What can I claim secondary to human immunodeficiency virus infection?

7 conditions in the Repatriation Medical Authority's Statements of Principles list human immunodeficiency virus infection as a factor. If DVA has accepted your human immunodeficiency virus infection, each of these has a documented pathway to a further claim.

At a glance

  • Accepted conditionHuman immunodeficiency virus infection
  • Conditions it may open7
  • SourceRMA SoPs
  • Chart Review$600 + GST
Read the human immunodeficiency virus infection SoP

How a secondary claim works

Every DVA claim is decided against a Statement of Principles — the legislative instrument listing the only factors capable of connecting a condition to service. Some of those factors are not about service at all: they name another condition. Where DVA has already accepted your human immunodeficiency virus infection, and another condition's SoP lists human immunodeficiency virus infection as a factor, the hardest part of the next claim is already done — the condition is established, dated and on your file. You still need a diagnosis of the new condition, and the factor still has to be met on your evidence, including any threshold of time or severity written into it. But the pathway exists in the legislation rather than in an argument.

Documented pathways

Conditions that list human immunodeficiency virus infection as a factor

Quoted from the instrument. A pathway existing is not the same as a claim succeeding — each factor carries thresholds your record has to satisfy.

Adhesive capsulitis of the shoulder

Listed factor: “taking highly active antiretroviral therapy for human immunodeficiency virus infection at the time of the clinical onset of adhesive capsulitis of the shoulder”

Adrenal insufficiency

Listed factor: “being treated with medroxyprogesterone acetate or megestrol acetate for a malignant disease or human immunodeficiency virus infection: (a) for a continuous period of at least four weeks before the clinical onset of adrenal insufficiency; and (b) where such …”

Cushing syndrome

Listed factor: “being treated with medroxyprogesterone acetate or megestrol acetate for a malignant disease or human immunodeficiency virus infection: (a) for at least four weeks before the clinical onset of Cushing syndrome; and (b) where treatment has ceased, the clinica…”

Hepatitis e infection

Listed factor: “having human immunodeficiency virus infection at the time of clinical worsening”

Hypertension

Listed factor: “taking medroxyprogesterone acetate or megestrol acetate for a malignant disease or human immunodeficiency virus infection: (a) for at least 28 days before the clinical onset of hypertension; and (b) if treatment has ceased before the clinical onset of hyper…”

Osteoporosis

Listed factor: “having human immunodeficiency virus infection for at least the 1 year before clinical onset or clinical worsening”

Sarcoidosis

Listed factor: “being treated for human immunodeficiency virus infection with antiretroviral drugs within the 2 years before clinical onset or clinical worsening”

Questions

Frequently asked questions

Does this mean I will be accepted for these conditions?

No. It means the legislation contains a pathway. The factor still has to be met on your evidence, and the new condition still has to be diagnosed by a qualified practitioner.

Do I need a new diagnosis for each one?

Yes. DVA cannot accept liability for a condition that has not been diagnosed. If something here matches symptoms you have been living with, that is the conversation to have with a doctor.

Is this the same as an aggravation claim?

No. Aggravation is where service worsened a condition you already had. A sequela is a separate condition arising from one already accepted, claimed in its own right with its own SoP.

Where does this information come from?

The Repatriation Medical Authority Statements of Principles, as held in our SoP Library. We index the factor text of all 357 instruments. SoPs are amended regularly — confirm the current instrument before relying on it.

What should I do next?

Have your record read against these pathways. A chart review establishes which are actually provable, with the page reference behind each one.

Your doctor

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

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Human immunodeficiency virus infection accepted?

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