Attendant care services are provided for in Division 3 of Part 7 of Chapter 4 of MRCA, and section 29 of DRCA.

Attendant care services are defined as …”services (other than household services, medical or surgical services or nursing care) that are required for the essential and regular personal care of the person.” The aim of attendant care services is to assist clients whose health or capacity to live independently at home is compromised by their service related injury or illness.

Attendant care services may be available to current and former ADF members, including non-Continuous Full Time Service (CFTS) (part time) Reservists, ADF Cadets, Officers of Cadets and Instructors of Cadets who have suffered a service injury or disease for which liability has been accepted by the Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Commission (MRCC).

To be eligible, the person must first make a claim for compensation for attendant care services.  Section 217 of the MRCA and Subsection 29(3) of DRCA provides that the Commonwealth will meet the cost (to a statutory upper limit) of such services that are reasonably required by a person as a result of a service injury or disease for which liability has been accepted.

The amount of compensation payable for attendant care services is capped by a statutory limit which is indexed as at 1 July each year, by reference to the Consumer Price Index. Rehabilitation Coordinators must not approve attendant care services in excess of this statutory limit. Further information about the approval and review procedures for attendant care services can be found in section 8.5 of this Guide.

The current limits are published in the CLIK Compensation and Support Reference Library Current Payment Rates. The MRCA limit is listed on the MRCA Rates and Allowances page.  The DRCA limit is listed on the DRCA and Defence Act payments page.

Note:  Some clients who qualify for attendant care services may also qualify for household services. In such cases, they may be entitled to payment up to the statutory limit for both household services and attendant care services. In other words, the statutory limits that apply to attendant care services and household services are mutually exclusive. Further information about household services can be found in chapter 7 of this Guide.