Blog › GARP series

GARP Chapter 12: Diabetes, Thyroid and Blood, Explained Simply

Hormone conditions are scored on the treatment they take. Insulin rates 10 on its own — and every complication is a separate claim.

Veterans Health Centre · 7 September 2026 · 5 min read

Chapter 12 covers hormones and blood. Diabetes, thyroid, adrenal problems, anaemia and blood disorders.

The idea behind it

Hormone conditions do not usually cause a problem you can point at. They cause problems somewhere else.

So the chapter works in two directions:

Score the damage the condition has done in other body systems, using those chapters.
Score the hassle of the treatment, using the tables here.

You take whichever is higher. Not both.

Diabetes is scored on treatment

This is a short, clear table:

controlled by weight loss alone — nil
gestational diabetes — 2
controlled by diet, or by tablets — 5
controlled with insulin — 10
uncontrolled — 20

"Uncontrolled" has a definition: blood sugar consistently 15 mmol/L or more despite treatment.

Note what that means. Being on insulin scores 10 whether or not you have complications. And if you have complications — kidney, eye, nerve or heart damage — those are rated in their own chapters as separate conditions.

Other hormone conditions are scored on injections

Thyroid, adrenal, pituitary and the rest use a table based on how often you need treatment:

oral medication less than daily, or injections less than monthly — nil
daily tablets, or monthly injections — 2
injections up to fortnightly — 5
daily injections — 10

So daily thyroid tablets rate 2. Small, but it goes into the total.

Hypos and flare-ups

This is the part that gets missed.

If you get episodes on top of the underlying condition — hypoglycaemic attacks on insulin, thyroid storms, adrenal crises — the condition should also be assessed under Chapter 15, and that rating gets included as well.

Keep a record. Dates, how bad, how long, whether you needed help or an ambulance.

Blood conditions

Part 12.2 covers the blood-forming system — anaemias, leukaemias, polycythaemia. Same approach: rate the effect on other body systems. Where the condition is a cancer, Chapter 14 applies as well.

Anaemia can also be rated under Chapter 1, because it reduces exercise tolerance.

What this means for you

Say exactly what treatment you are on. Tablets, insulin, injections, and how often. That is the score.
Claim complications separately. Diabetic eye, nerve and kidney damage are their own conditions in their own chapters.
Record your hypos. Chapter 15 gives a rating on top.
Do not skip daily thyroid tablets. Small numbers still count.

Common questions

My diabetes is well controlled on insulin. Is that worth anything?

Yes, 10 points. The table scores the treatment required, not the control achieved.

What about my diabetic neuropathy?

That is a separate condition, rated under Chapter 5. It does not get folded into the diabetes rating.

Is anaemia rated here or in Chapter 1?

It can be either. Chapter 1 rates it through exercise tolerance. Take the higher.

Next in this series

Chapter 13: conditions worth nothing on their own.

Want a hand with yours?

If you have a permanent impairment assessment coming up, we do these every week. Call 0429 146 039 or email reception@vhc.org.au.