GARP Chapter 14: Cancer, Explained Simply

Chapter 14 covers cancer.

It is unusual in the Guide, because it rates something no other chapter does: how much life the illness is expected to cost you.

Three ways to score it

1. By body system — the damage the cancer and its treatment did, rated in the ordinary chapters.
2. By symptoms — a single table covering how the illness and treatment affect your everyday life.
3. By life expectancy — a table based on your predicted survival.

You take the highest.

There is a shortcut too. If either cancer table gives 70 points, the assessment stops there. No further steps are needed.

The symptoms table

• minor symptoms, easily tolerated — nil
• irritating but rarely stop you finishing anything — 10
• distressing, but few activities prevented; still independent — 20
• many activities less efficient, some self-care restricted — 35
• major restrictions, partly dependent on others — 50
• most activities prevented, dependent for most self-care — 70

Note that this covers the treatment as well as the disease. Chemotherapy fatigue, nausea, neuropathy and everything that came with it are inside this table.

The life expectancy table

This is the one people are not expecting.

• normal or near normal five year survival — nil
• five year survival under 75% of normal — 10
• under 50% — 20
• under 25% — 35
• one year survival under 50% — 50
• one year survival under 25% — 70

Four rules go with it, and they are all in your favour:

• It is based on the prognosis at the time of diagnosis or staging.
• Once set, it is not changed at later assessments.
• It is not reduced because you responded well to treatment or lived longer than expected.
• It uses your specialist's estimate where one is available. If not, standard reference data is used.

There is one limit. If the cancer is being rated for the first time more than five years after diagnosis, and it is in remission or appears cured, this table cannot exceed 10.

That is a real reason not to sit on a claim.

More than one cancer

If you have more than one accepted cancer, the life expectancy table is applied to each one. It is not applied again to a recurrence of a cancer already diagnosed.

What this means for you

• Get your specialist's prognosis in writing, stated as at diagnosis or staging.
• Do not delay the claim. After five years in remission the life expectancy table caps at 10.
• Include the treatment effects. Fatigue, neuropathy, bowel changes, lymphoedema, and the mental health impact.
• Claim the lasting damage separately in its own chapter — a stoma, a removed organ, radiation damage.
• Good news does not cut your rating. Responding well to treatment does not reduce the life expectancy score.

Common questions

I have been in remission for years. Do I still get a rating?

Yes, but if this is the first assessment and it is more than five years after diagnosis, the life expectancy table is capped at 10. The lasting damage is still rated in full in its own chapters.

Does my rating drop if my scans come back clear?

The life expectancy rating does not drop. The symptoms rating reflects your current state.

What about the anxiety since diagnosis?

If it has been accepted, it is rated under Chapter 4 as a separate condition.

Next in this series

Chapter 15: conditions that come and go — the most under-used chapter in the Guide.

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.

More reading

What is the GARP? · The chapter map · DVA Claims: PI points calculator · Permanent Impairment Assessments · DVA claims · SoP library

This is general information for Australian veterans. It is not legal advice. It explains Chapter 14 of the Guide to Determining Impairment and Compensation 2026 (F2026L00595), which started on 1 July 2026. The full rules are on the Federal Register of Legislation. Check your own situation with DVA on 1800 VETERAN (1800 838 372).