1.1 What is rehabilitation?

DVA's rehabilitation approach 

DVA's approach to rehabilitation is much broader than just treatment to promote physical recovery from an injury or illness related to service in the Australian Defence Force (ADF).  

DVA uses a whole-of-person approach to rehabilitation which can be best explained by the following definition of rehabilitation used by the Australian Faculty of Rehabilitation Medicine: 

"The combined and coordinated use of medical, psychological, social, educational and vocational measures to restore function or achieve the highest possible level of function of persons physically, psychologically, socially and economically; to maximise quality of life and to minimise the person's long term health care needs and community support needs." 

As a member of the Heads of Workers' Compensation Authorities Australia and New Zealand (HWCA), DVA's rehabilitation approach uses the HWCA principles of practice for workplace rehabilitation providers.  

The aims of DVA rehabilitation are defined in section 1.2 in this library. 

DVA's whole-of-person rehabilitation focus is underpinned by research into the health benefits of good work. More information about the health benefits of good work can be found in section 9.1 in this library. 

Types of rehabilitation support 

There are three types of rehabilitation support that DVA clients can access. These are: 

Medical management rehabilitation is intended to assist veterans to understand and learn to utilise the civilian health system. The aim of medical management rehabilitation is that veterans will be able to independently access treatment and support for their accepted conditions. 

Further information about medical management rehabilitation can be found in Chapter 5 in this library. 

Psychosocial rehabilitation assists clients with overcoming barriers that may be impacting their wellbeing or their ability to function independently. Barriers may arise due to a client’s perception of their injury or illness, changes in their life, their self-identity and/or their place in the community. Psychosocial rehabilitation can assist with changing these perceptions by providing education and experiences to the client to challenge these perceptions and develop new skills and thinking in relation to their barriers. The aim of psychosocial rehabilitation is to provide a sustainable outcome to remove the barrier long term. 

Psychosocial rehabilitation provides for a wide range of supports as the barriers it addresses do not need to relate specifically to an accepted condition, and because what presents as a challenge or barrier to each client will be unique. 

An approved rehabilitation program may focus solely on a package of psychosocial interventions. However, it is more likely that psychosocial activities will be offered in conjunction with other types of rehabilitation activities. 

Further information about psychosocial rehabilitation can be found in Chapter 6 in this library. 

Vocational rehabilitation is aimed at assisting individuals to obtain or sustain 'good work' in the civilian workforce. Good work is defined as work that is safe, enables a person to be productive and engaged and contributes to financial stability, independence, and personal interaction. 

DVA Rehabilitation Programs can support veterans in translating their values, skills, qualifications and work history into a civilian setting, while assisting with necessary upskilling to increase competitiveness in job seeking and help with understanding and navigating the labour market. Veterans will be assessed on their level of need to determine the amount and level of support required. 

Further information about vocational rehabilitation can be found in Chapter 9 in this library. 

Rehabilitation Providers 

DVA utilises a panel of approved providers to work with individual veterans to develop whole-of-person rehabilitation plans tailored to their unique needs and circumstances. 

Further information about rehabilitation providers can be found in Chapter 11 in this library.