Impairment Before and After Discharge: Why Your Discharge Date Is Everything

Before discharge: the strongest evidence

Records from your final 12–24 months – restrictions, medical boards, treatment, time off and your separation medical – are the closest measure of your condition at transition.

After discharge: useful, with care

• The first specialist examination after discharge – ideally within about a year – is often the best independent snapshot. State the interval exactly.
• Work history since discharge – jobs you couldn't sustain because of the same conditions.
• DVA onset findings help fix the timeline. Note a DVA "date of effect" is usually the claim date, not the onset.

What doesn't transfer

A high DVA impairment rating made ten years after discharge measures you then, not at discharge. CSC does not use DVA percentages. A VHC chart review lists every assessment in date order with the exact time since separation.

Late-diagnosed PTSD and mental health conditions

Many veterans aren't diagnosed until years later. That doesn't mean the condition was absent. CSC needs it to have been present and causing symptoms at transition – not diagnosed by then.

Evidence that places symptoms in service includes:

• in-service psychology, chaplain or welfare contacts;
• sleep problems, rising alcohol use or conflict noted in records;
• a spouse or family statement dating the change to service;
• the treating psychiatrist's onset dates;
• years without treatment – consistent with an untreated condition, not an absent one.

Normal in-service screening results should be explained, not ignored – they were self-reported, often by members avoiding a downgrade.

When you got worse later

Sometimes evidence shows moderate incapacity at discharge and severe incapacity a few years on. In retrospective cases, the MilitarySuper rules appear to allow a staged classification – for example, Class B from discharge and Class A from a later date. Present your evidence as a dated timeline. See CSC reclassification.

Frequently asked questions

Can I get retrospective discharge for PTSD diagnosed after I left?

Yes, if evidence shows the condition was present and affecting you at discharge.

Do DVA ratings show my impairment at discharge?

Not on their own. They measure you at the time of assessment.

Can CSC give me different classes for different periods?

In some retrospective cases, a staged classification may be possible.

Build your before-and-after picture

A VHC Chart Review builds dated pictures of your impairment at and after discharge. Call 0429 146 039 or email reception@vhc.org.au.

General information only; seek advice on your individual case.