Apply for the Covenant
Members of the Permanent Forces and Reserves can apply for the Covenant online using MyService.
The Covenant items include the Veteran Card, Lapel Pin and Oath. Depending on your type of service, you may be eligible for all, or some, of the Covenant items. These items will be sent in the mail, noting that the Lapel Pin and Oath will be sent separately to the Veteran Card (if eligible).
Eligibility
Permanent Forces
Veterans who have served in the Permanent Forces of the ADF are eligible to apply for all Covenant items, including the Veteran Card, Lapel Pin and Oath.
Reserves
Veterans who have served in the Reserves and have any of the following types of service are eligible to apply for all Covenant items, including the Veteran Card, Lapel Pin and Oath:
- one day of Continuous Full-Time Service (CFTS)
- Disaster Relief Service
- Border Protection Service, or
- were involved in a serious service-related training accident
Otherwise, Reservists are eligible to apply for the Lapel Pin and Oath, only.
| Service rendered / Covenant entitlement | Veteran Card with Non Liability Health Care (NLHC) for mental health conditions | Oath | Veteran Lapel Pin | Reservist Lapel Pin |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ADF Permanent Forces | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| ADF Reservist with Continuous Full Time Service (CFTS) | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| ADF Reservist with any: - disaster relief service - border protection service - involvement in a serious service-related training accident | Yes | Yes | No | Yes |
| ADF Reservist (not above) | No | Yes | No | Yes |
| Clients who have not served in the Permanent Forces or Reserves of the ADF (e.g. cadets, cadet instructors, AFP, and Defence civilians) | No | No | No | No |
Eligibility Notes
Permanent Forces: serving and ex-serving members of the Permanent Forces of the ADF. This includes those who rendered full time service in the National Service schemes.
Reservist with CFTS: serving and ex-serving members of the ADF Reserve who have rendered a period of Continuous Full Time Service (CFTS).
CFTS is defined as:
- full-time service in the permanent forces of the ADF
- a reservist who has been formally designated to be on full-time service by Defence
- a reservist who has been called out for full-time service by the Governor General under the Defence Act.
CFTS does not include training conducted as reserve service days.
Reservist with any disaster relief service, border protection service, or involvement in a serious service-related training accident: serving and ex-serving members of the ADF Reserve without CFTS, but who have rendered border protection service, disaster relief service, or have been involved in a serious service-related training accident.
Reservist (not above): serving and ex-serving members of the ADF Reserve without other eligible service. This includes service in the Citizen Military Forces (CMF).
Clients who have not served in the Permanent Forces or Reserves: eligibility for the Covenant requires service in the Permanent Forces or Reserve of the ADF. For this reason, DVA clients listed below who have not also served in the ADF are not eligible for the Covenant. This includes:
- War widows and widowers
- Dependants
- Members and instructors of the Australian Army Cadets (AAC), Australian Navy Cadets (ANC) and Australian Air Force Cadets (AAFC)
- British and Commonwealth Allied (BCAL) veterans, eligible under the VEA and MRCA
- Australian Federal Police (AFP) eligible under the VEA
- Allied veterans with a Health card to facilitate treatment in Australia on behalf of an Allied country
- BCAL WW2 veterans with an Orange card who have access to subsidised RPBS pharmaceuticals
- British Nuclear Testing (BNT) civilians
- SEATO (Southeast Asia Treaty Organisation) Members of the Australian civilian surgical and medical teams who provided medical aid, training and treatment to local Vietnamese people during the Vietnam war
- Civilians eligible for veteran-like entitlements
How to apply
Apply for your Lapel Pin and Oath on MyService. The easiest way to submit and track claims is to use MyService. Go to www.dva.gov.au/myservice to create an account or sign in to your existing one.
In MyService, select ‘Veterans’ Covenant’ and follow the prompts to apply.
Alternatively, you can:
- call us on 1800 VETERAN (1800 838 372), or
- visit a DVA office to talk to someone in person
Privacy Collection Notice
Your personal information is protected by law, including under the Privacy Act 1988 (Privacy Act).
Who is collecting your personal information
Your personal information is being collected by the Commonwealth of Australia, represented by the Department of Veterans’ Affairs (ABN 23 964 290 824), the Repatriation Commission, and the Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Commission (‘The department’).
Purpose of collecting your information
Your personal information is being collected for the purposes of administering the Australian Defence Veterans’ Covenant (Covenant) and distributing the Covenant to successful applicants.
If you do not provide some or all of the personal information requested, the department may be unable to determine your eligibility to be awarded the Covenant or have it delivered to you.
Disclosure of your personal information
The department may disclose the personal information you have provided as detailed in our privacy policy and specifically your contact details may be provided to contracted service providers for the purposes of distributing the Covenant to successful applicants.
Privacy policy
The department’s Privacy Policy contains more information about how the department will manage your personal information, including how to seek access to, or correction of, your personal information and how you can make a complaint related to your personal information.
To contact the department about your personal information, email privacy.enquiries@dva.gov.au