What Is the DVA Veteran Home Care Program?
The Veteran Home Care (VHC) program is one of the most practical, accessible supports DVA offers. It is designed specifically to help eligible veterans and war widows with day-to-day tasks at home: the cleaning, the laundry, the garden that keeps getting away from you. The kind of things that pile up quietly until they become a real problem.
If you or someone you care about has served, here is what you need to know.
What Is the Veteran Home Care Program?
The VHC program provides short-term and ongoing in-home support to eligible veterans and war widows who need a hand with household and garden tasks. It is funded by DVA and delivered through approved providers in the local community, which means the support comes to you, in your home, from people who know the area.
The program is not means-tested. It is not about how much money you have or whether your condition is service-related. If you hold a Gold Card or White Card, you are likely eligible.
What Does VHC Cover?
Through the VHC program, Sistability provides two types of support:
Domestic assistance: regular help with cleaning, vacuuming, mopping, laundry, and general household tasks. For many clients, this is the service that makes the biggest difference to day-to-day life. A clean, tidy home is not a luxury. It is fundamental to feeling well and staying safe.
Home and garden maintenance: lawn mowing, weeding, pruning, and general garden upkeep. The Northern Rivers climate means gardens can get away from you fast, especially through the wetter months. VHC funding means you do not have to watch it happen.
These are practical, hands-on services delivered by our team on a regular schedule, the same familiar faces, turning up reliably, and doing the job properly.
Who Is Eligible?
You may be eligible for VHC support if you:
Hold a DVA Gold Card
Hold a DVA White Card (for services related to an accepted condition)
Are a war widow or widower receiving the War Widow's Pension
If you are not sure which card you hold or what your entitlements are, DVA can help you work that out. Their general enquiries line is 1800 838 372.
How Do You Access It?
The VHC program does not require a lengthy assessment or a referral from your GP. In most cases, you can contact DVA directly to request a VHC assessment, and from there DVA will refer you to an approved provider in your area.
Once referred to Sistability, we can usually get started quickly and we will work around what suits you, not the other way around.
An Entitlement Worth Using
There is a generation of Australians who spent years serving this country and now find it genuinely difficult to ask for help. The VHC program exists because DVA recognises that staying independent at home requires real, practical support, and that veterans have earned the right to access it without a fight.
If the home is getting harder to manage, or the garden is becoming a source of stress rather than pride, this program is worth knowing about. It is not charity. It is an entitlement, and it is there to be used.
Talk to Us
If you are a veteran, a war widow, or a family member helping someone who served, we are happy to have a conversation about what VHC support looks like in practice.
We work with DVA-funded clients across the Northern Rivers and understand what counts: reliability, respect, and someone who genuinely cares about the people they support.
Talk to our team about VHC support in the Northern Rivers.
