Terms of use

What this site is

Independent, unpaid information written by an Australian veteran from public legislation, DVA pages, and hard-won process knowledge. The point is to make claims, reviews, FOI, hardship, household services, and complaints less daunting — so you can navigate them yourself or take a clearer brief to an advocate.

What this site is not

• Not legal advice. Not a law practice. Nothing here creates a solicitor–client relationship.
• Not financial, tax, or superannuation advice. Not a financial services licensee.
• Not clinical, medical, or counselling advice. Open Arms and your treating practitioners are the clinical channel.
• Not an ATDP advocate acting for you, not an ex-service organisation, not DVA, not Defence, not the Ombudsman, and not the OAIC.
• Not a place that lodges claims, FOI requests, reviews, or complaints on your behalf. You copy, check, and send.

Your claim stays yours

Time limits, eligibility, and rates live on your decision letter and on official pages. If this site and the letter disagree, the letter and the law win. Missing a review window, sending an incomplete form, or relying on a page that has gone stale is a risk you carry — not a retainer with us. Use an ATDP-accredited advocate or a lawyer on a live or time-critical matter if you can.

Letter templates are starting points. You must check names, dates, claim numbers, and facts before you send them. Pathfinder is a sequence, not a decision. Guides summarise public rules; they are not a substitute for the Act, the instrument, or the page on dva.gov.au.

Accuracy and change

We take care, and we correct mistakes when veterans tell us. Legislation, GARP M, rates, forms, and DVA practice still move. A page dated August 2026 can be wrong in September. Official sources and your file override this site. Where an argument is contested, we try to put both sides on the same page — that is not a promise that either side will win.

Other people’s sites and forms

Links to DVA, MyService, the VRB, ART, OAIC, Ombudsman, legislation, and PDF forms go to those organisations. We do not control them. Commonwealth forms stay Commonwealth copyright; we link, we do not host a filled copy of your form. If a link is dead, that is not a DVA decision about your claim.

Hosting the site

If an optional hosting contribution is open, it is voluntary and goes toward running costs. It does not buy advice, a claim, a faster answer, or a professional relationship. Collection stops when that calendar month’s published target is covered. Nothing on this site is a paid service, and a transfer does not change the Australian Consumer Law position set out below.

Feedback

A feedback note is a message about this field guide. It is not a complaint to DVA, not a request that we represent you, and not a claim. Do not send other people’s personal information.

Liability

This site is provided free, as is, for general information. To the maximum extent permitted by law — and subject to the Australian Consumer Law box at the top of this page — the publisher is not liable for loss or damage (including lost payments, missed time limits, or distress) arising from use of, or reliance on, this site.

Nothing on this page excludes, restricts, or modifies a consumer guarantee, right, or remedy under the Australian Consumer Law that cannot lawfully be excluded. We do not write a total waiver. If those guarantees apply and we are liable, our liability is limited, where the law allows, to supplying the information again.

Use of the site

Use it to understand process and to prepare your own correspondence. Do not use it to impersonate anyone, to harvest other veterans’ details, or to attack DVA staff. We may change or take down pages without notice.

These terms are governed by the laws of Australia. Privacy is on a separate page, because veteran privacy is not a footnote.