DVA Pharmacy Entitlements in Australia: Gold, White, and Orange Card Holders

Who is covered by DVA

DVA issues three card types, each with different pharmacy entitlements. The card type depends on the cardholder's service record and accepted conditions.

Card	Covers	Pharmacy co-pay in 2026
Gold	All clinically required treatment, any condition	$7.70 (PBS and RPBS)
White	Accepted conditions only	$7.70 for accepted conditions; standard PBS rate for others
Orange	Pharmacy items only (PBS and RPBS)	$7.70

Gold Card (Veteran Gold Card)

Issued to veterans, war widows, and dependents with full health-care entitlement under the Veterans' Entitlements Act, the Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Act, or the Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation Act (Defence-related Claims). The Gold Card covers all clinically required treatment for any condition, accepted or not.

For pharmacy purposes, Gold Card holders pay $7.70 per script for both PBS and RPBS items in 2026.

White Card (Veteran White Card)

Issued to veterans with specific accepted conditions. The White Card covers treatment for those accepted conditions only. For unrelated conditions, the cardholder uses Medicare and the PBS like any other Australian.

For pharmacy purposes, White Card holders pay $7.70 per script for medicines related to their accepted conditions, under either PBS or RPBS. For unrelated conditions, the standard PBS co-payment applies ($25 general or $7.70 concessional, depending on the cardholder's other entitlements).

Orange Card (Commonwealth Veterans' Pharmaceutical Reimbursement Scheme)

Issued to Commonwealth and Allied veterans living in Australia who meet specific service criteria. The Orange Card is a pharmaceutical-only card. It covers PBS and RPBS medicines at the $7.70 concessional rate, but does not cover any other health services.

For full eligibility rules and how to apply for each card, see dva.gov.au.

What each card pays for at a pharmacy

The pharmacist enters the DVA number into the dispensing system, which checks the card type and the medicine against the eligibility list. The applicable co-payment is charged at the counter.

In 2026:

• PBS-listed medicines: $7.70 per script, dropping to free after the $277.20 Safety Net threshold
• RPBS-listed medicines (DVA-only items not on the PBS): $7.70 per script, same Safety Net rules apply
• Approved non-PBS items in specific clinical circumstances: subsidised at the discretion of DVA under the cardholder's clinical care arrangements

DVA cardholders are treated as concession card holders for PBS Safety Net purposes. The threshold for concessional cardholders ($277.20 in 2026) applies, and the family Safety Net rules work the same way. Once your family crosses the threshold, the remainder of the calendar year's PBS and RPBS scripts are free.

For background on how the Safety Net works in general, see our guide to PBS concession card pharmacy savings.

The RPBS (Repatriation Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme) explained

The RPBS is a separate listing of medicines available only to DVA Gold, White, and Orange card holders. It overlaps with the PBS but includes additional items: certain wound dressings, some compounded preparations, and a number of medicines used in specific clinical contexts that are not on the general PBS list.

The RPBS is administered by the federal Department of Health and Aged Care under the same legislative framework as the PBS, but the prescribing rules and the eligible items differ in places. For example:

• Some over-the-counter products are available on RPBS prescription when prescribed for an accepted condition, but are not available on the PBS.
• A handful of medicines are available on the RPBS at lower clinical thresholds than on the PBS (the prescriber does not need to meet the usual PBS authority criteria).
• Certain wound-care and continence items are funded through the RPBS rather than separate state schemes.

The full RPBS schedule is published at pbs.gov.au alongside the PBS. Your prescriber and pharmacist can confirm whether a specific medicine is on the RPBS for your card type.

How to use your DVA card at any community pharmacy

Every Australian community pharmacy that dispenses PBS scripts also dispenses RPBS scripts. There is no separate DVA-accredited pharmacy network. The same dispensing system handles both schemes.

What to bring:

• Your DVA card (physical or digital in the MyService app)
• Your prescription (eScript token, paper script, or Active Script List)
• Photo ID if the pharmacy does not already have you on file

What happens at the counter:

• The pharmacist enters your DVA number into the dispensing system
• The system checks the card type, the medicine, and any accepted condition flag against the eligible list
• The pharmacy applies the $7.70 co-payment, or zero if you have crossed the Safety Net threshold

If the medicine is not eligible on your card (for example, a non-accepted condition on a White Card), the system charges the standard PBS co-payment instead. Ask the pharmacist if you are unsure why a particular medicine has been priced one way rather than the other.

DVA-specific medicines outside the PBS list

The RPBS list includes items that a general PBS patient would have to pay privately for. Common examples:

• Certain therapeutic dressings and wound-care products
• Some preparations used in long-term post-acute care
• A small number of medicines withdrawn from the PBS but retained on the RPBS for veterans already on them
• Compounded preparations for specific accepted conditions

These items are dispensed at the same $7.70 concessional rate. The full list is updated each month and published at pbs.gov.au.

If your GP prescribes something not on the PBS or RPBS, DVA can sometimes approve it under prior approval arrangements (typically by the prescriber phoning DVA's prior approval line). The pharmacy dispenses once approval is recorded.

DVA arrangements for hospital pharmacy

Hospital admissions for DVA cardholders are handled through DVA's contractual arrangements with public and private hospitals. While in hospital, medicines you receive as part of treatment are covered under those arrangements, not under the PBS or RPBS.

On discharge:

• A discharge prescription is usually written for a short supply (typically 7 to 28 days, depending on the hospital and the condition)
• For Gold Card holders, the hospital can dispense this directly under DVA arrangements at no out-of-pocket cost in many cases
• For White Card holders, the same applies if the medicine relates to an accepted condition
• Once you are home, ongoing scripts go to your community pharmacy at the $7.70 rate

If you are admitted via the public hospital system and you are a DVA cardholder, tell the admitting clerk and the hospital pharmacy. The hospital can route the admission through DVA arrangements rather than through standard Medicare billing.