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.

The average DVA claim now contains 4.1 conditions, up from 2.6 in 2022. More conditions means more impairment points, and how those points combine determines your total compensation. The maximum weekly PI amount is $447.39 from 1 July 2026, paid at 80 or more impairment points. Despite this, most veterans don’t understand how the points are calculated, what the lifestyle rating does, or how multiple conditions combine. 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. It is the assessment instrument for claims under the Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 2004 (MRCA). Until 30 June 2026, VEA claims used a separate guide (GARP V) and DRCA claims used the Comcare Permanent Impairment Guide.

Since 1 July 2026, every new claim is decided under the improved MRCA, whenever you served, and the 2026 edition of GARP M is the only guide used for new permanent impairment claims. Claims lodged before 1 July 2026 are finished under the Act they were lodged under.

How impairment is assessed

GARP M contains assessment tables organised by body system, 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). It gives you three options: rate yourself (Option 1), leave the rating to the DVA delegate (Option 2, which is also what happens if you choose nothing), or complete the Lifestyle Questionnaire (Option 3). A self-rating should not usually be queried, but it is expected to be broadly consistent with your medical impairment. If DVA considers it too low it substitutes a higher rating, and if too high you get a second chance to complete the Lifestyle Questionnaire. If you choose nothing, DVA rates you from your medical impairment, at no less than the higher end of the range expected for your points.

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.

You have six months from your determination letter to decide whether to convert, and once made the choice cannot be undone. If you have 50 or more impairment points, DVA will reimburse the cost of financial and legal advice, up to a capped amount, before you decide. 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, even a few points from each 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. For a condition that fluctuates, like a mental health condition or chronic pain, DVA asks the doctor to describe your average level of impairment. That only works if they hear about the bad days as well as the good, so tell them how often flare-ups come, how long they last, and what you cannot do during them.
• 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. Your overall rating has to rise by at least 5 points for further compensation to be paid.
• 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 changed on 1 July 2026

The VETS Act reforms changed several parts of permanent impairment assessment.

PI claims lodged on or after 1 July 2026 are assessed under GARP M 2026, regardless of which Act your conditions were originally accepted under. If you were already compensated under the VEA or DRCA, Chapter 26 of GARP M 2026 turns those earlier ratings into a baseline, and new compensation is paid only when your impairment rises at least 5 points above it.

The "date of effect" rules were simplified. Instead of a precise date when each condition became permanent and stable, DVA now needs only a meaningful estimate from your treating doctor. Compensation is payable from the later of that date and the date you lodged the claim for the condition. This removes one of the more frustrating sources of delay in PI claims.

Because every new claim is now an MRCA claim, the option to convert PI to a lump sum now reaches veterans whose earlier conditions sat under the VEA, which paid a fortnightly disability pension only.

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.

Frequently asked questions

How many impairment points do I need for a DVA permanent impairment payment?

You need at least 10 impairment points, combined across your accepted conditions, before any PI compensation is payable under the MRCA. Hearing loss, loss of fingers or toes, and loss of the sense of taste and smell have a 5-point threshold instead, but the 5 must come from that one impairment alone. After your first payment, further compensation needs your overall rating to rise by at least 5 points. Full compensation is paid at 80 or more points. Clear Path Veterans helps veterans understand their impairment rating and ensure every accepted condition is properly assessed.

How is the DVA permanent impairment lump sum calculated?

Your weekly amount is set by your combined impairment points (from all accepted conditions assessed under GARP M), your lifestyle rating (how your impairment affects daily life, set through the D2670 form), the compensation factor for your service type, and the maximum weekly amount, which is indexed on 1 July each year. A lump sum is that weekly amount converted using an actuarial factor for your age. The lifestyle rating directly adjusts the compensation factor and can materially increase the final payment, it is one of the most underutilised elements of a PI claim.

What is the lifestyle rating in a DVA PI assessment?

The lifestyle rating reflects the non-economic impact of your impairment on daily activities, relationships, recreation, and quality of life. It is assessed across four areas, personal relationships, mobility, recreational and community activities, and employment and domestic activities, through the D2670 form. A higher lifestyle rating increases the compensation factor applied to your WPI score, directly increasing the lump sum. Military stoicism, understating your limitations, is the most common reason veterans receive a lower lifestyle rating than they are entitled to.

Can I claim DVA permanent impairment for multiple conditions?

Yes. DVA assesses all accepted conditions and combines them into a single whole-of-person impairment score using the combined values chart rather than simple addition. You can make multiple PI claims as new conditions are accepted or as existing conditions worsen and your impairment rating changes. There is no cap on the number of conditions you can claim, and each new accepted condition can push your combined rating past a critical threshold that increases your total payment.