Privacy

What we do not keep

Veteran Assist does not store letters, Pathfinder answers, search queries, the WPI calculator, Deadlines dates, the postcode lookup, or My file notes on our servers. Those run in your browser. Closing the tab (or wiping My file) removes them from this site’s reach. We do not sell data. We do not run ads. We do not drop analytics trackers.

My file is a notepad in this browser only. Default: it clears when the browser session ends. If you tick “keep on this device”, it sits in this browser’s storage on this computer until you wipe it. Anyone who can unlock this device and this browser profile can read it. Do not use that option on a shared or work computer.

What is stored on our servers

Only these things are stored on the server, and only in the cases described:

• Feedback you choose to send. If you tap Send on a feedback note, we store the note, the kind of note, the page you were on, the time, and the email only if you chose to add one for a reply. Do not include claim numbers, names, or medical detail.
• Hosting references, if a hosting meter is switched on. If you generate a reference to chip in toward hosting, we store the amount, the month, the reference and the time. No name, and no claim number. The PayID you pay from stays with your bank.
• A rate-limit counter. To stop automated abuse of Feedback and the hosting reference tool, we keep a count against a scrambled one-way code made from your IP address (for a newer IPv6 address, from its network half). The IP address itself is not stored, and the counters are deleted within about two days.
• Standard server logs. Our hosting provider, Vercel, records basic request details such as IP address, time and page for security and operations, under its own policy. We do not add analytics or trackers on top.

No AI on this site

Veteran Assist does not send anything you type to an AI company. It used to have a built-in question tool; that was removed on 20 October 2026. If you use your own AI, the Asking an AI guide has a prompt to paste. What you type there is governed by that company, not by us, so leave out your name, claim number, date of birth, address and medical file.

No accounts, no third-party scripts or fonts

There is no sign-in and no account. You cannot create one. Guides, letters, Pathfinder, the calculator, Deadlines, the postcode lookup and My file all work without an identity.

The pages load no analytics, advertising or tracking scripts, and the fonts are served from this site, not from Google or any other font service. Links to dva.gov.au and other sites only leave this site when you tap them.

How long we keep things

• Feedback notes (and any email on them): deleted automatically after 12 months. The clean-up runs whenever a feedback note is sent or the keeper opens the inbox.
• Hosting references: deleted automatically after 12 months.
• Rate-limit counters: deleted within about two days.
• Server logs held by Vercel follow Vercel’s own retention.

Ask for something to be deleted

If you left an email on a feedback note and want the note deleted sooner, send a new note through Feedback saying “please delete my earlier note” and put the same email in the email box so it can be matched. A note sent without an email cannot be matched to you, so we cannot find it to delete it before the 12-month limit. That is another reason to keep feedback free of personal detail.

What we built so this is harder to exploit

• Claim notes are not written to a database. There is nothing on the server to steal.
• Letter fields never submit to us. Copy them yourself. Autocomplete is off on those forms so the browser is less likely to hoard claim numbers.
• Feedback blocks claim-style numbers, dates of birth, and addresses. It is stored only if you tap Send, and is deleted automatically after the period above.
• Pages send no referrer to other sites, and cannot be shown inside another site’s frame. Camera, microphone, and location are disabled.
• Official DVA forms download from dva.gov.au. We do not host a copy of your completed form.

What we cannot promise

This is a website. Your device, your browser, your network, and a screen-reader or shared computer are outside our control. Do not type secrets into a machine you do not trust. For live claims, keep the real file in paper or a folder you own, and use an ATDP-accredited advocate if you can.

Veteran Assist is not DVA and is not a health service. If you are in crisis: Open Arms 1800 011 046 or 000.