Permanent impairment compensation is for non-economic loss — pain, suffering, loss of amenities — from accepted conditions that are permanent. It is not wage replacement. It is generally tax-free. Under the improved MRCA you can take it as a periodic payment, an age-based lump sum, or a mix. Financial advice is required in some cases before a lump.
How a rating is built
- 1Each accepted condition is assessed against the relevant GARP M chapter.
- 2Ratings are combined using the GARP M combining rules (not simple addition).
- 3Lifestyle / non-economic loss components may still be argued — read the current tables rather than an old DRCA NEL questionnaire.
- 4Old VEA/DRCA ratings can be converted to a GARP M baseline. Worsening is the increase from that baseline.
Section 80 and children
MRCA section 80 is an additional PI payment where the veteran has at least 80 impairment points and there is an eligible young person. After 1 July 2026 it can be triggered by a new accepted condition or a 5-point worsening, and the class of eligible recipients is broader than some older advice suggested. If you have children and you are near that threshold, a one- or two-point fight on a table is not academic.
SRDP
The Special Rate Disability Pension is a periodic MRCA payment for veterans with severe, ongoing incapacity who meet the statutory tests (including impairment and work tests). Eligibility and election are not the same thing. DVA’s own page (last updated 1 July 2026) says that once you are eligible for SRDP, even if you choose not to receive the SRDP payment, you get a Veteran Card — All Conditions embossed TPI, the high-rate MRCA Supplement, and MRCAETS for dependent children. Ask for the eligibility assessment, not the payment. The election is irreversible and you have 12 months from the written offer. See What changed on 1 July 2026.