DVA Claims for RAAF Townsville Veterans
RAAF Townsville sits alongside the civil airport and next door to the largest Army garrison in the country. Its people spend their careers supporting other people's operations, and their own injuries are frequently the last thing anyone documents.
At a glance
- LocationTownsville
- Chart Review$600 + GST
- Diagnostic Assessment$600 + GST
- Permanent Impairment$1,500 + GST
About RAAF Base Townsville
Townsville is a mounting base for northern operations and a major air movements hub, working closely with 3rd Brigade at Lavarack and with Army aviation. That combination produces a heavy, sustained load-handling workload.
Who served at RAAF Base Townsville.
27 Squadron
The base's combat support squadron
383 Squadron
Contingency response — air base activation and expeditionary operations
Combat Support Group elements
Air movements, airfield engineering, health and ground support trades
Joint operations with Army
Support to 3rd Brigade and 5th Aviation Regiment
Units raise, move and re-role. What matters for your claim is where you served and when, which your service record establishes rather than this page.
Claims we see from RAAF Base Townsville.
- Lumbar and thoracic degeneration from sustained air movements load handling
- Shoulder and cervical conditions from repetitive lifting and overhead work
- Hearing loss and tinnitus from flight line and rotary-wing exposure
- Heat illness from tropical ground operations
- Solar damage and skin cancers from outdoor work
Air movements is one of the most reliably injurious trades in the ADF and one of the least likely to have generated a formal incident report at the time.
How the claim is built
A claim succeeds on documentation. The work is to establish the diagnosis, establish when the condition began, and connect it to service against the factors in the relevant Statement of Principles — or, since 1 July 2026, under presumptive liability where the condition, onset window and service type match the instrument.
That begins with a chart review: every page of your medical record read, and every claimable condition identified. The records stages need no attendance, so distance from our Ipswich clinic is not an obstacle.
See also locations and bases, and DVA claims by service for Army, Navy and Air Force.
Frequently asked questions
I served at RAAF Base Townsville but live elsewhere now. Does that matter?
No. Chart reviews and diagnostic assessments are written from your medical record with no attendance required. Only a permanent impairment assessment must be in person with your treating doctor.
My injury was never written up at the time. Is it still claimable?
Frequently yes. Contemporaneous records help but are not the only evidence, and for operational service the standard of proof is a reasonable hypothesis rather than certainty.
What does it cost?
$600 + GST per stage; $1,500 + GST for a permanent impairment assessment. No commission on your payout. See fees.
How many conditions should I claim?
More than most veterans do. Impairment ratings combine rather than compete, so an unclaimed condition is a permanent loss.
Dr Thomas Perkins
The expert in veterans’ medicolegal medicine — Expert DVA Doctor.
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 100,000+ DVA claims submitted and over 2,000 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.
Contact us0429 146 039 reception@vhc.org.au
Book appointmentReady to find out what you can claim?
Contact us for more information.