The Statement of Principles for depressive disorder covers two broad pathways: direct service stressors such as operational stress or traumatic events, and physical conditions known to commonly lead to depression, including chronic pain, hearing loss, and mobility impairment.
Why Depression Shows Up So Often in Veterans
Military service creates several conditions strongly associated with depression: extended separation from family, the loss of comrades, trauma exposure, occupational stress, physical injury, and the genuine difficulty of transitioning back to civilian life. It's common for depression to develop or intensify after discharge specifically, once the structure and routine of military life is removed.
What the Statement of Principles requires
DVA measures every claim against a Statement of Principles (SoP) — a legally binding document setting out the specific factors that can connect a condition to service. Here are the pathways that most often apply to depression claims, in plain language.
A severe psychosocial stressor during service
A stressor severe enough to markedly exceed normal human experience, occurring within 2 years before onset.
A mild-to-moderate psychosocial stressor
A relevant stressor occurring within 1 year before the onset of the depressive episode.
A physical illness or chronic pain condition contributing to depression
An accepted physical condition that plausibly contributed to the depressive episode — chronic pain and hearing loss are common examples.
How DVA Approaches the Impairment Assessment
Depression is assessed clinically on symptom severity, response to treatment, and its impact on daily life and work capacity — the functional picture, not the diagnostic label alone, is what actually drives the outcome. A well-managed, mild presentation sits at the lower end; moderate depression with a real impact on work, relationships, and daily function sits in the middle; and severe or treatment-resistant depression with significant functional loss sits highest. When depression is claimed as a sequela of PTSD or a physical condition, it's assessed separately and added into your overall combined score — meaning the same psychiatric report supporting a PTSD claim can generate additional points for co-occurring depression, provided both are properly listed and assessed. The strongest submissions come with a psychiatric report that actually quantifies functional impairment rather than stopping at the diagnosis, a documented treatment history showing response and current stability, and a clinician's statement addressing impact on work, relationships, and daily function specifically.
The evidence that decides it
Most initial liability decisions currently take DVA somewhere between 3 and 6 months, longer for complex or multi-condition claims. A complete, well-organised submission up front tends to shorten that wait considerably.
- A psychiatric or psychologist diagnosis using DSM-5 criteria
- Service records or a statutory declaration establishing the causative stressors
- Treatment records showing the history and course of the condition
- GP referral and ongoing treatment history
Questions veterans ask about Depression
Can I claim depression if I already have a PTSD claim in progress?
Yes — the two are assessed independently and the impairment points combine, so there's no reason to hold one back while the other is processed.
Is depression treatment covered under Non-Liability Health Care?
Yes — NLHC covers funded mental health treatment for depression without needing a liability decision first.
Related conditions
The same service exposure that causes depression often produces related conditions that are separately claimable. It's worth having these assessed at the same time rather than as an afterthought.
Ready to Look Into a Depression Claim?
Book a free consultation and we'll go through whether your circumstances meet the SoP factors, what evidence would strengthen your case, and what to expect next.
This page is general information, not medical, legal, or financial advice. Statement of Principles factors, thresholds, and program details are current as at the update date above but can change — always confirm against your own determination letter and the current SoP instrument. For medical concerns, speak with a qualified health professional; for legal advice, a solicitor experienced in military compensation law.
