To improve the management of rehabilitation requests and enquiries from the Australian Defence Force Rehabilitation Program (ADFRP) all requests should include details of the rehabilitation provider assessment and recommendation that has led to the request.
DVA has a whole-of-person approach to rehabilitation. It also supports the intention that DVA maintain visibility of approach with the ADFRP, while still providing access for clients to their entitled benefits and provide a range of support to meet their needs while they adjust to their service related conditions or injuries.
In most cases, serving members with a compensable injury making direct contact with DVA to request assistance with rehabilitation services should have an assessment to identify their needs. It is important to note that it is a mandatory requirement under sections 325 and 326 of the MRCA that an assessment of the person’s needs be conducted before any DVA compensation can be paid.
Once the needs assessment has been conducted, and if a rehabilitation need has been identified, the client should be referred to the ADFRP for rehabilitation assistance. This is because Defence is the person’s rehabilitation authority:
- The Delegate should access the Defence rehabilitation request letter, complete all relevant sections and forward to Defence.
- The letter should be saved as an attachment in the client’s file and a case note should identify that the client has been assessed for rehabilitation assistance, a referral has been sent to Defence, and that the provision of specific services will be considered pending a request for assistance by Defence, as the serving member’s rehabilitation authority.
- The letter asks that the ADFRP inform the DVA Delegate of any determination in relation to the client’s rehabilitation.
- The outcomes of the ADFRP rehabilitation assessment should determine the clinical need for recommended services to be provided by DVA.
For more information, see section 4.2.1 in this library.
In cases where urgent assistance is required for a serving member who has made contact with DVA directly (e.g. for immediate attendant care or post-surgery household services) it may be preferable to progress the request by providing the household services or attendant care forms direct to the serving member. The forms would need to be completed by the treating Medical Officer or the treating Occupational Therapist. This would form the basis for the interim approval which could provide assistance, pending a request from the ADFRP for assistance to be provided to the serving member. All correspondence prior to the ADFRP request should be saved in the client’s file. Once the ADFRP request is received, a rehabilitation case can be opened.