DVA and Medicinal Cannabis: The Prescribing Criteria

The six funded conditions

Under the Medicinal Cannabis Framework, DVA will only consider funding medicinal cannabis for:

chronic pain
chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting
palliative care indications
anorexia and wasting associated with chronic illness such as cancer
spasticity from neurological conditions
refractory paediatric epilepsy

Two further gates apply on top of the condition. The veteran must hold a Veteran Card that covers treatment for that condition — so for a White Card holder, it must be an accepted condition. And evidence-based standard treatments must have been tried for that condition and not been effective. Medicinal cannabis is not a first-line option under this Framework.

Why PTSD is not on the list

This is the part that matters most to veterans, and it is the part most often misunderstood.

DVA states that it will not consider funding medicinal cannabis where it is being used for conditions not in the Framework, “including treatment for a mental health condition”. PTSD, anxiety, depression and insomnia are not funded indications.

That is worth being blunt about, because medicinal cannabis is marketed heavily to veterans on exactly those grounds — sleep, nightmares, PTSD. A clinic may lawfully prescribe it for those indications under the TGA pathways. DVA will simply not pay for it. The veteran wears the cost, which for dried herb can run to hundreds of dollars a month indefinitely.

There is a second reason to slow down here. DVA has publicly noted the harms reported with medicinal cannabis, including psychosis, suicide and accidental poisoning — including children and pets getting into gummy-style products. For a veteran with PTSD, the interaction between cannabis and mental health is a live clinical question, not a neutral one. If sleep and nightmares are the problem, there are funded pathways worth exhausting first, including non-liability health care, which pays for mental health treatment with no accepted condition and no claim required.

Product and dose limits

Even for a funded condition, DVA funds only:

products with CBD and/or THC as the only labelled active ingredients — products with other cannabinoids as labelled actives are not funded
oral forms limited to capsules and liquid preparations — not edibles, pastilles or gummies
dried herb for vaporisation through a TGA-approved medical device
dried herb at a THC concentration of 25% or less
total dried herb for vaporisation of 2 g per day or less across all products
a maximum of 3 products at any one time

Tier 1 and Tier 2

Applications are sorted into two tiers on two criteria — number of products and total daily THC:

	Tier 1	Tier 2
Number of products	Maximum 2 at any one time	Up to 3 at any one time
Total daily THC	40 mg or less per day	More than 40 mg per day

If any criterion falls into Tier 2, the whole request is Tier 2.

Tier 1 — the treating medical practitioner applies for prior approval of an RPBS Authority prescription using form D9545 via HPOS form upload, or by phoning the Veterans’ Affairs Pharmaceutical Advisory Centre (VAPAC) on 1800 552 580, 9am to 5pm AEST/AEDT, while with the patient. You will need the brand and generic composition, strength/ratio and formulation, TGA category, pack size, current daily dose, quantity for up to one month, and repeats for Schedule 4 (TGA Category 1) products.

Tier 2 — must be in writing on form D9546 via HPOS, and must be accompanied by a written assessment from a relevant treating non-GP specialist whose speciality is directly relevant to the condition being treated. That assessment has to set out the conditions being treated, their active support for a trial, and the previous treatment strategies that led to the recommendation. Once a Tier 2 application is approved, the Authority prescription itself is then arranged through the Tier 1 process.

What the prescriber must confirm

The prescriber has to attest to a substantial list:

they have specialist registration with Ahpra
assessment and prescribing have followed Ahpra’s guidance on medicinal cannabis prescribing
medicinal cannabis is clinically indicated and may benefit the client — or, for repeat requests, has shown related clinical benefit
there has been an initial in-person consultation for a first prescription, when changing prescriber, or for any change that moves the patient from Tier 1 to Tier 2
all State, Territory and Commonwealth approvals, including TGA authorisations, have been obtained
a mental health assessment has been completed in relation to medicinal cannabis, and there is no increased risk to suicidal ideation or mental health
the client has no current substance use disorder and is low risk for one, with active monitoring for cannabis use disorder and a management plan — including possible de-prescribing — if concern develops

That in-person requirement is aimed squarely at the telehealth-only prescribing model a lot of veterans have encountered.

When DVA will not fund it

DVA will not consider funding where:

it is for a condition outside the Framework, including any mental health condition
the client has no Veteran Card or no accepted condition covering the treatment
it is a Tier 2 request and the non-GP specialist assessment is missing
the concentration, dose or formulation falls outside the funding limits
the formulation is an oral form other than capsules or liquid — pastilles or gummies
it is a liquid for vaporisation or e-cigarette via a non-TGA-approved device
it is a cannabis concentrate such as hash
it is an externally applied product

And one structural rule: DVA funds medicinal cannabis only under the RPBS, dispensed by a pharmacy able to dispense RPBS items against an approved Authority prescription. Buying privately and seeking reimbursement afterwards is subject to the same Framework rules — if the prescription would not have been approved, the reimbursement will not be either.

The grandfathering deadline has passed

When the updated Framework came in, DVA allowed a six-month grandfathering window for existing prescriptions. That window closed on 31 August 2026.

So if you were on a DVA-funded medicinal cannabis prescription written under the old rules, it must now comply with the current Framework. If your product, dose or indication sits outside the limits above, the funding stops — and for veterans prescribed for PTSD or sleep, it will have stopped. If that has happened to you, the conversation to have with your doctor is what funded treatment replaces it, not how to keep paying privately.

Common questions

Will DVA pay for medicinal cannabis for PTSD?

No. DVA states it will not fund medicinal cannabis for conditions outside the Framework, including mental health conditions. PTSD, anxiety, depression and insomnia are not funded indications.

Can my GP apply?

The prescriber must confirm they hold specialist registration with Ahpra and that prescribing follows Ahpra’s medicinal cannabis guidance. Tier 2 additionally requires a written assessment from a treating non-GP specialist relevant to the condition.

Are gummies or oils covered?

Capsules and liquid oral preparations can be funded. Pastilles, gummies and other edible forms are explicitly excluded, as are concentrates such as hash and externally applied products.

How much THC will DVA fund?

Up to 40 mg per day total keeps a request in Tier 1; above that it becomes Tier 2 and needs specialist support. Dried herb is capped at 25% THC concentration and 2 g per day across all products, with a maximum of three products.

I was already on it and my funding stopped. Why?

The six-month grandfathering arrangements ended on 31 August 2026. Prescriptions written under the previous rules must now meet the updated Framework.

Can I pay privately and claim it back?

Reimbursement of privately incurred costs is assessed against the same Framework. If the prescription would not have been approved, reimbursement will not be approved either.

Talk to us

Call 0429 146 039 or email reception@vhc.org.au — Veterans Health Centre, Ipswich, Queensland.

If any of this is difficult to read, Open Arms — Veterans and Families Counselling is free, confidential and available 24/7 on 1800 011 046.