For persons previously receiving incapacity payments under the DRCA, changes introduced by the Veterans’ Entitlements, Treatment and Support (Simplification and Harmonisation) Act 2025 (VETS Act) resulted in most payments being automatically transitioned to the MRCA on 1 July 2026.
The VETS Act changes also provided those with VEA only eligibility prior to 1 July 2026, who are of working age, with the ability to claim incapacity payments under the MRCA for the first time.
For those with DRCA eligibility, individuals in receipt of incapacity payments immediately before 1 July 2026 were transferred to the equivalent MRCA incapacity payments without the need to claim. ‘Immediately before’ means they received payment on 30 June 2026.
Any outstanding claim for incapacity payments that was not determined as at 1 July 2026 became a claim for compensation under the MRCA.
Note that DRCA veterans who were receiving incapacity entitlements as a ‘former’ employee under Division 3, Part X of the DRCA immediately prior to 1 July 2026 were not transitioned to the MRCA. Payments for these individuals were instead preserved under grand-parenting arrangements