Aged Care for Veterans: DVA Entitlements (2026)

This is general information, not personal financial or legal advice. For your situation, ring the free official lines listed at the end of this guide.

There is a common myth that DVA runs a separate aged care system for veterans. It does not. Veterans, war widows and widowers use the same national entry point as every other older Australian: My Aged Care, on 1800 200 422 or at myagedcare.gov.au. That call starts the process for in-home support (the Support at Home program) or for moving into a residential aged care home.

The first practical step is a free assessment. For residential care or higher-level home support, an Aged Care Assessment Team (ACAT, called ACAS in Victoria) visits to assess what care is needed. The team usually includes a nurse, social worker or other health professional. You arrange this through My Aged Care.

What is different for veterans is the layer of additional DVA support that sits alongside mainstream aged care: Veterans' Home Care, DVA Community Nursing, Open Arms counselling, the Veterans' Supplement, and providers recognised for caring for the veteran community. The rest of this guide walks through each one.

The Veteran Card determines what DVA-funded health treatment a person can receive, which matters because that treatment continues alongside aged care.

• Veteran Gold Card: covers clinically required treatment for all medical conditions, whether or not they relate to service. Treatment is usually free where the provider accepts the card.

• Veteran White Card: covers clinically necessary treatment for conditions DVA has accepted as service-related, plus Non-Liability Health Care for mental health and certain other conditions.

Both Gold and White Card holders can be assessed for Veterans' Home Care and DVA Community Nursing. White Card cover is limited to accepted conditions, except where Non-Liability Health Care applies. Importantly, DVA has confirmed that the legislative changes commencing 1 July 2026 (closing the VEA and DRCA to new compensation claims, with new claims assessed under the MRCA) do not change these card entitlements or how treatment is provided.

The Veterans' Supplement is one of the most misunderstood entitlements. It is not money paid to the veteran or family. It is extra funding paid directly to the aged care provider to help meet the costs of caring for a veteran who has a mental health condition that DVA has accepted as related to their service.

In residential aged care the Supplement is currently $8.18 per day per eligible veteran. In home care it is 10% of the basic subsidy amount for the relevant level of package. Its purpose is to ensure a service-related mental health condition is never a barrier to a veteran accessing appropriate care.

You do not apply for it and there is no separate assessment. If the veteran is eligible and has agreed to release their eligibility information, payment to the provider simply starts. The practical point for families: it quietly improves the funding behind a veteran's care, and it is worth telling a provider that the resident is a veteran with an accepted mental health condition so the provider can claim it.

Veterans' Home Care is a DVA program, separate from mainstream Support at Home, that provides a small amount of practical help so eligible card holders can keep living independently at home. It is available to Gold and White Card holders assessed as having difficulty with daily activities due to functional limitations.

Services include domestic assistance (cleaning, laundry), personal care (help with showering and dressing), respite care (in-home, residential and emergency short-term relief), and safety-related home and garden maintenance.

Co-payments are modest: $5 per hour for most services, with weekly caps of $10 for personal care, $5 for domestic assistance and $5 for social assistance, plus a maximum of $75 over any 12-month period for home and garden maintenance. Respite care has no co-payment. If a veteran genuinely cannot afford the co-payment, a waiver can be applied for, subject to eligibility.

To arrange an assessment, call the Veterans' Home Care Assessment Agency on 1300 550 450. Note that VHC is unaffected by the 1 July 2026 legislative changes and continues for all eligible Gold and White Card holders. VHC can run alongside, but not duplicate, mainstream aged care.

Beyond VHC, DVA funds clinical and wellbeing supports that matter as needs grow.

• DVA Community Nursing provides clinical nursing and personal care at home, such as wound care, medication assistance and help with hygiene, showering and dressing. There is no cost for Gold Card holders based on assessed clinical and personal care need; White Card holders are covered only for their accepted conditions.

• Coordinated Veterans' Care (CVC) helps Gold Card holders with a chronic condition (and White Card holders with an accepted chronic mental health condition) through GP-led care planning and a practice-nurse care coordinator. Note CVC is not available to permanent residents of an aged care home or to those with a terminal condition not expected to live beyond 12 months.

• Open Arms - Veterans and Families Counselling is a free, confidential, 24/7 service for current and former ADF members and their families, on 1800 011 046. In residential aged care, DVA also supports mental health and social inclusion, and the Aged Care Volunteer Visitors Scheme can match a lonely or isolated resident with a volunteer visitor.

Be clear-eyed about one thing: for most veterans, DVA does not pay residential aged care fees. All Australians, including veterans and war widows and widowers, contribute toward their care where they can. Fees are means-tested based on income and assets, the same as for non-veterans.

The exceptions are narrow and honoured: DVA pays the Basic Daily Fee for former Prisoners of War (POWs) and Victoria Cross (VC) recipients, who are also exempt from the Means Tested Care Fee.

The new rights-based Aged Care Act commenced on 1 November 2025, replacing Home Care Packages and Short-Term Restorative Care with the Support at Home program and changing contributions and accommodation costs. A 'no worse off' principle protects people already in care: it applies if you were in permanent residential care before 1 November 2025, or were receiving (or approved and waiting for) a Home Care Package as at 12 September 2024. Those covered keep the existing lifetime contribution cap of $86,185.23 (indexed). Under the new Act, you must report changes to income or assets within 28 days so you are charged correctly.

Because fees are personal and the reform is recent, get free, tailored help before signing anything. Services Australia's Financial Information Service (FIS) and Aged Care Specialist Officers can explain your options at no cost. If you receive a DVA means-tested income support payment, call DVA to discuss your aged care costs.

You do not have to work this out alone, and you should never pay for the core advice. Keep this list by the phone:

• My Aged Care: 1800 200 422 (assessments, finding care, Support at Home and residential care).

• Veterans' Home Care Assessment Agency: 1300 550 450 (to arrange a VHC assessment).

• 1800 VETERAN (1800 838 372): the DVA Veterans Access Network, for any DVA entitlement question, or email [email protected].

• OPAN Aged Care Advocacy Line: 1800 700 600, free, independent and confidential advocacy if you feel unheard or unsure of your rights (Mon-Fri 8am-8pm, Sat 10am-4pm).

• Open Arms: 1800 011 046, free 24/7 counselling for veterans and families.

• Services Australia Financial Information Service: free help understanding aged care fees, via servicesaustralia.gov.au.

If the person you are caring for is in crisis, call 000. For urgent mental health support, Open Arms on 1800 011 046 operates 24/7.