General information
This guide is based on publicly available information from official sources, including the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme, Services Australia, Healthdirect and other Australian Government health and pharmacy bodies. It is general information, not personal medical advice, and may change over time. With any medicine, always read the label and use only as directed, and if symptoms persist see your doctor or health care professional. Check anything that affects you with your pharmacist or GP. In an emergency, call 000.
Department of Veterans' Affairs (DVA) cardholders pay the same concessional rate as other concession card holders, $7.70 a script in 2026, for medicines on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) or the Repatriation Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (RPBS). Like other concession holders, they also stop paying once the family reaches the PBS Safety Net for the year. The RPBS covers a number of items the PBS does not, available only to DVA cardholders. These government-set figures usually change on 1 January, so it is worth confirming the current amount with Services Australia. For how the wider scheme works, see our PBS guide and our concession card savings guide.
Which DVA card you hold
DVA issues three cards, and the pharmacy entitlement depends on which one you hold.
| Card | Who holds it | At the pharmacy |
|---|---|---|
| Gold | Veterans, war widows and widowers, and certain dependants with full entitlement | All clinically required medicines, any condition, at $7.70 |
| White | Veterans with accepted (service-related) conditions | $7.70 for accepted conditions; standard PBS rates for anything unrelated |
| Orange | Older British Commonwealth and allied veterans, pharmaceuticals only | PBS and RPBS medicines at $7.70; no other health cover |
DVA veteran healthcare cards and clik.dva.gov.au, 2026 co-payment figures.
The Gold Card covers every clinically required medicine, whether or not the condition is service-related. The White Card covers only accepted conditions; for anything unrelated, the holder uses Medicare and the PBS like any other Australian, at the general or concessional rate their other cards allow. The Orange Card, formally the Repatriation Pharmaceutical Benefits Card, is a pharmaceuticals-only card for British Commonwealth and allied veterans who served in the World Wars and meet an age and residency test; it covers prescriptions, wound-care items, and nutritional supplements, but no treatment. DVA is re-issuing the cards from July 2026 with a new look and the same entitlements.
What you pay, and the brand-premium rule
The concessional co-payment is $7.70 a script in 2026 for both PBS and RPBS items. One point is worth knowing: the $7.70 covers the lowest-priced brand of a medicine. If you or your prescriber choose a more expensive brand where a cheaper equivalent exists, you pay the difference on top, the same brand premium any patient pays. Once your family's PBS and RPBS spending for the calendar year reaches the concessional Safety Net threshold, $277.20 in 2026, the rest of that year's scripts are free until it resets on 1 January (PBS Safety Net, Services Australia).
What the RPBS adds
The RPBS is a companion list to the PBS, open only to DVA cardholders. It covers the PBS range plus some items the PBS does not: certain wound dressings, some compounded preparations, and a number of medicines kept available for veterans already relying on them. It is funded by DVA and runs through the same pharmacy dispensing systems as the PBS, so nothing looks different at the counter; you present your card and the system applies the right scheme. If a prescriber wants a medicine that is on neither list, DVA can approve it case by case through its prior-approval process, and the pharmacy dispenses once that approval is recorded.
How to use your DVA card at the pharmacy
- Your DVA card, either the physical card or the digital version in the MyService app.
- Your prescription, whether an eScript token (the code your prescriber sends to your phone), a paper script, or your Active Script List (the digital list of your current scripts).
- Photo identification, if the pharmacy does not already have you on file.
At the counter, the pharmacist enters your DVA number, the system checks your card type and the medicine against the eligible list, and the co-payment is applied, or nothing if you have already passed the Safety Net. If an item is not covered on your card, for instance an unrelated condition on a White Card, it is charged at the standard PBS rate instead, and the pharmacist can explain why a particular medicine was priced one way rather than the other.
There is no separate veterans' pharmacy to find. The same dispensing system runs both schemes, so a DVA card works at essentially any community pharmacy in Australia.
If you go into hospital
If you are admitted to hospital, it is worth telling the admitting staff you hold a DVA card. Medicines given during your stay are covered by the hospital under its arrangements with DVA, rather than through the PBS or RPBS. On discharge you may be given a short supply to get you started, and your ongoing scripts then go to your community pharmacy at the usual $7.70 rate. The exact arrangements depend on the hospital and your card, so the ward pharmacist is the right person to check the detail with before you leave.
Talk to someone now
Free advice for questions about a medicine, dose, or interaction.
Frequently asked questions
Every clinically required medicine on the PBS or the RPBS, at the concessional rate of $7.70 a script in 2026. Once your family passes the concessional PBS Safety Net for the calendar year, the remaining PBS and RPBS scripts are free.
