The short answer
If you hold a Veteran Gold Card or White Card, you can usually keep using it for podiatry while you get other help at home. The rule is simple: the same service can't be provided through both DVA and My Aged Care at the same time. Podiatry through your Veteran Card sits alongside your other services, not on top of them.
How it fits with each type of help
- Veterans' Home Care: DVA's program for help with things like housework and personal care. It doesn't include podiatry, so the two work side by side.
- DVA community nursing: nurses who visit for clinical care, such as dressings and medications. We work alongside your nurse, especially for foot wounds and ulcers, and share what we find with your GP.
- My Aged Care services: help at home funded by the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing, such as a home care package. You can usually keep using your Veteran Card for allied health such as podiatry. Tell your provider your podiatry is through DVA so it isn't booked twice.
- Living in an aged care home: you can use your Veteran Card for some products and services, as long as they aren't already provided by the home.
Keeping your services separate
Because your podiatry is arranged through your Veteran Card, it doesn't need to be booked through your aged care package. Your package can then focus on other help, such as cleaning, personal care or transport.
How to set it up
- Get a referral to podiatry from your GP, usually on the D904 form. Read our D904 referral guide.
- Call us on 0493 367 109, or ask a family member, carer or care coordinator to call for you.
- Let your care provider know that your podiatry is through DVA, so it's not booked through your package as well.
Tips for families and care coordinators
- Signs that someone needs a podiatrist include thick or curled nails, painful corns, red or broken skin, swelling, and changes in how they walk.
- Anyone with diabetes, poor circulation or reduced feeling in their feet should have their feet checked regularly, even without symptoms. Read about diabetes foot care.
- Coordinators and nurses are welcome to call us to talk about a client, with the client's consent.
Where to get help with aged care
For questions about DVA aged care and home support, call DVA on 1800 VETERAN (1800 838 372). For services funded through My Aged Care, call 1800 200 422.
Source: My Aged Care, Support for veterans or war widows and DVA, Podiatry services (checked November 2026).