DVA Permanent Impairment Points Explained (GARP M)

Your permanent impairment (PI) points determine how much compensation you receive for the lasting impact of your service-related conditions. They also determine whether you qualify for a Gold Card, the Special Rate Disability Pension (SRDP), or additional payments for dependent children. The difference between 55 and 60 points can mean the difference between paying for your own healthcare and having everything covered for life.

Despite this, most veterans don't understand how the points are calculated, what the lifestyle rating does, or how multiple conditions combine. DVA's own material on this topic is dense and technical. This article explains it in practical terms.

The basics: what are impairment points?

Impairment points are DVA's way of measuring how much your accepted conditions, taken together, affect your body and your ability to function. They're assessed on a scale from 0 to 100. The higher your points, the greater your impairment, and the more compensation you receive.

Points are assessed using the Guide to Determining Impairment and Compensation, known as GARP M. This is the assessment instrument used for claims under the Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 2004 (MRCA). A similar but slightly different guide (GARP V) is used for claims under the Veterans' Entitlements Act 1986 (VEA), and the DRCA PI Guide covers claims under the DRCA.

For most veterans claiming now or after 1 July 2026 (when all new claims move under the improved MRCA), GARP M is the guide that matters.

How impairment is assessed

GARP M contains assessment tables organised by body system. There are 17 chapters covering everything from musculoskeletal conditions to mental health, hearing, vision, skin, and internal organs. Each chapter has two types of tables.

"Other Impairment" tables measure physical loss or disturbance. For a knee injury, this might assess range of motion, stability, or the presence of surgical hardware. For hearing loss, it measures the degree of hearing reduction.

"Functional Loss" tables measure how the condition affects your ability to function. For the same knee injury, this might assess your ability to walk, climb stairs, or stand for extended periods.

A medical practitioner assesses you against the relevant tables for each of your accepted conditions. They measure objective findings (like range of motion with a goniometer) and ask you about functional limitations (like how far you can walk before pain stops you). Their findings are converted into impairment points using the criteria in GARP M.

How multiple conditions combine

This is where most veterans get confused. If you have three accepted conditions rated at 15, 10, and 8 points individually, your total is not simply 33 points.

GARP M uses a whole-of-person combined assessment. All your accepted conditions are assessed together using a formula that prevents simple addition. The principle is that each additional condition adds diminishing points to the total, because some of the functional impact overlaps. Two conditions that both limit your mobility don't double the mobility impact in terms of whole-person impairment.

In practice, combined assessment usually produces a total that's somewhat less than the straight addition of individual ratings. A veteran with individual ratings of 15, 10, and 8 might end up with a combined score of around 30 rather than 33. The exact calculation depends on which body systems are affected and whether conditions overlap.

This is one of the reasons why having all your conditions properly claimed and assessed matters. Even a condition that individually scores only 5 points can push your combined total past a critical threshold.

The lifestyle rating: the number veterans overlook

Your impairment points tell DVA how impaired you are medically. The lifestyle rating tells DVA how much that impairment affects your day-to-day life. The two are combined to determine your compensation factor.

The lifestyle rating is scored from 0 to 7, where 0 means your conditions have minimal effect on your lifestyle and 7 means they profoundly affect every aspect of how you live.

DVA assesses your lifestyle across four areas.

• Personal relationships. How do your conditions affect your relationships with your partner, family, and friends? Do they cause irritability, withdrawal, inability to participate in family activities, or strain on your relationships?
• Mobility and self-care. Can you look after yourself? Can you drive, use public transport, maintain personal hygiene, cook, clean? Do you need assistance with daily tasks?
• Recreation and community. Have you had to give up hobbies, sports, or social activities because of your conditions? Are you isolated from community participation?
• Employment and domestic activities. Can you work? If so, in what capacity? Can you maintain your home, manage your finances, do yard work, do household repairs?

DVA will send you a Lifestyle Rating form (D2670) to complete. You can self-assess your lifestyle rating, and DVA generally accepts self-assessments unless they're clearly inconsistent with the level of medical impairment.

Why the lifestyle rating matters so much

The lifestyle rating directly affects your compensation factor. Two veterans with identical impairment points but different lifestyle ratings will receive different compensation amounts.

For example, a veteran with 40 impairment points and a lifestyle rating of 3 will receive a lower compensation factor than a veteran with 40 points and a lifestyle rating of 5. The difference can be substantial over the life of the payment.

In our experience, many veterans understate their lifestyle impact on the form. Military culture teaches you to push through, to minimise, to not complain. But the lifestyle rating form isn't asking how tough you are. It's asking how your conditions actually affect your life. If your knee injuries mean you can't play sport with your kids, say so. If your PTSD means you avoid social situations and your relationship is under strain, say so. Understating your lifestyle effects directly reduces your compensation.

The compensation factor: where points become dollars

Once DVA has your impairment points and lifestyle rating, they look up the relevant compensation factor in Table 23.1 (for warlike/non-warlike service) or Table 23.2 (for peacetime service) of GARP M.

The compensation factor is a number between 0 and 1. It's multiplied by the maximum weekly PI compensation rate to calculate your actual payment.

Warlike/non-warlike service produces higher compensation factors than peacetime service for the same impairment and lifestyle rating. This reflects the legislative intent that conditions arising from operational service attract higher compensation.

Your PI compensation is paid as a fortnightly periodic payment. Under MRCA, you also have the option to convert some or all of it into a lump sum. The lump sum is age-adjusted, so a younger veteran converting to a lump sum receives more than an older veteran with the same points, reflecting the longer period the payment would otherwise cover.

If you're considering converting to a lump sum, DVA can cover the cost of independent financial advice for veterans with 50 or more impairment points. Take advantage of this before making an irreversible decision.

The thresholds that matter

Certain impairment point levels unlock specific entitlements. Knowing where you sit relative to these thresholds can guide your claiming strategy.

Common mistakes that cost veterans points

• Not claiming all your conditions. Every accepted condition contributes to your combined impairment rating. If you have tinnitus, GORD, or skin conditions you haven't claimed because they seem minor, those 3 to 5 points per condition could push you past a critical threshold.
• Understating your lifestyle rating. Military stoicism costs veterans money. Complete the lifestyle rating form honestly and thoroughly.
• Being assessed on a good day. Your PI assessment captures a snapshot. If you have conditions that fluctuate (like mental health conditions or chronic pain), make sure the assessing practitioner understands your worst days, not just how you present on the day of the appointment. Ask the practitioner to note the range of your functional capacity.
• Not providing updated medical evidence when conditions worsen. If your conditions have deteriorated since your last PI assessment, you can request a reassessment. You'll need current specialist reports that document the worsening. A 5-point increase triggers a new PI determination.
• Not understanding combined assessment. Some veterans don't claim conditions that affect a body system already covered by another condition, thinking the points won't count. While conditions in the same body system do interact through apportionment, additional conditions almost always add some points to the combined total. Don't self-exclude.

What changes on 1 July 2026

The VETS Act reforms bring several changes to permanent impairment assessment.

All new PI claims after 1 July 2026 will be assessed under GARP M, regardless of which Act your conditions were originally accepted under. For VEA and DRCA veterans, DVA will create a baseline impairment rating by translating your existing assessments into GARP M terms. Any worsening of 5 or more points above that baseline will trigger a new PI determination under MRCA.

A significant practical change: from 1 July 2026, the "date of effect" rules are being simplified. Instead of requiring a precise date when each condition became permanent and stable, DVA will accept an estimated date from your treating doctor. This should reduce one of the more frustrating sources of delay in PI claims.

PI compensation under the improved MRCA can also be received as a lump sum for new claims from 1 July 2026, which extends lump sum access to veterans who previously only had periodic payment options.

Getting your PI assessment right

The permanent impairment assessment is one of the highest-stakes moments in your DVA journey. The points you receive at assessment follow you through every subsequent entitlement calculation, from compensation rates to Gold Card eligibility to SRDP access.

If you're approaching a PI assessment, or you've received a result you think is too low, it's worth getting advice before you accept or appeal. We review PI assessments for veterans regularly, checking whether all conditions were properly assessed, whether the lifestyle rating accurately reflects the impact, and whether the combined calculation was applied correctly.