Note for CLIK Users
Under changes commencing on 1 July 2026, the Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation (Defence-related Claims) Act 1988 (DRCA) and the Veterans’ Entitlements Act 1986 (VEA) are being closed to all new requests for rehabilitation. Any requests from this date will be considered under the Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 2004 (MRCA).
Any VEA or DRCA veteran who has an open rehabilitation plan before 1 July 2026 will transition to the MRCA and their plans will continue without interruption. There will be no need for veterans to take any action to continue their plans under the MRCA.
The transfer is being enabled through the addition of new section 104 into the Military Rehabilitation and Compensation (Consequential and Transitional Provisions) Act 2004, which will state:
s.104 Bringing across rehabilitation programs under the DRCA and VEA
(1) This section applies if, immediately before the date of commencement, a person is undertaking a rehabilitation
program (the old program) under the old DRCA or the old VEA.
(2) On and after the date of commencement:
(a) the old program is taken to be an approved rehabilitation program for the purposes of the MRCA; and
(b) the person’s rehabilitation authority for the purposes of the old DRCA or the old VEA is taken
to be the person’s rehabilitation authority for the purposes of the MRCA; and
(c) the person is taken to be a person to whom Part 2 of Chapter 3 of the MRCA applies.
Those with rehabilitation plans under the DRCA should not notice any changes as there are no differences between DRCA and MRCA rehabilitation.
Those with rehabilitation plans under the VEA's Veterans’ Vocational Rehabilitation Scheme will be reviewed to identify if there are any additional rehabilitation activities that may be of benefit. These veterans will retain their ‘safety net’ arrangements once the changes commence.
More information is available at Rehabilitation | Department of Veterans' Affairs.
Note: Additional guidance regarding the 1 July 2026 changes will be provided across the relevant CLIK chapters and sub-chapters.
Information videos covering the 1 July legislative reform changes are also available for the information of delegates on the following link Information Videos
The Rehabilitation Policy Library is the resource and guide for rehabilitation policy and practice in DVA.
For a quick and easy way to look up terms and find information in this library, please see this library’s keyword index.