Guide

What Evidence Helps a DVA Claim?

DVA claims are assessed on evidence. This guide outlines the types of supporting documentation that typically help build a clear, well-supported claim — and how to present them in a structured way.

7 min read·Built by a veteran

Medical evidence

Medical evidence is the foundation of almost every claim. It establishes the diagnosis and shows the condition's ongoing impact.

Formal diagnosis from a qualified clinician
GP notes around the time the condition first appeared
Hospital records and discharge summaries
Imaging, scans and pathology results

Specialist reports

Specialist reports often add the most weight to a claim, particularly for chronic or complex conditions. They help confirm severity, ongoing treatment and prognosis in clinical language that DVA assessments can rely on. If a specialist has been involved in your care, their reports — even older ones — are worth including.

Service records

Service records establish that the relevant exposures, duties or incidents actually occurred during your time in uniform.

Postings, ships and units
Deployments and operations
Incident reports or injury records
Discharge documents

Timelines

A clear timeline that combines service and medical events helps show when symptoms started in relation to relevant service. Even an approximate timeline is significantly stronger than a list of undated documents.

Symptoms

Your own description of symptoms i.e. when they started, how they've changed, how they affect day-to-day life. Why? It adds important context that records alone don't capture.

Treatment history

Document treatments tried, current medications, therapies and any ongoing management. A consistent treatment history reinforces both the diagnosis and the impact.

How Veterans Compass organises your evidence

Upload your documents and Veterans Compass extracts the key facts automatically — dates, diagnoses, providers, exposures. Your evidence is grouped by condition and mapped to the relevant SOP so you can see exactly what supports your claim and what might be missing.