What can I claim secondary to inflammatory bowel disease?
13 conditions in the Repatriation Medical Authority's Statements of Principles list inflammatory bowel disease as a factor. If DVA has accepted your inflammatory bowel disease, each of these has a documented pathway to a further claim.
At a glance
- Accepted conditionInflammatory bowel disease
- Conditions it may open13
- SourceRMA SoPs
- Chart Review$600 + GST
How a secondary claim works
Some Statement of Principles factors are not about service at all — they name another condition. Where DVA has already accepted your inflammatory bowel disease, and another condition's SoP lists inflammatory bowel disease as a factor, that part of the next claim is already established on your file. How a secondary claim works, in full →
Conditions that list inflammatory bowel disease 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.
Bronchiectasis
RH No. 30 of 2017 · BoP No. 31 of 2017
Reasonable Hypothesis — factor (20): “having inflammatory bowel disease at the time of the clinical onset of bronchiectasis” [clinical onset] — factor (42): “having inflammatory bowel disease at the time of the clinical worsening of bronchiectasis” [worsening]
Balance of Probabilities — factor (14): “having inflammatory bowel disease at the time of the clinical onset of bronchiectasis” [clinical onset] — factor (28): “having inflammatory bowel disease at the time of the clinical worsening of bronchiectasis” [worsening]
Cerebrovascular accident (stroke)
RH No. 45 of 2024 · BoP No. 46 of 2024
Reasonable Hypothesis — factor (38): “having symptomatic inflammatory bowel disease within the ten years before clinical onset” [clinical onset]
This factor appears in the Reasonable Hypothesis instrument only, which applies to operational service.
Duodenal ulcer and duodenal erosion
RH No. 49 of 2024 · BoP No. 50 of 2024
Reasonable Hypothesis — factor (24): “having Crohn disease (a type of inflammatory bowel disease) at the time of clinical onset or clinical worsening” [onset and worsening]
Balance of Probabilities — factor (18): “having Crohn disease (a type of inflammatory bowel disease) at the time of clinical onset or clinical worsening” [onset and worsening]
Gastric ulcer and gastric erosion
RH No. 51 of 2024 · BoP No. 52 of 2024
Reasonable Hypothesis — factor (26): “having Crohn disease (a type of inflammatory bowel disease) at the time of clinical onset or clinical worsening” [onset and worsening]
Balance of Probabilities — factor (20): “having Crohn disease (a type of inflammatory bowel disease) at the time of clinical onset or clinical worsening” [onset and worsening]
Ischaemic heart disease
RH No. 27 of 2025 · BoP No. 28 of 2025
Reasonable Hypothesis — factor (25): “having one of the following systemic inflammatory rheumatological diseases at the time of clinical onset or clinical worsening: (a) ankylosing spondylitis; (b) dermatomyositis; (c) inflammatory bowel disease; (d) polymyositis; (e) psoriasis; (f) psoriatic arthritis; (g) rheumatoid arthritis; (h) Sjögren syndrome; (i) systemic lupus erythematosus; (j) systemic sclerosis” [onset and worsening]
This factor appears in the Reasonable Hypothesis instrument only, which applies to operational service.
Malignant neoplasm of the bile duct
RH No. 53 of 2024 · BoP No. 54 of 2024
Reasonable Hypothesis — factor (3): “having inflammatory bowel disease before clinical onset” [clinical onset]
Balance of Probabilities — factor (3): “having inflammatory bowel disease before clinical onset” [clinical onset]
Malignant neoplasm of the colon and rectum
RH No. 19 of 2022 · BoP No. 20 of 2022
Reasonable Hypothesis — factor (5): “having inflammatory bowel disease involving the colon or rectum for at least 3 years before the clinical onset of malignant neoplasm of the colon or rectum” [clinical onset]
Balance of Probabilities — factor (5): “having inflammatory bowel disease involving the colon or rectum for at least 3 years before the clinical onset of malignant neoplasm of the colon or rectum” [clinical onset]
Malignant neoplasm of the small intestine
RH No. 80 of 2023 · BoP No. 81 of 2023
Reasonable Hypothesis — factor (1): “having Crohn disease (a type of inflammatory bowel disease) of the small intestine before the clinical onset of malignant neoplasm of the small intestine” [clinical onset]
Balance of Probabilities — factor (1): “having Crohn disease (a type of inflammatory bowel disease) of the small intestine before the clinical onset of malignant neoplasm of the small intestine” [clinical onset]
Myocarditis
RH No. 17 of 2024 · BoP No. 18 of 2024
Reasonable Hypothesis — factor (8): “having one of the following systemic inflammatory diseases: (a) antiphospholipid syndrome; (b) coeliac disease; (c) dermatomyositis; (d) Graves disease; (e) Hashimoto disease; (f) IgG4-related disease; (g) inflammatory bowel disease; (h) mixed connective tissue disease; (i) polymyositis; (j) psoriatic arthritis; (k) rheumatoid arthritis; (l) scleroderma (progressive systemic sclerosis); (m) Sjögren syndrome; or (n) systemic lupus erythematosus; at the time of clinical onset or clinical worsening” [onset and worsening]
Balance of Probabilities — factor (8): “having one of the following systemic inflammatory diseases: antiphospholipid syndrome; coeliac disease; dermatomyositis; Graves disease; Hashimoto disease; inflammatory bowel disease; polymyositis; rheumatoid arthritis; scleroderma (progressive systemic sclerosis); Sjögren syndrome; or systemic lupus erythematosus; at the time of clinical onset or clinical worsening” [onset and worsening]
Non-melanoma malignant neoplasm of the skin
RH No. 78 of 2024 · BoP No. 79 of 2024
Reasonable Hypothesis — factor (20): “having inflammatory bowel disease at the time of clinical onset” [clinical onset]
Balance of Probabilities — factor (16): “having inflammatory bowel disease at the time of clinical onset” [clinical onset]
Osteoporosis
RH No. 66 of 2024
Reasonable Hypothesis — factor (9): “having one of the following gastrointestinal diseases at the time of clinical onset or clinical worsening; (a) chronic exocrine pancreatic insufficiency; (b) cirrhosis of the liver; (c) coeliac disease; or (d) inflammatory bowel disease” [onset and worsening]
This factor appears in the Reasonable Hypothesis instrument only, which applies to operational service.
Periodontitis
RH No. 27 of 2022 · BoP No. 28 of 2022
Balance of Probabilities — factor (12): “having inflammatory bowel disease or rheumatoid arthritis at the time of the clinical onset of periodontitis” [clinical onset] — factor (28): “having inflammatory bowel disease or rheumatoid arthritis at the time of the clinical worsening of periodontitis” [worsening]
This condition has a Balance of Probabilities instrument only, so the same test applies whatever your service type.
Peritoneal adhesions
RH No. 9 of 2025 · BoP No. 10 of 2025
Reasonable Hypothesis — factor (2): “having one of the following diseases at least 3 days before clinical onset: (a) appendicitis; (b) cholecystitis; (c) diverticulitis; (d) endometriosis; (e) inflammatory bowel disease; (f) pancreatitis; (g) pelvic inflammatory disease” [clinical onset]
Balance of Probabilities — factor (2): “having one of the following diseases at least 3 days before clinical onset: (a) appendicitis; (b) cholecystitis; (c) diverticulitis; (d) endometriosis; (e) inflammatory bowel disease; (f) pancreatitis; (g) pelvic inflammatory disease” [clinical onset]
Other accepted conditions that also open bronchiectasis
If any of these is also on your file, it reaches some of the same conditions inflammatory bowel disease does.
What DVA means by inflammatory bowel disease
A claim is tested against the definition first. If the diagnosis on your file does not meet this wording, the factors below never get reached — so it is worth checking that what your doctor wrote matches what the instrument requires.
Inflammatory bowel disease, for the purposes of the Statement of Principles, for the purposes of this Statement of Principles, inflammatory bowel disease: (a) means a chronic, relapsing and remitting inflammatory autoimmune disorder of the gastrointestinal tract; and (b) includes: (i) Crohn disease; (ii) ulcerative colitis; and (iii) inflammatory bowel disease of unspecified type; and (c) excludes bowel inflammation that is unrelated to autoimmunity.
Note the exclusion. This instrument expressly excludes bowel inflammation that is unrelated to autoimmunity. A diagnosis of that is not a diagnosis of inflammatory bowel disease, and a claim framed the wrong way fails on the definition before any factor is considered.
Aggravation-only factors. In this instrument, subsections 9(12) to 9(23) apply only to material contribution to, or aggravation of, inflammatory bowel disease where it was already present before or during service. If service caused inflammatory bowel disease outright, those factors are not available to you.
RH No. 90 of 2020 · BoP No. 91 of 2020 · 16 factors
What could support a claim for inflammatory bowel disease?
The Statement of Principles for inflammatory bowel disease names 1 other condition among its own factors. If any of these is already accepted on your file, it may be the factor that carries a inflammatory bowel disease claim — quoted here from the instrument.
Depressive disorder
Reasonable Hypothesis — factor (9): “having a clinically significant depressive disorder or a clinically significant anxiety disorder for at least the one year before the clinical onset of inflammatory bowel disease” [clinical onset]
Reasonable Hypothesis — factor (20): “having a clinically significant depressive disorder or a clinically significant anxiety disorder for at least the one year before the clinical worsening of inflammatory bowel disease” [worsening]
Reviewed by Dr Thomas Perkins
Founding doctor, Veterans Health Centre · former RAAF aviation medical officer · 13 years working exclusively with ADF members and veterans. Full profile →
Inflammatory bowel disease accepted?
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