Mental health support

If you or someone else is in crisis, DVA lists these numbers. You don't need to have a DVA card or a claim to call.

If you call Open Arms and you are distressed or in crisis, you are put through to a counsellor straight away.

DVA can also help if you are homeless or at risk, and may be able to make a Crisis Payment. Call 1800 VETERAN (1800 838 372), 8 am to 5 pm, Monday to Friday. In some cases Open Arms may help with short-term emergency accommodation.

Source: DVA – Crisis contacts; DVA – Get urgent support; Open Arms – Safe Zone Support; Open Arms – How to get support; Lifeline; Defence – All-hours Support Line

DVA pays for treatment of all mental health conditions for eligible veterans, for as long as it is needed. You don't need to prove your service caused the condition. This is called Non-Liability Health Care (NLHC). It is not a compensation claim.

Who is eligible

• Current and former full-time members of the ADF.
• Reservists with at least one day of continuous full-time service (CFTS). CFTS means full-time service in the permanent forces, or a reservist formally put on full-time service by Defence, or called out by the Governor-General. Reserve training days don't count as CFTS.
• Reservists without CFTS may still be eligible if they have Disaster Relief Service, Border Protection Service, or were involved in a serious service-related training accident.

What you need: a Veteran Card – Specific Conditions (White Card) that covers mental health. Gold Card holders are already covered for mental health treatment.

How to get it – any one of these:

• Apply online in MyService.
• Call 1800 VETERAN (1800 838 372).
• Email NLHC@dva.gov.au.
• Use the paper form D9213 Application for Health Care for Mental Health Condition(s).

You may need proof of identity. To check if your card already covers mental health, log in to MyService, go to 'Your card', then 'View card details', then 'Conditions listed'. Look for 'All mental health conditions – treatment only'.

Good to know

• Once approved, you can start treatment before your card arrives. Show your provider your NLHC acceptance letter.
• If approved, DVA can repay eligible treatment costs (including treatment travel) from up to 3 months before DVA received your application. Keep receipts.
• If you get a bill for covered treatment, don't pay it – tell DVA.
• NLHC does not cover treatment overseas.
• Always check the provider accepts the Veteran Card before you book.

Source: DVA – Non-Liability Health Care (mental health) for veterans; DVA – Form D9213

These three are separate, and you can use more than one at the same time.

Source: DVA – NLHC (mental health); DVA – Making a claim for a service-related condition; Open Arms – How to get support

Open Arms – Veterans & Families Counselling (formerly VVCS) is run by DVA. Its staff understand military culture. Services are free and confidential.

Who can use it

• Anyone who has served at least one day of continuous full-time service in the ADF, and their immediate families.
• Current serving Navy, Army and Air Force members, and people transitioning out.
• Partners and children of serving and ex-serving personnel, and ex-partners who are co-parenting.
• Reservists who have rendered border protection or disaster relief service, or were involved in or witnessed a serious training accident, and their immediate families.
• Where a service person has died, parents and siblings may also be able to get support.

What they offer

• Individual, couple and family counselling – face to face, by phone or online.
• Free group programs such as Managing Anger, Understanding Anxiety, Recovery from Trauma, Managing Depression, Sleeping Better, Managing Pain, Connected Couples and Stepping Out (for transition).
• Community and Peer Workers who have lived experience of military service or military family life.
• Online programs, including the Shoulder to Shoulder peer forums (run by SANE Australia) and a free 8-week mindfulness program (run by Openground). You don't need to be an Open Arms client.
• Suicide prevention and resilience training.

How to start: call 1800 011 046 (24/7), use the online contact form, visit an office, or get a referral from your GP. They will ask some questions and link you with a counsellor, peer worker or program.

Open Arms won't share your information with other agencies without your consent, except in exceptional cases such as a serious risk to safety, or where the law requires it.

Source: Open Arms – Eligibility; Open Arms – How to get support; Open Arms – Counselling; Open Arms – Treatment programs and workshops; Open Arms – Community and Peer Program; Open Arms – Online Programs

Under NLHC, treatment for mental health conditions may include (Gold Card holders are already covered for mental health treatment):

• A GP, psychiatrist, psychologist, mental health social worker or mental health occupational therapist.
• Mental health admissions to a public or private hospital, and treatment at a day procedure facility.
• Prescribed medicines for mental health conditions.
• Pathology and imaging needed to assess and diagnose a mental health condition.
• DVA-recognised alcohol and drug treatment programs.
• Open Arms services.
• Extra short-term services alongside your treatment, such as exercise physiology, physiotherapy or nutrition advice, if your GP thinks they would help.

Start with your GP. DVA says your GP and Open Arms are the two best places to start. Your GP can talk through your symptoms, refer you on, and prescribe medicine if needed.

Trauma Recovery Programs (PTSD). Accredited hospitals contracted by DVA run group and individual programs for Gold or White Card holders with a clinical diagnosis of PTSD. They typically run from 4 weeks full-time to 12 weeks part-time. A psychiatrist or GP can refer you. DVA lists programs in NSW, Queensland, South Australia, Victoria and Western Australia – see the DVA PTSD page for hospitals and phone numbers.

Psychiatric Assistance Dog Program. If you have a Gold or White Card, a PTSD diagnosis from a psychiatrist, and at least 3 months of treatment with a psychiatrist or psychologist, you may be able to apply. Talk to your mental health professional.

Coordinated Veterans' Care (CVC). This GP-led care coordination program is for Gold Card holders with chronic conditions, and White Card holders with a chronic DVA-accepted mental health condition, who have complex needs and are at risk of hospital. White Card holders with NLHC only are not eligible.

Source: DVA – NLHC (mental health); DVA – Managing PTSD; DVA – Psychiatric Assistance Dog Program; DVA – Coordinated Veterans' Care Program

NLHC gives you treatment, but not compensation. If you think your service caused or worsened a mental health condition, you can also make an Initial Liability claim. If DVA accepts it, a needs assessment follows and you may get compensation, rehabilitation and other support. See Making a claim.

• One law for new claims. Since 1 July 2026, all new claims are assessed under the MRCA, no matter when the condition started. Claims lodged before then under the VEA or DRCA keep going under those Acts.
• Diagnosis. You need a confirmed diagnosis for each condition you claim. For depressive and anxiety disorders, DVA accepts a diagnosis from a psychiatrist, or your treating GP or treating clinical psychologist. These diagnoses must follow DSM-5 criteria. Other mental health conditions, such as PTSD, generally still need a diagnosis from a psychiatrist.
• Don't pay for reports first. You don't need to arrange extra assessments before you lodge, unless DVA asks. Check DVA has approved any assessment before you book or pay.
• Presumptive liability. For claims from 1 July 2026, DVA may automatically accept some listed conditions as service-related if you have a diagnosis and meet the service criteria. You don't apply separately – DVA checks this for you.
• Statements of Principles (SoPs). If presumptive liability doesn't apply, DVA usually uses the SoPs. These are legal documents from the Repatriation Medical Authority (RMA) that set out the factors that can link a condition to service. There are SoPs for posttraumatic stress disorder, depressive disorder, anxiety disorder, adjustment disorder and alcohol use disorder, among others.

A free trained advocate can help you with a mental health claim – see Getting help with a claim and Conditions and evidence.

Source: DVA – Making a claim for a service-related condition; DVA – Presumptive liability; DVA – Expansion of who can diagnose anxiety and depressive conditions; RMA – Statements of Principles

Veteran Payment is an interim payment you may get while DVA assesses your claim for a mental health condition under the MRCA. It is still available after 1 July 2026. (If you lodged a DRCA claim before 1 July 2026, you may also be eligible.)

You may get it if you meet all of these:

• You have lodged a claim for a mental health condition under the MRCA.
• You can't work more than 8 hours a week.
• You were under Age Pension age, and in Australia, on the day you lodged the claim.
• You meet residency rules and are under the income and assets limits.

You need to take part in rehabilitation if you are able to. A current partner may also be eligible.

How to apply: lodge your mental health claim first, then apply for Veteran Payment in MyService, or use form D9333 Application for Veteran Payment. You will need a medical certificate saying you can't work more than 8 hours a week (you have up to 4 weeks to provide it after payments start), your tax file number and proof of identity.

Good to know

• It can't be paid at the same time as JobSeeker, Disability Support Pension, Incapacity Payments, Service Pension or War Widow(er)'s Pension, among others.
• It is taxable. It stops 42 days after DVA decides your claim. DVA then moves you to a suitable payment, or helps you move to a Services Australia payment if the claim is declined.

Source: DVA – Veteran Payment; DVA – Form D9333

Looking after someone else can take a toll. Families can get help in their own right.

• Open Arms offers free, confidential counselling to partners, children and families of anyone with one day of continuous full-time service. This includes help with deployment, transition, relationship breakdown and trauma. Call 1800 011 046.
• Many Open Arms group programs are open to partners and adult children.
• After a death. Where a service person has died, Open Arms support extends to the wider family, including parents and siblings. Open Arms has information on suicide bereavement and loss.
• Serving families can call the Defence Member and Family Helpline on 1800 624 608 (24 hours).
• Relationships Australia offers counselling, mediation and family dispute resolution. Call 1300 364 277.
• Your own GP can help you with a mental health care plan.

See also Family and children.

Source: Open Arms – Family; Open Arms – Eligibility; Open Arms – Loss; Open Arms – Parents of veterans; DVA – Mental health support services

• Safe Zone Support – 1800 142 072. Anonymous counselling, 24/7. You don't have to say who you are or when you served. It is hosted by Open Arms but is a separate service, and its records are kept separately from DVA records.
• Medicare Mental Health – 1800 595 212 (weekdays 8:30 am to 5 pm). A free government service for all Australians that connects you with mental health support. No referral needed. It is not a crisis service.
• Veterans’ and Families’ Hubs (some formerly called Veteran Wellbeing Centres). These local hubs may offer wellbeing support, advocacy, employment and housing advice, social connection and health services. Each hub sets its own charges, if any.
• Open Arms self-help tools. High Res SMART tools to manage stress and build resilience. Note: the older Open Arms apps (High Res, PTSD Coach, The Right Mix, Operation Life) are no longer available to download – their tools have moved to the Open Arms website.
• Mental health and suicide prevention training. DVA funds free courses for the veteran community, such as Mental Health First Aid and LivingWorks safeTALK and ASIST.

Source: Open Arms – Safe Zone Support; Medicare Mental Health; DVA – Veterans’ and Families’ Hubs; Open Arms – Self-help tools; Open Arms – Apps and online resources; DVA – Mental health support services

• Save the numbers now. Put Open Arms (1800 011 046) and Safe Zone Support (1800 142 072) in your phone, and share them with someone close to you.
• Treatment first, paperwork later. You can get NLHC and Open Arms support without making a compensation claim. A claim can come later if you want it.
• Ask before you book. Check the psychologist, psychiatrist or clinic accepts the Veteran Card before your first appointment.
• Keep a simple record. Note appointments, symptoms and how they affect sleep, work and family. It helps your treating team and any future claim.
• Bring someone along. If appointments feel hard, ask a partner, friend or advocate to come with you.
• Don't pay unexpected bills. If you get a bill for treatment NLHC covers, contact DVA first.
• Get free claim help. A trained advocate from an ex-service organisation can help with a mental health claim at no cost. See the Directory.
• Families count too. Partners, children and carers can call Open Arms for themselves.

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

• defence.gov.auDefence – All-hours Support Line
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• dva.gov.auAbout MyService
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• dva.gov.auApplication for Health Care for Mental Health Condition(s)
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• dva.gov.auApplication for Veteran Payment
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• dva.gov.auMaking a claim for a service-related condition
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• dva.gov.auPresumptive liability
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• dva.gov.auVeteran Payment
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• dva.gov.auVeteran Card - Specific Conditions
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• dva.gov.auCoordinated Veterans’ Care (CVC) Program
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• dva.gov.auExpansion of who can diagnose anxiety and depressive conditions for DVA liability claims
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• dva.gov.auVeterans’ and Families’ Hubs
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• dva.gov.auGet urgent support
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• dva.gov.auCrisis contacts
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• dva.gov.auManaging post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
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• dva.gov.auMental health support services
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• dva.gov.auNon-Liability Health Care (mental health) for veterans
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• dva.gov.auOur Psychiatric Assistance Dog Program
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• lifeline.org.auLifeline Australia
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• medicarementalhealth.gov.auMedicare Mental Health
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• openarms.gov.auOpen Arms – Veterans & Families Counselling
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• openarms.gov.auOpen Arms – Community and Peer Program
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• openarms.gov.auOpen Arms – Counselling
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• openarms.gov.auOpen Arms – How to get support
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• openarms.gov.auOpen Arms – Online Programs
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• openarms.gov.auOpen Arms – Self-help tools
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• openarms.gov.auOpen Arms – Treatment programs and workshops
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• openarms.gov.auOpen Arms – Apps and online resources
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• openarms.gov.auOpen Arms – Safe Zone Support
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• openarms.gov.auOpen Arms – Loss
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• openarms.gov.auOpen Arms – Suicide bereavement
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• openarms.gov.auOpen Arms – Children
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• openarms.gov.auOpen Arms – Eligibility
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• openarms.gov.auOpen Arms – Family
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• openarms.gov.auOpen Arms – Parents of veterans
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• openarms.gov.auOpen Arms – Partners
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• rma.gov.auRMA – Statements of Principles (SoPs)
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• rma.gov.auRMA SoP – adjustment disorder
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• rma.gov.auRMA SoP – alcohol use disorder
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• rma.gov.auRMA SoP – anxiety disorder
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• rma.gov.auRMA SoP – depressive disorder
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• rma.gov.auRMA SoP – posttraumatic stress disorder
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All links opened and checked 2026-10-03.