What can I claim secondary to rheumatoid arthritis?
12 conditions in the Repatriation Medical Authority's Statements of Principles list rheumatoid arthritis as a factor. If DVA has accepted your rheumatoid arthritis, each of these has a documented pathway to a further claim.
At a glance
- Accepted conditionRheumatoid arthritis
- Conditions it may open12
- 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 rheumatoid arthritis, and another condition's SoP lists rheumatoid arthritis 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 rheumatoid arthritis 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.
Acute myeloid leukaemia
RH No. 21 of 2024 · BoP No. 22 of 2024
Reasonable Hypothesis — factor (14): “having one of the following autoimmune diseases before clinical onset: (a) autoimmune haemolytic anaemia; (b) giant cell arteritis; (c) pernicious anaemia; (d) polymyalgia rheumatica; (e) rheumatoid arthritis; (f) sarcoidosis; (g) systemic lupus erythematosus; (h) systemic vasculitis; or (i) ulcerative colitis” [clinical onset]
Balance of Probabilities — factor (12): “having one of the following autoimmune diseases before clinical onset: (a) autoimmune haemolytic anaemia; (b) giant cell arteritis; (c) pernicious anaemia; (d) polymyalgia rheumatica; (e) rheumatoid arthritis; (f) systemic lupus erythematosus; (g) systemic vasculitis; or (h) ulcerative colitis” [clinical onset]
Cerebrovascular accident (stroke)
RH No. 45 of 2024 · BoP No. 46 of 2024
Reasonable Hypothesis — factor (10): “having one of the following systemic inflammatory disorders causing cerebral vasculitis at the time of clinical onset: (a) ankylosing spondylitis; (b) dermatomyositis; (c) inclusion body myositis; (d) polymyositis; (e) psoriatic arthritis; (f) rheumatoid arthritis; (g) systemic sclerosis (scleroderma); (h) Sjögren syndrome; or (i) systemic lupus erythematosus” [clinical onset]
Balance of Probabilities — factor (10): “having one of the following systemic inflammatory disorders causing cerebral vasculitis at the time of clinical onset: (a) ankylosing spondylitis; (b) dermatomyositis; (c) inclusion body myositis; (d) polymyositis; (e) psoriatic arthritis; (f) rheumatoid arthritis; (g) systemic sclerosis (scleroderma); (h) Sjögren syndrome; or (i) systemic lupus erythematosus” [clinical onset]
Hallux valgus
RH No. 25 of 2024 · BoP No. 26 of 2024
Reasonable Hypothesis — factor (2): “having rheumatoid arthritis involving the first metatarsophalangeal joint of the affected foot before the clinical onset or clinical worsening of hallux valgus” [onset and worsening]
Balance of Probabilities — factor (2): “having rheumatoid arthritis involving the first metatarsophalangeal joint of the affected foot before the clinical onset or clinical worsening of hallux valgus” [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]
Balance of Probabilities — factor (17): “having one of the following systemic inflammatory rheumatological diseases at the time of clinical onset or clinical worsening: (a) dermatomyositis; (b) polymyositis; (c) psoriasis; (d) psoriatic arthritis; (e) rheumatoid arthritis; (f) Sjögren syndrome; (g) systemic lupus erythematosus; (h) systemic sclerosis” [onset and worsening]
Meniere disease and meniere syndrome
RH No. 68 of 2024 · BoP No. 69 of 2024
Reasonable Hypothesis — factor (3): “having any of the following autoimmune diseases before clinical onset; (a) ankylosing spondylitis; (b) Hashimoto thyroiditis; (c) rheumatoid arthritis; (d) systemic lupus erythematosus; (e) Cogan syndrome; (f) Susac syndrome; (g) Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada syndrome; or (h) psoriatic arthritis” [clinical onset]
This factor appears in the Reasonable Hypothesis instrument only, which applies to operational service.
Myelodysplastic neoplasm (syndrome)
RH No. 76 of 2024 · BoP No. 77 of 2024
Reasonable Hypothesis — factor (10): “having one of the following autoimmune diseases before clinical onset; (a) pernicious anaemia; (b) polymyalgia rheumatica; (c) rheumatoid arthritis; (d) systemic lupus erythematosus; or (e) Behcet's disease” [clinical onset]
This factor appears in the Reasonable Hypothesis instrument only, which applies to operational service.
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 (22): “having rheumatoid arthritis at the time of clinical onset” [clinical onset]
This factor appears in the Reasonable Hypothesis instrument only, which applies to operational service.
Osteoporosis
RH No. 66 of 2024
Reasonable Hypothesis — factor (2): “having one of the following autoimmune diseases for at least the 1 year before clinical onset or clinical worsening; (a) ankylosing spondylitis; (b) dermatomyositis; (c) psoriatic arthritis; (d) rheumatoid arthritis; (e) systemic lupus erythematosus; or (f) systemic sclerosis” [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.
Spondylolisthesis and spondylolysis
RH No. 24 of 2017 · BoP No. 25 of 2017
Reasonable Hypothesis — factor (8): “having rheumatoid arthritis involving the affected vertebra at the time of the clinical onset of spondylolisthesis” [clinical onset] — factor (17): “having rheumatoid arthritis involving the affected vertebra at the time of the clinical worsening of spondylolisthesis” [worsening]
Balance of Probabilities — factor (8): “having rheumatoid arthritis involving the affected vertebra at the time of the clinical onset of spondylolisthesis” [clinical onset] — factor (17): “having rheumatoid arthritis involving the affected vertebra at the time of the clinical worsening of spondylolisthesis” [worsening]
Trigeminal neuralgia or trigeminal neuropathy
RH No. 84 of 2024 · BoP No. 85 of 2024
Reasonable Hypothesis — factor (12): “having rheumatoid arthritis or sarcoidosis at the time of clinical onset or clinical worsening of trigeminal neuropathy” [onset and worsening]
This factor appears in the Reasonable Hypothesis instrument only, which applies to operational service.
Other accepted conditions that also open acute myeloid leukaemia
If any of these is also on your file, it reaches some of the same conditions rheumatoid arthritis does.
What DVA means by rheumatoid arthritis
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.
Rheumatoid arthritis, for the purposes of the Statement of Principles, for the purposes of this Statement of Principles, rheumatoid arthritis means: (a) a symmetric, inflammatory, peripheral polyarthritis persisting for a continuous period of at least six weeks, characterised by inflammatory synovitis; and (b) excludes juvenile rheumatoid arthritis and non-rheumatoid conditions that may have similar clinical features, such as psoriatic arthritis, acute viral polyarthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus and polyarticular gout.
Note the exclusion. This instrument expressly excludes juvenile rheumatoid arthritis and non-rheumatoid conditions that may have similar clinical features, such as Psoriatic arthritis, acute viral polyarthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus and polyarticular gout. A diagnosis of that is not a diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis, and a claim framed the wrong way fails on the definition before any factor is considered.
Aggravation-only factors. In this instrument, subsections 9(8) to 9(16) apply only to material contribution to, or aggravation of, rheumatoid arthritis where it was already present before or during service. If service caused rheumatoid arthritis outright, those factors are not available to you.
RH No. 50 of 2017 · BoP No. 51 of 2017 · 12 factors
What could support a claim for rheumatoid arthritis?
The Statement of Principles for rheumatoid arthritis 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 rheumatoid arthritis claim — quoted here from the instrument.
Periodontitis
Reasonable Hypothesis — factor (4): “having periodontitis for at least the three months before the clinical onset of rheumatoid arthritis” [clinical onset]
Reasonable Hypothesis — factor (12): “having periodontitis for at least the three months before the clinical worsening of rheumatoid arthritis” [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 →
Rheumatoid arthritis accepted?
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