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Attendant care services are enabled by the Compensation provisions 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 the attendant care services program is to support veterans who are unable to independently undertake personal care activities.
Services must be reasonably required due to the impact of a service-related injury or illness for which liability has been accepted.
The types of personal care activities that can be supported through the attendant care services provisions include:
- personal hygiene tasks including showering/bathing and toileting;
- grooming;
- dressing;
- eating and drinking;
- using and applying artificial aids and appliances; and
- transfers (for example, between sitting and standing) where a person has limited mobility.
Attendant care services do not include:
- medical treatment, nursing or clinical care;
- travel or transport;
- accommodation;
- meal costs;
- companionship;
- monitoring or management of behaviour;
- household services or services already provided by another program;
- support to participate in community activities, or access community services, where there is no clear link to a personal care need.
The amount of compensation payable for attendant care services is informed by an assessment of the veteran’s regular and essential personal care needs. It is capped by a legislated statutory limit which is indexed on 1 July each year, by reference to the Consumer Price Index. The current limits can be found on the Attendant Care pages on the DVA website.
Where eligibility criteria are met and an assessment confirms a reasonable requirement for services, attendant care services can be provided to:
- former ADF members;
- current serving ADF members;
- non Continuous Full Time Services (CFTS) (part-time) Reservists;
- ADF Cadets, Officers of Cadets and Instructors of Cadets.