A fracture sustained during ADF service, or directly caused by your service activities, is a compensable condition under the Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 2004 (MRCA). This includes stress fractures from repetitive load-bearing activity, which are common in infantry, combat engineers, and physical training instructors.
The SoP for fracture covers any acquired break in bone resulting from applied force, including impact, repetitive loading, and torsion. If your fracture occurred during service or was caused by activities required of you in service, you have a sound basis for a claim.
Fracture is a PAMT-eligible condition, meaning you can access funded treatment through DVA before your liability determination is finalised. This applies even while your claim is under assessment.
Why Fracture is common in the ADF
ADF service creates significant fracture risk across a range of activities: load-bearing marches, parachute operations, weapons handling, combat physical training, and operational deployments all produce the mechanical forces that cause both acute and stress fractures.
Stress fractures in particular are strongly associated with infantry and combat roles, where repetitive high-load marching on hard surfaces over extended periods is routine. The tibia, fibula, metatarsals, and femur are the most commonly affected sites. Many stress fractures go undiagnosed during service and are only identified years later.
Fractures that do not heal correctly (non-union or malunion) can result in chronic pain and functional impairment that persists long after the original injury. These sequelae are separately claimable and often attract their own impairment points.
Medical access
Provisional Access to Medical Treatment (PAMT)
Fracture is on the PAMT list. This means you can access funded medical treatment while your DVA claim is being assessed — you do not need to wait for a liability decision to start treatment.
Orthopaedic specialist review and management
Physiotherapy and rehabilitation services
Imaging (X-ray, CT, MRI) to assess healing and complications
Surgical management where clinically indicated
Pain management services
Deadline: PAMT applications for Fracture must be lodged by 30 June 2026. After this date, PAMT will no longer be available as the VETS Act takes effect. Do not wait.
Statement of Principles — in plain English
DVA assesses your claim against a Statement of Principles (SoP). Here are the key factors that most commonly apply to Fracture claims, translated from the legal language.
Significant physical force applied to or through the bone, the primary pathway for acute fractures
A trauma event that applied sufficient mechanical force to cause structural failure of the bone
Repetitive loading of the bone causing a stress fracture, covering load-bearing marches, physical training, and operational tempo
Repetitive mechanical loading of the affected bone during the relevant service period
Chronic repetitive loading in an abnormal direction causing a stress fracture
Repeated force applied to the bone in a direction inconsistent with normal biomechanical loading
Smoking, relevant to non-union fractures
Smoking at least 5 cigarettes per day during the treatment period where non-union has occurred
Diabetes, relevant to non-union fractures
Diabetes mellitus present at the time of non-union
Inability to obtain appropriate clinical management
Circumstances preventing access to timely and appropriate fracture management
Conditions that commonly develop alongside
Veterans with Fracture often develop related conditions that may also be claimable. These are worth assessing at the same time as your primary claim.
What to expect for impairment points
Impairment from fracture is assessed based on the functional limitation that persists after healing, not the fracture itself. A fracture that heals fully with no residual impairment may attract no ongoing points. What matters is the long-term outcome: chronic pain, limited range of motion, post-traumatic osteoarthritis, or malunion causing functional limitation.
Stress fractures that result in chronic bone pain or that have led to structural changes in the affected limb can attract meaningful impairment points under GARP M. The key is obtaining a specialist assessment that documents the functional impairment, not just confirming the historical fracture.
Where a fracture has caused or accelerated post-traumatic osteoarthritis in the affected joint, that osteoarthritis is a separate claimable condition and its impairment points combine with the primary fracture claim.
Use the DVA PI Points CalculatorWhat a strong Fracture claim looks like
Imaging confirming the fracture: X-rays, CT scans, or MRI at the time of injury and on current presentation
Service medical records documenting when and how the injury occurred
Orthopaedic or specialist report assessing current functional impairment from the fracture
Evidence of any non-union, malunion, or post-traumatic complications
Statement from you describing the circumstances of injury during service and current functional impact
Physiotherapy or rehabilitation records demonstrating ongoing treatment requirements
DVA currently takes 3–6 months to decide most initial liability claims. Complex or multi-condition claims can take longer. Lodging a complete, decision-ready claim upfront reduces back-and-forth.
Processing times guideCommon questions about Fracture claims
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