Veterans Knowledge HubGardening & Lawn Maintenance
If a service-related condition means you can't keep up with the lawn or garden any more, DVA may help pay for it. There are two separate pathways, and the rules for each are quite different.
Quick answer
EditorialDVA can help with mowing and gardening in two ways:
Household Services compensation
Official- Based on an accepted service-related condition.
- Covers lawn mowing, gardening, cleaning and more.
- Up to $633.47 per week (depending on assessed need).
Veterans' Home Care (Home & Garden)
Official- For Gold Card and White Card holders with functional difficulties.
- Covers lawn mowing, gutters, windows and minor handyperson jobs.
- Up to 15 hours per 12 months ($5 an hour, capped at $75).
| Feature | Household Services compensation | Veterans' Home Care (Home & Garden) |
|---|---|---|
| Based on | Accepted service-related injury or condition | Gold Card or White Card (specific conditions / NLHC) |
| Lawn mowing | Yes, if assessed | Yes |
| Gardening | Yes, if assessed | No routine gardening (e.g. weeding, pruning, flower beds) |
| Gutter & window cleaning | Yes, if assessed | Yes |
| Minor handyperson jobs | — | Yes (safety-related, no tradesperson) |
| Major repairs | No | No |
| How much | Up to $633.47 per week (from 1 July 2026) | Up to 15 hours per 12 months |
| Cost to you | No (DVA pays provider or reimburses) | $5 an hour, capped at $75 per 12 months |
| Assessed by | Occupational therapist (arranged by DVA) | VHC Assessment Agency (phone) |
| How to apply | Claim form D9319 → | Call 1300 550 450 → |
Under VHC you may need to pay for supplies such as globes, batteries or tip fees.
Who may be eligible?
Official
Household Services compensation
- You're a veteran (this compensation isn't available to family members in their own right).
- DVA has accepted a service-related injury or condition. Since 1 July 2026 that can be under the MRCA, DRCA or VEA.
- Because of that condition, you can't manage household tasks you were responsible for before the injury or illness.
- You live at home, and DVA decides the help is "reasonably required".
Veterans' Home Care
- You hold a Veteran Gold Card, or a White Card (specific conditions and/or Non-Liability Health Care).
- You live at home and have difficulty with everyday activities because of functional limitations.
What can be covered?
Official
Household Services compensation
If assessed as reasonably required: lawn mowing, gardening, window and gutter cleaning, house cleaning, laundry and ironing, meal preparation and shopping. Only tasks you did yourself before your condition, and that household members can't reasonably take on.
Veterans' Home Care: Home & Garden
Lawn mowing, gutter and window cleaning, ceiling fans and light globes, and minor safety-related handyperson jobs that don't need a tradesperson. Not covered: weeding, pruning, flower beds or other routine/ornamental gardening, and major repairs.
Sources: Veteran's guide to living independently (2026) · DVA: Household services compensation
How the process works
Official
Household Services compensation
- Check your accepted conditions in MyService.
- Complete claim form D9319 and email it to hhs@dva.gov.au. List your accepted conditions, the tasks you need help with and who lives with you.
- DVA arranges an assessment, usually by an occupational therapist using the Activities of Daily Living form (D9353). The OT recommends which services you need and how often.
- A DVA delegate decides in writing whether the help is reasonably required, and how much.
- You choose a provider. They need an ABN and the right insurance, and must have Working with Children, Working with Vulnerable People and police checks. Then you arrange the times.
- Payment: DVA pays the provider directly or reimburses you. Claims go through DVA's Provider Upload Page. Keep every receipt.
- Reviews: your approval runs to a renewal date and is reviewed regularly. Tell DVA if your circumstances change.
Veterans' Home Care
- Call 1300 550 450. The assessment is done over the phone and takes about 30 minutes.
- If you're approved, you get a VHC Care Plan and are linked with a provider. Most services start within about two weeks.
Common situations & what helps
Guidance
Common situations veterans run into, and practical steps that may help. This is general guidance, not a promise of an outcome. Always check the official rule linked under each one.
You used to mow your own lawn
The situation: An accepted back, hip or knee condition now stops you mowing or gardening, which you always did yourself.
What helps: Household Services compensation may cover lawn mowing and gardening if DVA assesses them as reasonably required. Your claim may be clearer if you say which jobs you did yourself before the injury and how your condition stops you now.
Official rule: DVA – Household services compensation
You paid someone before your injury
The situation: You already used a mowing contractor or gardener before your condition started.
What helps: Household Services generally covers tasks you personally did before the injury or illness. If someone else did the job before, DVA may not cover it. Explain any part of the work you did yourself.
Official rule: CLIK – 1.2.1 Personally undertaken prior to injury
Someone at home could help
The situation: DVA asks whether a partner or other household member can do the yard work.
What helps: DVA considers whether a household member could reasonably help without being paid. It may help to explain their own limits, such as work hours, health or caring duties. As a general rule, DVA can't pay family members to do the work.
Official rule: DVA – Household services compensation
Just the lawn and gutters
The situation: You hold a Gold or White Card and need help with mowing, gutters or small safety jobs, but not a full garden service.
What helps: Veterans' Home Care home and garden help can cover lawn mowing, gutter and window cleaning, and minor safety jobs that don't need a tradesperson. It doesn't cover weeding, pruning or flower beds. Call 1300 550 450 for a phone assessment. A small co-payment may apply.
Official rule: DVA – Help with home and garden upkeep
Common problems
Guidance
The official rules that most often explain a refusal:
- "I never did that job before." If you paid a contractor to mow before your injury, DVA won't usually fund mowing now. (CLIK 1.2.1)
- Someone else at home could do it. DVA considers whether household members could reasonably help, but it shouldn't expect them to give up work, study or other commitments to do so. (MRCA s215; CLIK 1.2.3, 1.2.4)
- Doubling up with VHC. If you get Household Services under the MRCA, you can't also get VHC Domestic Assistance or Home & Garden help.
- Arranging your own OT report. DVA only pays for an assessment it has requested.
- Expecting weeding or pruning under VHC. Routine and ornamental gardening isn't covered by VHC.
Practical tips
Editorial
- On the claim form, explain clearly that you used to do the mowing or gardening, and how your condition stops you now.
- List everyone in your household and their work, study or other commitments, because DVA has to consider them.
- If your Household Services claim is refused, you can still ask for a VHC assessment if you hold a Gold or White Card.
- Still on a DRCA approval? You can ask DVA about moving to the MRCA early to get the higher weekly limit. It won't increase the services already approved.
- Choose a provider with an ABN, insurance, and Working with Children, Working with Vulnerable People and police checks. Keep every receipt.
What DVA says
Official
The legal test is in section 214 of the MRCA. The Commonwealth pays weekly compensation for household services a person "reasonably requires" because of an accepted service injury or disease. Section 215 lists what DVA must weigh up:
- how much of the household work you did before the injury or illness;
- how much you can still do now;
- how many people live with you;
- their ages and their own needs;
- what household members did before the injury;
- what household members or relatives could reasonably do now;
- the need to avoid substantially disrupting their work or other activities;
- any other matter DVA considers relevant.
History: what changed on 1 July 2026
Before 1 July 2026, household services came under MRCA s214 or DRCA s29, and conditions accepted under the VEA didn't count. From 1 July 2026 every new claim is assessed under the MRCA, no matter when you served or which Act accepted your conditions. Existing DRCA approvals continue unchanged until their renewal date and are then reviewed under the MRCA.
Official sources
Official
- Legislation · MRCA s214Compensation for household servicesView source
- Legislation · MRCA s215Matters to be considered in household services claimsView source
- CLIK · Policy manual 1.1Household ServicesView source
- CLIK · 1.2 / 1.2.1Criteria for assessing what is reasonable · Tasks personally undertaken before injuryView source
- CLIK · 1.5Veterans' Home Care and Household Services interactionView source
- CLIK · RatesMRCA rates & allowances, 1 July 2026View source
- DVA websiteHousehold services compensationView source
- DVA websiteVeterans' Home Care: services, limits & co-paymentsView source
- DVA form · D9319Claim for Household Services compensationView source
All sources retrieved and checked 2 Oct 2026.