Do this first
Step 1
Choose the permission together
DVA has four. Enquire: DVA can tell you about payments, debts and where a claim is up to. Act: you can lodge claims, sign forms, report changes and book travel. Act – health: the same, but only for medical treatment matters. Receive payments: the veteran’s DVA money is paid to you. More than one person can enquire. Only one person can act or receive payments.
Step 2
Fill in D9325 and both sign it
The form is the same whichever way you hand it in. The veteran fills in their part, you fill in yours, and you sign the acceptance and declaration. DVA says a representative should be over 18. DVA may ask you for proof of identity.
Step 3
Hand it in
Online: in MyService, go to Representation and choose Represent me (the veteran) or I represent (you). Upload the signed D9325. MyService can pre-fill the form for you. On paper: post it to Department of Veterans’ Affairs, GPO Box 9998, Brisbane QLD 4001, or take it to a VAN office.
Step 4
Wait until DVA has actioned it
Until then, DVA still cannot tell you anything. Once it is done, the arrangement shows on the Representation screen in both of your MyService accounts. If the veteran said yes to online access, you then reach their record through Select client, in your own name.
What you agree to
DVA’s representative page (updated 16 January 2024) says a person permitted to act must:
- act in the veteran’s best interests, taking their wishes into account;
- tell DVA about changes in the veteran’s circumstances within 14 days (28 days if outside Australia);
- answer DVA’s notices about the veteran’s pension. If you do not, DVA treats it as the veteran not meeting their obligations, and it can lead to an overpayment.
What you can do while you wait
- Build a chronology: service, the condition, the first symptom, the diagnosis, every letter and its date.
- Collect the medical reports and the decision letters. Photograph or scan them.
- List the accepted conditions and the claim numbers from the letters already in the house.
- Draft the letter or the claim answers. The veteran still signs, or you lodge only after the appointment is in place.
- Print the DVA call sheet for the first call after the appointment is in place. It keeps the claim number, the questions and the call reference on one page.
Couples: the partner consent form
D9378 Partner Declaration and Consent is a different form. DVA uses it so both members of a couple agree to share personal and financial information, and its examples are claims for income support pensions and the Commonwealth Seniors Health Card. It does not appoint you to act on the veteran’s claims. That is still D9325.
You are not the advocate
An ATDP-trained advocate works through an ex-service organisation that does not charge for advocacy. Find one at advocateregister.org.au. A partner doing the filing is a representative, not an advocate. DVA’s page on looking for help (updated 27 August 2024) says using a provider that charges fees does not guarantee results or faster processing. You can have an advocate and still be the person who keeps the papers.
If the veteran can no longer manage their affairs
DVA’s representative page says the person representing them must provide legal and medical evidence. It gives these examples: an enduring power of attorney; a guardianship or administration order from a court or tribunal; or a certified letter or report from a medical professional confirming the veteran has lost decision-making capacity. This is Part C of D9325. Whether a particular document is valid is a state law question. Take that part to a solicitor. D9325 only covers DVA. Other agencies and banks have their own processes.
What this does not do
- It does not pay you for helping. Household services generally cannot be paid to family. That rule is on the household-services guide.
- It is not the whole file. With online access you can see what is in the veteran’s MyService. A copy of the full DVA file is still a personal information request or an FOI request.
- It does not cover other departments. D9325 is DVA only.