Four rejected DVA claims overturned at the VRB

The situation

Chris joined the Army at 20 and served four years as a driver before separating at 24. No deployments, no medals. Just four years of doing the job. He came home to the Central Coast, moved back in with his parents, and picked up casual work at a bottle shop while he figured out what came next.

What he did not figure out was that he had left the ADF with a reconstructed knee, damaged hearing, tinnitus that had not stopped since a live fire exercise in his second year, and an adjustment disorder that had quietly taken hold in the months after discharge.

He tried to sort it himself. He lodged four conditions through MyService, got four rejection letters back, and put them in a drawer. His mum was the one who kept pushing. She found us.

The challenge

DVA's rejection letters can feel final. For most veterans who lodge without help, they are. Not because the conditions aren't real, but because the evidence doesn't speak DVA's language.

Chris's knee claim was rejected on the basis of a minor notation in his enlistment medical. A single line that DVA used to argue his condition was pre-existing. His hearing loss was rejected because his separation audiogram showed results within what DVA considered normal limits. His tinnitus had no documented clinical onset during service. His adjustment disorder was rejected because the medical report didn't address the specific SoP factor DVA needed to see.

Four conditions. Four fixable problems. But Chris did not know that, and neither did the GP who helped him lodge.

He was 24, working casually, in daily pain from his knee, and increasingly withdrawn. He assumed DVA had made the right call. He assumed four years without a deployment meant he probably did not qualify for much. Neither of those things were true.

What we did

We reviewed every rejection letter and identified the exact evidence gap in each one.

For the knee, we obtained an orthopaedic specialist opinion that addressed the enlistment notation directly, confirming it did not constitute a pre-existing diagnosed condition, and linking the ACL tear and subsequent osteoarthritis to documented service events in Chris's unit records.

For the hearing loss, we commissioned a comprehensive audiological assessment with a practitioner experienced in DVA claims, one who knew how to document loss at the specific frequencies consistent with military noise exposure and cross-reference it against Chris's unit's noise exposure history.

For the tinnitus, we gathered buddy statements from two soldiers who served alongside Chris during the live fire exercise, supported by a specialist audiology report documenting clinical onset during service.

For the adjustment disorder, we coordinated a psychiatric assessment that addressed the SoP factor directly, documenting the significant stressor and its timing relative to the clinical onset of Chris's symptoms.

We prepared a comprehensive VRB submission covering all four conditions and lodged it with full supporting evidence. DVA resolved every condition through alternative dispute resolution. No formal hearing required.

The outcome

All four conditions accepted. 40 impairment points. $237,000 tax-free PI lump sum. White Card issued for all four conditions. Chris was enrolled in a DVA-funded rehabilitation program supporting his transition into an IT support role. Five months from our first call to resolution.

• 4 of 4 conditions accepted after VRB appeal
• Right knee ACL and osteoarthritis accepted
• Bilateral hearing loss accepted
• Tinnitus accepted
• Adjustment disorder accepted
• 40 impairment points, $237,000 tax-free
• White Card issued for all four conditions
• DVA rehabilitation: enrolled in TAFE IT support program
• Resolved through alternative dispute resolution, no formal hearing