PAMT: DVA-Funded Treatment Before Your Claim Is Accepted

What PAMT is

In DVA’s own words: “Under the Provisional Access to Medical Treatment program, or PAMT, we will pay for your treatment for certain conditions before we have accepted liability for them.”

That is the whole point. Claims take months. PAMT covers clinically necessary medical and allied health treatment for the 20 most commonly accepted DVA conditions in the meantime, so a veteran with a wrecked knee is not sitting untreated waiting for a delegate.

Who is eligible

You have lodged a liability claim for one or more of the 20 specified conditions under the MRCA — or under the DRCA, if lodged before 1 July 2026 (DRCA closed to new claims on that date under the VETS Act).
The claim was submitted between 18 June 2017 and 30 June 2027.
Open to former ADF members, part-time reservists, cadets and declared members.

The 20 conditions

Sixteen musculoskeletal, two hearing, two skin:

Achilles tendinopathy and bursitis
Chondromalacia patella
Cut, stab, abrasion and laceration
Dislocation
Fracture
Internal derangement of the knee
Intervertebral disc prolapse
Joint instability
Labral tear
Lumbar spondylosis
Non-melanotic malignant neoplasm of the skin
Osteoarthritis
Plantar fasciitis
Rotator cuff syndrome
Sensorineural hearing loss
Shin splints
Solar keratosis
Sprain and strain
Thoracic spondylosis
Tinnitus

Those are, not coincidentally, the conditions that dominate veteran claiming. Each has its own Statement of Principles, and most have sequelae worth claiming alongside.

How it actually works — you do not apply

This is the part veterans miss. There is no PAMT application form.

You lodge a claim for one of the 20 conditions.
DVA sends you a letter about the program and a Treatment Confirmation Form.
You take that form to your GP.
Your GP confirms the condition needing treatment is one of the listed conditions or related to one of them, completes the form, sends a copy to DVA, and gives you the original.
The GP can then claim for treatment of that condition immediately, through the normal DVA process. The completed form is your evidence of entitlement until your Veteran Card is issued or updated.

DVA tells GPs plainly that “completing the form should only take a few minutes.” If your GP has not heard of PAMT — which is common — that sentence is the one to show them.

Note the phrase “or related to one of those conditions”. It is broader than the bare list, and it is a clinical judgement your doctor makes.

What is and isn’t covered

Covered: clinically necessary medical and allied health treatment for the listed condition. Allied health runs on standard treatment cycle arrangements, which means a GP referral is required (dental and optometry excepted) — see how the treatment cycle works.

Not covered: rehabilitation, home care services, community nursing, RAP aids and appliances, and home or vehicle modifications. Those wait until liability is accepted. Treatment is subject to the Treatment Principles, and anything exceeding those limits needs prior DVA approval.

How long it lasts

Access continues until the first of:

a determination on your claim, or
the finalisation of any reconsideration or review — treatment during an appeal is covered, which matters if you are heading to the VRB, or
31 December 2027, the program end date.

If the claim is accepted, you move to normal DVA arrangements with no disruption, and DVA issues a Veteran Card – Specific Conditions if you do not already hold one.

If the claim is not accepted and not appealed, entitlement ceases — and here is the sentence worth reading twice: “We will not ask you to pay back the costs of care while we were assessing your claim.” There is no financial downside to using it.

If you have already paid out of pocket

Use form D9338 — Application for Provisional Access to Medical Treatment (PAMT) Reimbursement to claim back eligible medical expenses you paid yourself while an MRCA initial liability claim or appeal was being considered. It is only for people who already have PAMT approval. Email it to Medtreat@dva.gov.au, post to GPO Box 9998 Brisbane QLD 4001, or hand it in at a Veterans’ Access Network office.

Two cautions

Old dates are still circulating. Two DVA provider-news pages remain live stating that registration closed 30 June 2024 or 30 June 2026, with treatment ending 31 December 2024 or 2026. Those are superseded. The current dates, on DVA’s veteran and provider information pages, are 30 June 2027 to lodge and 31 December 2027 for treatment.

One genuine unknown. PAMT allied health currently runs on treatment cycle arrangements — but the treatment cycle is being abolished on 1 July 2027, while PAMT continues to 31 December 2027. DVA has published nothing about how PAMT referrals work in that six-month overlap. Anyone who tells you confidently how it will work is guessing.

Where this fits

PAMT is one of three ways to get treatment funded before, or without, an accepted claim — and most veterans know none of them:

PAMT — the 20 listed physical conditions, while a claim is assessed.
Non-Liability Health Care — all mental health conditions, permanently, without proving service caused them.
Open Arms — free counselling for veterans and families, 24/7 on 1800 011 046, no card or claim required.

Lodge the claim, get PAMT going, and get the medical evidence built properly in the meantime — because PAMT buys you treatment, not an accepted claim. What decides the claim is whether the evidence satisfies the SoP factor, which is what a chart review and diagnostic assessment are for.

Talk to us

Call 0429 146 039 or email reception@vhc.org.au — Veterans Health Centre, Ipswich, Queensland. Fixed fee, never a percentage of your compensation.

PAMT: Get DVA-Funded Treatment Before Your Claim Is Accepted