Help at home: household services, attendant care & Veterans' Home Care

Only veterans can get Household Services and Attendant Care compensation. VHC isn't limited to veterans: any eligible card holder can be assessed. If your needs come from ageing or frailty rather than an accepted condition, DVA suggests VHC may be the better fit.

Source: DVA – Household Services, Attendant Care and Veterans' Home Care

Household Services compensation helps with routine tasks in and around your home that you can no longer do because of an accepted service-related condition. Help can be short term (for example after surgery) or ongoing.

• Common services: cleaning, laundry, ironing, shopping, meal preparation, lawn mowing, gardening, window and gutter cleaning, and childcare in some short-term or crisis situations.
• Eligibility: you can't manage the tasks because of your accepted condition, and DVA assesses that you reasonably need the services.
• Things DVA considers: whether you were responsible for those tasks before your injury or illness, and whether someone in your household could reasonably help without being paid.
• Not covered: nursing care. As a general rule, DVA can't pay family members to provide the services.
• 1 July 2026 changes: conditions accepted under the VEA can now support a claim, and all new claims are assessed under the MRCA. Existing DRCA approvals continue until the renewal date in your letter, then are reviewed under the MRCA.

Gardening and lawn care have their own detailed guide: Gardening & lawn mowing help.

Source: DVA – Household services compensation

• Claim: complete D9319 Claim for Household Services Compensation and email it to hhs@dva.gov.au, or post it to GPO Box 9998, Brisbane QLD 4001. Keep copies of anything you post.
• Assessment: if you are eligible, DVA confirms your eligibility, assesses your needs and decides the level of support.
• Choosing a provider: the provider must have an ABN and appropriate insurance, and have completed Working with Children, Working with Vulnerable People and police checks.
• Payment: DVA can reimburse you or pay the provider directly. Providers upload invoices through DVA's Provider Upload Page. See reimbursement for household services.

Services are reviewed regularly. Keep your receipts.

Source: DVA – Household services compensation

Attendant Care compensation pays for help with regular, essential personal care you can no longer do because of an accepted condition: bathing, toileting, grooming, dressing and feeding. It can be short term while you recover, or long term.

• Not covered: medical or clinical services and nursing care. For complex or clinical needs, talk to your GP about the DVA Community Nursing Program.
• Claim: D1351 Claim for Attendant Care Services Compensation. Your medical provider completes part of it. Email it to hhs@dva.gov.au or post it to GPO Box 9998, Brisbane QLD 4001.
• Assessment: an assessor looks at your personal care needs, who else lives with you and whether they could reasonably help unpaid, whether care helps you keep living at home or working, and other care you already get.
• Providers: if approved, you choose a provider accredited by the Australian Community Industry Alliance, a registered NDIS personal care provider, or a registered My Aged Care personal care provider.
• Limit: compensation can't go over a weekly statutory limit. DRCA approvals continue until renewal. If yours is already at the DRCA limit, you can ask DVA about moving to the slightly higher MRCA limit.

Source: DVA – Attendant care

Veterans' Home Care is a low-level program that provides practical help so you can keep living independently at home. It also supports carers. It isn't designed for complex or high-level care needs.

• Eligible for an assessment if you: hold a Gold Card or a White Card (specific conditions and/or Non-Liability Health Care), live at home, and have difficulty with daily activities because of functional limitations.
• For Australian veterans with a White Card, the VHC assessment isn't limited to your accepted conditions.
• Services: domestic help (cleaning, washing, bed making, shopping from a list, meals, paying bills), personal care, respite care, and home and garden maintenance (light bulbs, gutters, windows, ceiling fans, split systems, minor maintenance, lawn mowing).
• How: call the VHC assessment agency on 1300 550 450. They assess you by phone and send a Care Plan setting out services, approval period, co-payment and provider. They contact you about a reassessment every 6 months, or you can call sooner if things change.
• The 1 July 2026 reforms don't change VHC.

Source: DVA – Veterans' Home Care; DVA – Household Services, Attendant Care and VHC

• You may need to pay for supplies such as light globes, batteries or tip fees.
• If you can't afford co-payments, you can apply for a waiver of VHC co-payments (criteria apply).
• Can't double up: if you get MRCA Household Services, you can't also get VHC domestic assistance or home and garden maintenance. If you get MRCA Attendant Care, you can't also get VHC personal care. Respite is only available through VHC, so you can still use it.

Source: DVA – Veterans' Home Care

The Rehabilitation Appliances Program (RAP) provides aids, equipment and modifications to meet a clinically assessed need.

• Who: people with an assessed clinical need and a Gold Card, or a White Card where the item is for a condition covered by the card.
• Examples: listening and tinnitus devices, communication and memory aids, continence and bathing products, personal alarms, oxygen and sleep apnoea machines, chairs, beds, lifting devices, mobility aids (walkers, wheelchairs, scooters), and assistance dogs.
• How: see your GP. They assess you, or refer you to a health professional such as an occupational therapist. They prescribe the item and, if needed, get DVA approval. A DVA-contracted supplier delivers and installs it at no cost to you.
• Repairs: contact the supplier listed on the item. Don't repair, modify, sell or give it away yourself, because DVA may own it.

Source: DVA – Rehabilitation Appliances Program; DVA – Getting aids, equipment and home modifications

Through RAP, DVA can cover changes that help you get into, move around and transfer safely in your home or vehicle, where a health professional assesses a clinical need.

• Home: non-slip surfaces, ramps, step changes and rails, ceiling hoists, stair, platform and vertical lifts, and making bathrooms and other areas easier to use.
• Vehicle: hoists and rotating seats, devices to carry a manual wheelchair, and customised driving controls.
• If an item isn't approved, contact DVA to understand the decision and your review options.

Source: DVA – Rehabilitation Appliances Program

• Community Nursing: for clinical or complex personal care. Ask your GP about a referral. The 1 July 2026 reforms don't change it.
• My Aged Care: the Commonwealth Home Support Program and Support at Home (which replaced Home Care Packages from 1 November 2025) are generally for people aged 65 and over (50 and over for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, and for people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness). Call 1800 200 422.
• You can use DVA and other aged care services together, as long as they don't duplicate each other.
• NDIS: you may also be eligible. Tell DVA if you get or apply for NDIS or My Aged Care services.

Source: DVA – Help with home and garden upkeep; DVA – Household Services, Attendant Care and VHC

• Not sure which program fits? Call 1800 VETERAN (1800 838 372), ask which home help you may be eligible for, and ask for a letter confirming your accepted conditions.
• Check your accepted conditions and which Act they fall under in MyService before you call.
• Before you claim Household Services or Attendant Care, think about how a switch would affect any VHC services you already have.
• If someone helps you deal with DVA, you can appoint them with D9325 or in MyService.
• Tell DVA about hospital stays, respite, holidays, moving or changes in what you need.
• For lawn mowing, hedges and yard work, see our gardening guide.

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.

Experiences collected October 2026. Got a correction? Use the feedback form.

• dva.gov.auHousehold services compensation
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• dva.gov.auAttendant care
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• dva.gov.auVeterans' Home Care (VHC)
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• dva.gov.auHousehold Services, Attendant Care and Veterans' Home Care
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• dva.gov.auHelp with home and garden upkeep
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• dva.gov.auHelp with cleaning and housekeeping
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• dva.gov.auHelp with personal care
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• dva.gov.auGetting aids, equipment and home modifications
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• dva.gov.auAids, equipment and modifications through the Rehabilitation Appliances Program (RAP) | De
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• dva.gov.auNursing help at home
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• dva.gov.auApplication for Waiver of Veterans’ Home Care Copayments
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• dva.gov.auDVA form D9319
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• dva.gov.auDVA form D1351
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• dva.gov.auImportant update for DVA clients seeking reimbursement for household services
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• myagedcare.gov.auHelping you navigate aged care, every step of the way | My Aged Care
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• ndis.gov.auNational Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS)
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All links opened and checked 2026-10-02.