10.1.2 The Rehabilitation Appliances Program (RAP)

Legislative change extending eligibility to a DVA Health Card for Specific Conditions (White Card) for DRCA clients has created some changes in the way that aids and appliances are provided. DRCA clients who hold a White Card are now not able to access medical aids and appliances through section 16 of the DRCA. These changes mean that consideration must first be given to whether the required aid or appliance can be provided through RAP. Only if the aid or appliance is not listed on the RAP Schedule, and/or cannot be provided through the RAP one-off approval process, can the rehabilitation provisions in section 39 of the DRCA and sections 54-59 of the MRCA be used.

To maintain consistency in approach, aids and appliances should also be provided through RAP, wherever possible, for all clients with entitlements under the MRCA who hold either a DVA Health Card for all Conditions (Gold Card) or DVA Health Card for Specific Conditions (White Card).

Please note, for vehicle requests, including modifications to vehicles, the relevant vehicle schemes should be considered rather than RAP. Further policy information about the provision of vehicles and vehicle modifications can be found in:

• section 10.12 in this library for the Motor Vehicle Compensation Scheme under MRCA;
• section 6.4 in the CLIK Compensation and Support Policy Library for the Vehicle Assistance Scheme under the VEA; and
• section 10.10 in this library for the relevant DRCA provisions.