Below, conditions are grouped by the part of the body or system they affect, not by how DVA files them — so it's easier to find what's relevant to you. Each guide covers why the condition shows up so often in veterans, what the Statement of Principles actually requires, which related conditions are worth checking at the same time, what medical evidence strengthens a claim, and where transitional treatment access (PAMT) still applies.
Trauma, Fractures, and Wound-Related Claims
Sprain and Strain
The most common injury in the ADF, and the one most often left unclaimed — the ankle, knee, shoulder or back you rolled, tore or wrenched and worked through.
Read the guide →Fracture
Any fracture sustained during service, including stress fractures from repeated load-bearing activity, is compensable under the MRCA.
Read the guide →Cut, Stab, Abrasion & Laceration
Covers any wound that breaches the skin or exposes underlying tissue during operational or training activity, including friction burns.
Read the guide →Dislocation
Joint dislocation and subluxation, most often the shoulder, knee, or fingers — frequently leaves ongoing instability that's separately claimable.
Read the guide →Joint Degeneration and Structural Injuries
Achilles Tendinopathy
Pain and thickening of the Achilles tendon from running, marching and load carriage — often years of it before anyone called it anything.
Read the guide →Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
Numbness, tingling and weakness in the hand from compression of the median nerve at the wrist — with one of the longest factor lists of any SoP.
Read the guide →Osteoarthritis
Cumulative joint wear from load carriage, hard-surface running, and physically demanding roles. Each affected joint is its own separate claim.
Read the guide →Knee Injuries
Meniscal tears, ligament damage, and patellofemoral conditions from running, load carriage, and parachuting — among the most common veteran presentations.
Read the guide →Shoulder Injuries
Rotator cuff pathology, labral tears, and instability from overhead work, weapons handling, and load carriage — each pathology is separately claimable.
Read the guide →Rotator Cuff Injury
Partial or full-thickness tears to the shoulder tendons from repeated overhead loading or acute trauma during service.
Read the guide →Labral Tear
Damage to the cartilage rim of the hip or shoulder joint, often found alongside other joint pathology from the same injury mechanism.
Read the guide →Chondromalacia Patella
Softening of the cartilage under the kneecap from repetitive loading — causes anterior knee pain on stairs, squatting, and after sitting.
Read the guide →Joint Instability
A joint that gives way or feels unstable under load, usually following a prior traumatic injury such as a ligament tear or dislocation.
Read the guide →Plantar Fasciitis
Heel and arch pain from inflammation of the plantar fascia, driven by high-impact training and load-carriage demands.
Read the guide →Conditions Often Missed as Sequelae
Migraine
Recurrent disabling headache, frequently secondary to accepted neck conditions, head injury or mental health conditions — and routinely left off claims.
Read the guide →Tension-Type Headache
Persistent band-like head pain, very commonly secondary to accepted cervical spine conditions and psychological conditions.
Read the guide →Hypertension
High blood pressure — with an 88-factor SoP that includes several routes veterans commonly meet through accepted mental health and sleep conditions.
Read the guide →Ischaemic Heart Disease
Narrowing of the coronary arteries, with a 106-factor SoP and several pathways running through accepted psychiatric and metabolic conditions.
Read the guide →Type 2 Diabetes
Impaired glucose control, commonly following the weight gain and inactivity that follow a career-ending injury or an accepted mental health condition.
Read the guide →Asthma
Reversible airway obstruction, frequently linked to the dust, smoke, fumes and burn-pit exposures of deployment and training.
Read the guide →Gout
Acutely painful crystal arthritis, with SoP pathways through alcohol use, medication, renal impairment and obesity.
Read the guide →Fibromyalgia
Widespread pain, fatigue and unrefreshing sleep — poorly understood, frequently dismissed, and genuinely claimable.
Read the guide →Sleep Apnea
Frequently develops as a flow-on from PTSD, service-related weight gain, or chronic nasal obstruction — each a recognised pathway in its own right.
Read the guide →GERD
Reflux disease linked to service-related stress, irregular eating patterns, and medications used during service.
Read the guide →Irritable Bowel Syndrome
Strongly associated with PTSD and other service-related mental health conditions, and claimable as a sequela of those diagnoses.
Read the guide →Erectile Dysfunction
Commonly linked to PTSD, depression, or vascular conditions with their own service connection — an under-raised but legitimate claim.
Read the guide →Bruxism
Teeth grinding and jaw clenching tied to psychological stress — commonly a sequela of PTSD or anxiety, with real dental consequences.
Read the guide →Psychological and Stress-Related Conditions
Panic Disorder
Recurrent unexpected panic attacks with persistent fear of the next one — commonly comorbid with PTSD and depression, and separately claimable.
Read the guide →PTSD
One of the most significant conditions affecting veterans, arising from combat, training accidents, military sexual trauma, or sustained operational stress.
Read the guide →Depression
Often develops alongside PTSD or chronic pain conditions, but is just as claimable as a standalone diagnosis in its own right.
Read the guide →Anxiety
Generalised anxiety, panic disorder, and social anxiety frequently sit alongside PTSD and depression, and can be claimed together.
Read the guide →Adjustment Disorder
A response to a significant stressor — often discharge itself, a posting change, or a workplace incident — that can resolve or evolve into a more persistent condition.
Read the guide →Alcohol Dependence
Commonly develops as a coping response to PTSD, depression, or chronic pain. DVA does not penalise veterans for raising it — it's a recognised pathway.
Read the guide →Noise-Related Hearing Conditions
Hearing Loss
Sensorineural hearing loss from years around aircraft, weapons, and armoured vehicles is one of the most under-claimed conditions in the veteran community.
Read the guide →Tinnitus
Persistent ringing or buzzing linked to the same noise exposure that causes hearing loss — the two are frequently claimed and assessed together.
Read the guide →Neck and Back Conditions
Lumbar Spondylosis
Degenerative change in the lower spine from decades of load carriage, parachuting, and physical training — one of the most commonly accepted conditions in the system.
Read the guide →Thoracic Spondylosis
The same mechanical wear as lumbar spondylosis, affecting the mid-back — and frequently present alongside it without being separately identified.
Read the guide →Cervical Spondylosis
Degeneration of the neck from helmet-mounted equipment, load carriage, and cramped vehicle postures — often comes with referred pain into the arms.
Read the guide →Disc Prolapse
A herniated disc from heavy lifting or acute exertion, most common in the lumbar and cervical spine and often accompanied by radiating nerve symptoms.
Read the guide →Sun and UV-Related Conditions
Solar Keratosis
Pre-malignant skin lesions from cumulative UV exposure during outdoor service — common among veterans of tropical and field deployments.
Read the guide →Skin Cancer (Non-Melanotic)
Squamous cell and basal cell carcinoma from the same UV exposure pathway — often claimable as a sequela of accepted solar keratosis.
Read the guide →Not listed? The SoP Library holds every one of the 357 Statements of Principles, and the Claims Library holds example Diagnostic Assessments across 265 conditions.
