Current as of 15 September 2026. Every figure on this page was checked against DVA's published schedules on that date. When something moves, we update this page and say so.
What is in force today
The current DVA fee schedules for dental and allied health are those effective 1 July 2026. They have not changed since. If you are billing today, these are the figures.
DVA publishes a separate schedule of fees for each discipline, as PDF and DOCX. There are 21 in the 1 July 2026 set, including podiatrists, physiotherapists, exercise physiologists, chiropractors, osteopaths, orthotists, occupational therapists, dietitians, diabetes educators, psychologists, social workers and speech pathologists.
Alongside them sit the software vendor files, also effective 1 July 2026, in both XML and XLSX. These are what you load into your practice management system so your item codes and fees match what DVA will pay.
The update notice, and what it means for you
Since late August the fee schedules page has carried this notice directly under the 1 July 2026 heading:
Please note these documents are currently being updated, however for any queries regarding these fee schedules please email [email protected]
Nothing has actually changed. The 1 July 2026 schedules are still the operative ones and you should keep billing them. Worth knowing, though: the podiatry, physiotherapy and speech pathology PDFs in the July set are byte-for-byte the same size as the January 2026 versions, which is consistent with the files not yet having been fully re-issued. If an item fee looks wrong to you, that email address is the right first step rather than assuming the PDF is final.
Each discipline schedule notates the items that require prior financial authorisation. If an item carries that notation you must contact DVA for approval before starting treatment, not after. The schedules also flag restrictions placed on particular items. This is the single most common way clinics end up doing unpaid work, so it is worth reading the notes at the front of your own discipline's schedule rather than working from the fee column alone.
What changes on 1 July 2027
DVA is rebuilding how it pays allied health providers. The changes take effect 1 July 2027 and are open for consultation until 30 October 2026.
The Government is investing $169.7 million, which DVA describes as the largest investment in veteran allied health provider fees in more than two decades. It responds to Recommendation 71 of the Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide, which called for increases to DVA fee schedules to improve access to care.
Three things change.
Provider fees increase. Item-level figures have not been published yet, so there is no way to model the impact on your own book.
The 12-session treatment cycle is removed. An initial GP referral is still required. What goes is the need for a fresh GP referral after every 12 sessions.
A $5,000 annual treatment review threshold is introduced. It triggers a review. It is not a cap.
The $5,000 threshold is a review trigger, not a limit
This gets reported as a cap and it is not one. Veteran Card holders who need more than $5,000 of allied health care in a year can still receive clinically necessary treatment. Veterans approaching the threshold have their treatment reviewed with their health care team, and DVA funds additional services where there is demonstrated clinical need. Treatment continues while DVA considers a request.
Note that DVA's own earlier wording described this as a "$5,000 annual monetary limit". That language has been removed. If you read about a DVA cap earlier in 2026, that is why.
Who the threshold does not apply to
The threshold does not apply at all to Veteran Card holders who are:
Eligible for the Special Rate Disability Pension
Eligible for the Totally and Permanently Incapacitated (TPI) Pension
Determined to be catastrophically injured
Psychology and counselling delivered through Open Arms also sits outside the threshold and does not count towards it.
What it means administratively
A treatment review involves the treating team, and demonstrating clinical need means someone writing the justification. If you carry a caseload of higher-needs veterans, expect treatment reviews and written justifications to become part of the work from July 2027.
It is still unresolved who writes that request when a veteran is being treated across several disciplines. If a patient has had $4,800 of physiotherapy and exercise physiology and then sees a podiatrist, the podiatrist is the one who tips them over. DVA's published material does not say which provider carries the paperwork.
Which disciplines are covered
The fee increases cover chiropractic, diabetes education, dietetics, exercise physiology, occupational therapy, orthotics, osteopathy, physiotherapy, podiatry, psychology, social work and speech therapy.
They do not cover medical services including GP and specialist consultations such as psychiatry, nor dental, optical or hearing services.
How much the average veteran actually uses
Based on 2024-25 service usage, DVA puts median annual allied health expenditure at around $1,900 per Veteran Card holder. After the planned fee increase it expects that to sit around $2,600. So the median veteran is well under the threshold, and the fee rise itself moves everyone a little closer to it.
MyService will show veterans their own spend
DVA is updating MyService so Veteran Card holders can see allied health expenditure and services billed against their card in near real time. Patients will know what they have spent before you do.
Having a say before it is built
Consultation closes 30 October 2026. Allied health providers are named as a group DVA wants to hear from. There is a discussion paper, a written submission portal, and consultation sessions if writing a submission is more than you want to take on. DVA held an information session on 2 September 2026 and has published the recording, transcript and Q&A.
Everything else
DVA is one of five payers we track. For Medicare, NDIS and the state workers compensation schemes, start at The Billing Reference, which carries the current status of every schedule in one place.
We check these pages so you do not have to, and we send what changed every fortnight. Subscribing is free.