Veteran allied health cap scrapped but issues to access remain

Federal Labor had tried to legislate a $5000 annual spend cap for Veteran Card holders from July 1 next year but after facing opposition have abandoned the move.

Minister for Veterans' Affairs Matt Keogh said the government had heard the concerns of veterans and would take the proposed threshold off the table.

The current system, which requires that after 12 sessions with an allied health professional, a veteran must see their GP for a review, will remain in place.

The intent of the proposed limit had been to reduce the provision of unnecessary and inappropriate services. The government had also hoped it would help it claw back $748 million over three years.

While veterans would have been able to apply for further funding, details about the process for doing so had not been provided and the plan had caused concern within the veteran community.

Matt O'Shea, who for a short period ran West Coast Health Alliance, a GP led multidisciplinary practice which aimed to streamline the delivery of care for veterans, acknowledged that a small amount of providers were "overservicing" patients with access to DVA funding.

However he did not believe introducing a spend limit was the solution. He was concerned a cap on spending would only create a greater administrative burden and potentially lead to gaps and delays in veterans getting the healthcare they require.

Mr O'Shea said veterans were already facing access issues with healthcare and did not need further hurdles.

GPs limiting veteran patient numbers

He said veterans sometimes found it challenging to get in to see a GP and that he was aware of an increasing number of GPs having limits on the number of DVA patients they work with written into their contracts.

“They are now not only stipulating the split on billings with their practices, but they're also putting into those schedules and fees the number of DVA patients they will see per day," he told Medical Forum.

“Most of them are capping it at three or six. They see it more as a philanthropic contribution to community service as opposed to core business.

“My concern is that we are going to end up like the American veterans affairs system, with a second rate medical model for veterans who are relying on the goodwill of GPs to see them as opposed to being seen because the rates match the complexity of the care that's required.“

A spokesperson for RACGP told Medical Forum it was not aware of GPs routinely placing limits on the number of DVA patients they saw. 

“Individual practices need to manage their appointment books according to patient demand, workforce capacity, and the time required to provide safe and appropriate care,” they said.

They acknowledged that veteran care could involve additional complexity and administrative requirements, which also affected practice capacity, and said arrangements needed to support rather than discourage provider participation.

The College said it supported ensuring DVA specific funding, claiming, and referral arrangements were as straightforward as possible so that administrative requirements did not unnecessarily take time away from patient care.

Local multidisciplinary model failed

West Coast Health Alliance, which Mr O'Shea opened in February of 2025, shut its doors at the end of June 2026, unable to deliver the model envisioned.

Mr O'Shea said despite having more than 1500 patients on the clinic's books, with over 860 being DVA gold card holders, the clinic was unable to attract GPs to work exclusively with veterans. It operated for a period of time with one GP.

"We needed at least two GPs five days a week and we just could not achieve that," Mr O'Shea said.

“Over the 18 months that we were open, we spoke to over 22 different GPs. As soon as we showed them the books, and they realised that over 95% of their patients were all DVA, they just were not interested."

He said GPs often felt underprepared but also that working with veterans was too labour intensive for the compensation provided. 

“When GPs do their fellowship, there's only one module where they touch on veteran mental health. If you have a look at the detail of what they need to demonstrate in order to show that they understand the veteran model, it's really a light touch.

"Unless a GP during their fellowship does a placement with a GP who understands the DVA really well, they do not gain a huge understanding of it.

“A lot of them are put off by the paperwork, they see it as a very high administrative burden for very low remuneration. DVA is seen as cumbersome bureaucratic paperwork, and people are not becoming GPs to do paperwork.

“The general feeling is that they were not remunerated appropriately for the work that they were expected to do with DVA patients, particularly gold card holders who are usually complex with multiple conditions."

The RACGP did not directly respond to whether GPs were appropriately remunerated for the work involved in providing care to DVA patients.

“DVA fees and funding arrangements should be regularly reviewed to ensure they appropriately reflect the cost and complexity of delivering care and continue to support veterans’ access to GPs," the spokesperson said.

The College welcomed the introduction of the Veteran Mental Health Incentive that began in July, which provides an additional payment to GPs for eligible consultations involving mental health care planning and ongoing treatment.

The RACGP said it provides education and resources on veterans’ health and has a dedicated Military Medicine and Veterans’ Health Specific Interest group, which provides expertise and supports GPs working in this area.

The Department of Veterans' Affairs was contacted for comment.