Average DVA payout for osteoarthritis in 2026
Osteoarthritis is rated under the table for the joint it affects, usually the knee or hip. Osteoarthritis in a leg joint is now accepted on diagnosis for many veterans who meet the service test.
Rates and rules checked October 2026
Where osteoarthritis sits on the impairment scale
The use-of-legs scale runs to 70 points for both legs together. The shading spans the worked examples below.
What osteoarthritis pays at 2026 rates
These examples run typical ratings through DVA's compensation tables. Operations service (warlike or non-warlike) pays more than peacetime service at the same rating, up to 80 points where they meet.
| Example | Points | Operations service | Peacetime service |
|---|---|---|---|
| One knee, stiff and painful Range of movement 10 | 10 | $49.66/wk $60,685 lump sum | $27.74/wk $33,898 lump sum |
| Both knees, limits walking Use of lower limbs 20 | 20 | $99.32/wk $121,369 lump sum | $55.48/wk $67,797 lump sum |
| Both knees, pain at rest most days Use of lower limbs 20 combined with pain 10 | 28 | $130.64/wk $159,642 lump sum | $73.37/wk $89,658 lump sum |
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Estimate under the MRCA at 1 July 2026 rates. Takes about a minute.
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An estimate only, not what DVA will decide. Based on GARP M 2026 and DVA's published maximum of $447.39 a week.
Get a free claim checkHow DVA rates osteoarthritis
There's no single osteoarthritis table. DVA rates the affected joint using its section of GARP M 2026.
- Hips, knees and ankles are rated together as one unit: the worst joint's lost movement or how both legs work together, whichever is higher. Arthritis in a second leg joint doesn't get its own rating, though it can push the use-of-legs rating up.
- Other joints, such as a shoulder or the spine, get their own ratings, and those are combined with the leg rating using the Combined Values Chart.
- Pain at rest (Table 3.4.1) gets one rating of up to 15 points for all affected joints, combined with the rest.
A joint replacement is rated on how well the joint works afterwards. It only attracts separate points when the main cause of your leg problems is a vascular condition.
Is osteoarthritis accepted on diagnosis?
From 1 July 2026, osteoarthritis of a joint of the leg (hip, knee, ankle or foot) is accepted on diagnosis if you have either:
- more than 200 days of peacetime service, not counting your first 200, with onset during service or within 25 years after it; or
- more than 133 days of warlike or non-warlike service, not counting your first 133.
All new claims are decided under the MRCA from 1 July 2026. If you lodged before then, your claim is decided under the Act that applied when you lodged. What changed.
Common questions
Is osteoarthritis accepted by DVA?
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