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Reference only — not pricing or compliance advice

DVA fee schedules and Notes for Allied Health Providers are updated regularly. Verify the current line on the DVA Fee Schedules and DVA Notes for Allied Health Providers before claiming. This page does not include fee amounts. Last reviewed .

DVA programmesPsychologistsMental Health NursesSocial WorkersCounsellorsPsychiatrists

Open Arms — Veterans & Families Counselling

Open Arms (formerly VVCS) is a DVA-funded counselling service for current and former ADF members and their families. It delivers free counselling, group programmes, and crisis support nationally — through directly-employed clinicians and an Outreach Programme network of contracted counsellors.

What this covers

  • Individual, couples, and family counselling.
  • Group programmes — anger, sleep, parenting, transition, partners.
  • 24/7 telephone counselling line (1800 011 046).
  • Outreach Programme Counsellors deliver counselling under contract in private practice.

Eligibility

  • 1Current and former ADF members (permanent and reservist with at least one day of CFTS or qualifying service).
  • 2Partners and dependent children of eligible veterans.
  • 3Parents and siblings of veterans who have died in service or by suicide.
  • 4No referral required — clients self-refer.

Your notes must show

Documentation tests — what notes need to demonstrate to satisfy DVA reviewers and survive a fee-for-service or end-of-cycle audit.

  • Veteran/family-member identifier and Open Arms client number.
  • Eligibility category (veteran, partner, dependent, bereaved family).
  • Presenting issue and clinical formulation.
  • Treatment plan and goals — typically time-limited.
  • Session-by-session progress notes (date, start/end time, intervention, response).
  • Discharge or transfer planning.

Common audit failures

Patterns DVA flag at end-of-cycle review or fee-for-service audit.

  • Unclear documentation of who is the client — couples and family work needs explicit identification of the primary client and the relational frame.
  • No formal review point for time-limited episodes of care.
  • Risk and safeguarding observations not separated from clinical content.

Authoritative sources

Documentation tests on this page reference DVA Notes for Allied Health Providers and the published DVA programme rules. Always confirm current rules against the official DVA sources before claiming.

Open Arms — Veterans & Families CounsellingDVA Notes for Allied Health Providers

Related DVA references

DVA Gold Card

DVA White Card

Non-Liability Mental Health (NLMH)

Templates for DVA work

Note templates inside Grounded Scribe for DVA initial assessments, cycle progress notes, and end-of-cycle reports — function-focussed by default and aligned to the documentation tests above.

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In-depth reading in the Library

DVA Allied Health Documentation for Veterans: A Practitioner Guide

Department of Veterans' Affairs (DVA) allied health treatment must satisfy the DVA Provider Notes and Health Service Provider Manuals. This guide outlines the documentation structure that supports approval of treatment cycles and avoids audit findings.

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