DVA impairment points explained
Impairment points drive every permanent impairment payout. Here's how they're assessed, combined and turned into dollars under GARP M 2026.
Rates and rules checked October 2026
The scale
Impairment points measure how much your accepted conditions affect your body or mind, from 0 to 100. They're assessed under the Guide to Determining Impairment and Compensation, GARP M 2026, which has chapters and tables for each body system.
Payments generally start at 10 points. The maximum is paid from 80.
The minimum to be paid
Under section 69 of the MRCA you need at least 10 impairment points, and several conditions can be combined to reach it. A single condition of hearing loss, loss of a finger or toe, or loss of taste or smell only needs 5 points, but separate conditions can't be added together to reach that 5.
How conditions are combined
Ratings aren't simply added. DVA uses the Combined Values Chart in Chapter 18, which applies each further condition to whatever's left of the "whole person":
| Conditions | Added | Combined |
|---|---|---|
| 20 and 30 | 50 | 44 |
| 35 and 20 | 55 | 48 |
| 60, 30 and 10 | 100 | 75 |
| 20, 10, 10 and 10 | 50 | 42 |
The lifestyle rating
Your lifestyle rating, from 0 to 7, reflects how your conditions affect relationships, mobility, recreation and community life, and work or home life. It's usually broadly in line with your impairment rating. DVA's tables shade the range it treats as consistent:
| Impairment points | Typical lifestyle rating |
|---|---|
| 5 to 15 | 0 to 1 |
| 16 to 30 | 1 to 2 |
| 31 to 40 | 2 to 3 |
| 41 to 54 | 3 to 4 |
| 55 to 70 | 4 to 5 |
| 71 to 80 | 5 to 6 |
You can complete a self-assessment form, or let DVA allocate a rating. If DVA allocates it, it can't be lower than the top of the shaded range.
From points to dollars
Your combined points and lifestyle rating give a compensation factor from Table 23.1 (warlike and non-warlike service) or Table 23.2 (peacetime). The factor is multiplied by the maximum weekly amount, $447.39 from 1 July 2026. If your conditions come from both types of service, DVA uses a weighted average of the two factors.
If your rating looks too low
Common reasons are missing specialist evidence, an assessment done on a good day, age adjustments applied without explanation, or a condition partly apportioned to something DVA hasn't accepted. You can ask for a review. See rejected claims and appeals.
Common questions
How many impairment points do I need for a DVA payout?
How many points for a Gold Card?
Are impairment points added together?
Sources
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