus on Veterans: While the government’s response primarily focuses on veterans, the specific needs of veteran families have been largely overlooked.
• The Role of Families: Families of veterans continue to face significant challenges, including systemic gaps in support and understanding.

What does this mean for veteran families?

While the Royal Commission’s findings have validated the experiences of many veteran families, significant challenges remain. The government’s response, while promising, does not fully address the unique needs of families.

Moving forward:

We are committed to advocating for the rights and wellbeing of veteran families. We will continue to work with the government and other stakeholders to ensure that the specific needs of families are addressed.

We encourage you to review the government’s response and share your thoughts with us. Your voice is important.

Join our community and stay informed about the latest updates.

Related to: veteran families, veteran suicide, mental health, Royal Commission, DVA, ADF, defence force, wellbeing, support, advocacy. 

The post Government’s Response to the Royal Commission’s Final Report first appeared on Families of Veterans Guild.