 If you are a veteran applying for compensation under the VEA and/or DRCA, changes are coming to how your compensation is assessed. From 1 July 2026, the Veteran’s Entitlements, Treatment, and Support (Simplification and Harmonisation) Act 2025 will commence, simplifying the three acts into one. This means that from 1 July 2026, all new claims will be assessed under the largely unchanged Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 2004 (MRCA), no matter your period of service. Previously, the VEA covered some operational and peacetime service prior to 1 July 2004, while the DRCA covered Defence-related injuries for the same period. This meant that some veteran’s were covered by multiple acts. MRCA, which currently covers specific service from 1 July 2004 onwards, will no longer be restricted to this period. All eligible veterans will be assessed against the MRCA criteria, even if they served pre 1 July 2004. If you are currently receiving compensation under VEA and/or DRCA you will continue to be paid, and payments will index as normal. These changes were made in response to the Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide, and are anticipated to make the compensation process simpler and fairer for Veterans. If you’d like to learn more about the differences between these acts, you can see our Defence Funding Acts chart here. Find out more about these changes here.
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