Determination Letters

The decision, already written.

A suggested DVA determination for every condition in your claim, pre-written from your Diagnostic Assessment. It sets out the evidence, the diagnosis, the Statement of Principles and every factor met — so the delegate can adopt as much of it as they find useful, and you can see exactly how your claim could be decided.

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Why we pre-write the determination

What is a VHC Determination Letter?

A Determination Letter is a suggested draft of the decision a DVA delegate writes when a claim is accepted. VHC prepares one for each claimed condition from the Diagnostic Assessment: the evidence considered, your service, the diagnosis and its basis, the Statement of Principles applied, every factor met — including the inability to obtain appropriate clinical management — and the date of effect. Where a condition worsened during service, the worsening is determined separately in the same document. One fee of $600 + GST covers the letters for all of your conditions. The letters are offered as a courtesy to the delegate; the decision always remains DVA's.

What you get

One determination for every condition you claim.

Each letter follows the structure a delegate uses for a Reference Determination, written in the delegate's own voice so that it can be used as it stands. Nothing in it tells the delegate what to do — it simply sets out, in a ready-to-use form, how the evidence meets the Statement of Principles.

Because the letter is built from the same Diagnostic Assessment the delegate is reading, every factor, date and reference in it can be checked against the claim pack in seconds.

Evidence list in DVA style — every report, record and image relied on
Your Australian Defence Force service dates
Diagnosis and the basis of diagnosis
The Statement of Principles, standard of proof and instrument number
Every factor met, verbatim from the SoP
The inability to obtain appropriate clinical management factor
A separate worsening determination, with a worked-out date of effect
Peacetime or wartime service matched to the standard of proof
Non-SoP conditions determined on the service links in the assessment
PDF for lodgement, with an editable Word version

See the product

Example determination letters

Open any letter to see exactly what is delivered: the PDF, in Times New Roman, set out as a Reference Determination. Every veteran shown is fictitious.

All 448 example letters are in the library below.

How it works

From Diagnostic Assessment to draft decision

Your Diagnostic Assessments are written. Determination Letters are built from VHC Diagnostic Assessments — the claim itself — so they follow the DVA Claims stages.
We draft one determination per condition. Evidence, service, diagnosis, SoP and every factor met, with the worsening determined separately where the clinical management or another worsening factor applies.
You receive the letters. One PDF per condition plus a combined PDF for the whole claim, with editable Word versions.
They go in with your claim. You or your advocate lodge them alongside the Diagnostic Assessments as a suggested determination for the delegate.

Determination Letters

Suggested determination letters — all of your conditions, one fee

Determination Letters — all conditions$600 + GSTPay $660 →

Fixed fee, quoted in writing before work starts and payable when the letters are delivered. Available to veterans whose Diagnostic Assessments were written by VHC.

Order determination letters → All fees →

Determination Letter Library

448 example determination letters

One suggested determination for every condition in the Claims Library, each drawn from the matching example Diagnostic Assessment. Every veteran is fictitious.

448 conditions

Questions

Frequently asked questions

Does DVA have to use the letter?

No. It is a suggested draft offered as a courtesy. The delegate makes the decision and can adopt as much or as little of the letter as they find useful.

Why would a delegate find it useful?

Because it saves them work. The evidence, the Statement of Principles and every factor met are already set out in the order a determination is written, and each one points back to the Diagnostic Assessment in the claim.

Why is the worsening determined separately?

A condition that worsened during service — including because appropriate clinical management could not be obtained — is accepted from a different date. Determining it separately, with its own factors and date of effect, keeps both decisions clear.

What if a condition has no Statement of Principles?

The letter is written on the service links set out in the Diagnostic Assessment, applying the standard of proof without an SoP.

Do I need VHC Diagnostic Assessments first?

Yes. The letters are built from VHC Diagnostic Assessments so that every factor, date and reference matches the claim pack exactly.

Add Determination Letters to your claim

$600 + GST covers all of your conditions — one fixed fee, paid on delivery.

Order determination letters Call 0429 146 039

Your doctor

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 80,000+ DVA claims submitted and around 1,000 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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