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How to Prepare for a DVA Impairment Assessment

You cannot change your conditions. You can change how well they get recorded. Eight things to do first, and what to take with you.

Veterans Health Centre · 7 September 2026 · 4 min read

You cannot change your conditions. You can change how well they are recorded.

Here is what to do in the month before your assessment.

1. Measure things

The tables run on numbers. Get yours.

Walk it. How many metres before you stop? Use your phone map.
Time it. How many minutes sitting before your back starts?
Count it. How many pads a day? How many stairs?
Rate it. Your pain at rest, out of ten.

Write them on a piece of paper. Take the paper with you.

2. Keep a diary

This matters most if anything comes in attacks.

Migraines. Seizures. Asthma. Vertigo. Bowel flares. Gout.

Write down every one. Date, how long, what you could not do.

Twelve months is best. Even three months is far better than nothing.

3. Get your tests done and done recently

Some tests go out of date.

Hearing test — must be under six months old. Six weeks if your hearing has got worse lately.
Lung function test — must be under six months old.
Bloods for kidney function — recent.

Book these now, not after.

4. Find your old weight

Only if you have a gut condition. Weight loss is measured from before the condition started.

Look at old medical records, an old licence, an old ADF medical.

5. Write two lists

This is the best twenty minutes you will spend.

List one: what you did ten years ago. Sport, hobbies, work, friends, holidays, jobs around the house.

List two: what you did last month.

The gap between those two lists is your lifestyle rating. Most veterans are shocked when they see it written down.

6. Take photos

Skin flares up and then settles. Scars fade in certain light. Swelling goes down.

Photograph it at its worst. Nobody can see it on the day if it is quiet.

7. Write your medication list

Names, doses, how long you have been on them.

Treatment is scored in several chapters. Insulin. Daily tablets. Injections. Psychology sessions.

8. List every accepted condition

Get your acceptance letters out. Make sure nothing is missed.

Small conditions still count. They push your total up.

What to bring on the day

Your numbers on paper
Your diary
Your test results
Your medication list
Your two lists
Your photos
Your list of accepted conditions
Someone who knows you

One last thing

Do not talk yourself down.

Veterans are trained to cope. "I'm alright" is a habit. It is also the single most expensive sentence in the room.

You are not complaining. You are giving a measurement.

Next in this series

A full worked example, from conditions to dollars.

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.

Dr Thomas Perkins

The expert in veterans’ medicolegal medicine — Expert DVA Doctor.

Dr Thomas Perkins with his RAAF squadron patches — Dr Thomas Perkins — RAAF aviation medical officer, 3 AME SQN and 2EHS patches behind him

In the consulting room at the Ipswich clinic

Every accepted condition examined face to face

Dr Perkins’ RAAF unit and deployment patches — Thirteen years of unit and deployment patches — 3 AME SQN, 2EHS, HOCU, Operation Resolute

Veterans Health Centre business card — Veterans Health Centre — Specialist Centre, 77 East St, Ipswich

Dr Thomas Perkins is the founding doctor at the Veterans Health Centre in Ipswich, Queensland, and the leading expert in veterans’ medicolegal work in Australia. He has spent over 13 years working exclusively with current and former Australian Defence Force members — treating conditions, writing reports, and navigating the DVA system alongside them.

With 100,000+ DVA claims submitted and over 2,000 Permanent Impairment Assessments completed, Dr Perkins brings a depth of experience that simply cannot be replicated from a textbook. He understands the Statements of Principles, the GARP tables, the imaging that proves what a physical examination alone cannot — and the difference that a properly written report makes at every level, from initial liability through to the VRB.

Every chart review, every diagnostic assessment, and every impairment rating is personally overseen by Dr Perkins. If you’re looking for a doctor who knows veterans medicine inside and out, you’ve found the right clinic.

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