Served? Show your colours.

For Australian veterans and their advocates

Your records already hold the evidence. DVB helps you find it.

DefVetBridge reads a veteran's medical and service records, matches what it finds to the DVA's Statements of Principles, and shows which factors have evidence on file and which are still missing. Then it builds a claim pack with every page cited back to the original document.

Built by a veteran going through the DVA claims process himself.

Starting a claim? Get the free guide, useful whether or not you use DVB.

Example

Unit Medical CentreClinical notes

03 MAR 89Twisted R ankle on PT run. Swelling. Strapped, light duties 7/7.
21 JUN 90Annual medical. Fit for all duties.
14 FEB 91R ankle giving way since Mar 89 injury. Refer physio.
02 APR 91Physio: lateral ligament laxity R ankle.

E2Cited in the claim pack, page 3 of the original record

Injury to the ankle before onsetEvidence on file

Current diagnosis from a doctorGap: needed

What's new

News from DefVetBridge

29 October 2026

We are choosing our first testers

DefVetBridge is opening to a small first group of testers. We want people at every stage of a DVA claim: not yet started, lodged and waiting, or with a decision already made. Veterans, family members, carers and advocates are all welcome, including veterans working with an advocate or a lawyer.

Each tester gets a 100% discount code to build one full claim pack, at no cost. You review the pack and decide whether to lodge it with DVA yourself. All we ask in return is your honest feedback.

Take the 3-minute survey Register your interest

To be considered as a tester, tick the last question in the survey. Register your interest as well, so we can keep you updated. The survey runs on Tally; your answers are used only to choose testers and decide what DVB does next.

Why DVB exists

The evidence exists. It is buried.

A DVA claim succeeds or stalls on evidence: proof that something happened during service and that it is linked to the condition you have now. That proof is usually in your own records, spread across hundreds of pages written decades ago.

Graham Kissell, a former ADF member in Brisbane, hit this wall with his own claim. The evidence was in his files, but finding the right lines by hand meant days of reading. So he built DefVetBridge to do the finding, and to set out the result so an advocate and the DVA can check it.

Built from real use

DVB was built on real records, starting with Graham's own. It is now in use with a second veteran, and their first claim packs are being reviewed line by line.

It is self-funded, with no company or government money behind it.

370+

Statements of Principles

Each condition has its own list of factors the DVA looks for. Picking the wrong one means checking the wrong evidence.

100s

of pages per veteran

Medical files, service records, specialist letters and scans. Much of it handwritten, abbreviated and out of order.

line can matter

A single entry from 1991 can be the link a claim needs. Finding it by hand takes days, if it is found at all.

What it does

Everything between your records and a claim

Read

Reads typed and handwritten records

Scanned medical notes, service records and specialist letters, including handwriting that ordinary text search misses.

Find

Finds conditions, dates and injuries

Pulls out each condition, when it was first recorded, which side of the body, and who treated it.

Group

Groups records into injuries

Fifteen notes about one shoulder become one shoulder injury, so nothing is counted twice or missed.

Match

Matches to the right SOP

Each condition is matched to its Statement of Principles, so the evidence is checked against the factors that actually apply.

Check

Shows evidence and gaps

For every factor: the pages that support it, or a clear note that nothing on file does yet.

Build

Builds the claim pack

Pre-filled DVA forms and the cited pages in one PDF, ready for you and your advocate to check.

Watch

Keeps watching as the SOPs change

Statements of Principles are added and updated through the year. Each time they change, DVB checks the new and updated SOPs against the conditions already found in your records, and flags any that may affect you, with a link to the official SOP. If a change may give you grounds for a new claim, or more support for an existing one, you will know about it. Email alerts are coming soon, so you will not even need to log in to find out.

Review

Takes a second look at a rejected claim (coming soon)

If a claim was knocked back, DVB reads the decision against your records and the SOP that applies. It looks for evidence on file that was not used, and factors that may now be met, then sets out what could support a request for review, so you and your advocate can decide whether to ask the DVA to reconsider.

How it works

From a box of records to a claim pack

You stay in charge at every step. DVB does the reading and sorting; you and your advocate make the decisions.

Upload your records
PDFs, scans and photos of your medical and service records, as they are.
DVB reads every page
Typed and handwritten notes are read and indexed, with conditions, dates, injuries and treating doctors pulled out.
You check the matches
See each condition's Statement of Principles, which factors have evidence, and which are gaps. Accept or reject what DVB found.
Build and lodge
Build the claim pack, review it with your advocate, then lodge it with the DVA yourselves.

Cover of the DefVetBridge Veterans Guide

Free guide, for any veteran

The Veterans Guide

Not sure where to start? This plain-English guide shows you where to go first and how to get hold of your files. It is useful whether or not you use DVB.

1Where to start. The usual order for getting a claim ready, and where to get help along the way.
2How to get your files. Your service, medical and DVA records, plus the official rules and where to find them.
3Records from after you discharge. Specialist reports and your GP's complete patient record, which DVA needs to see how your condition is now.

Download the free guidePDF, 5 pages, plain English

The work

Inside a claim pack

A claim pack is one PDF that puts the forms and the proof side by side. Every quote in it links to the exact page it came from, so an advocate or a DVA delegate can check it in seconds.

A real pack built for one knee claim ran to 188 pages, with every cited line highlighted and linked back to its source document.

See a sample claim pack

This is a complete pack for a fictional veteran, Howard Green, built from invented records. It shows how DVB lays out the forms, the evidence index and the cited pages. Every page is stamped as a sample.

Open the sample packPDF, 60 pages, about 4 MB

Fictional person and records. It is not a real claim, it is not advice, and it does not predict any outcome. DefVetBridge is not part of, or endorsed by, the Department of Veterans' Affairs.

CoverContents and guideWhat the pack is, how it is put together, and each claim it covers.
Part 1DVA forms, pre-filledYour details, service and injury dates, ready to check and sign.
Part 2Evidence for each injuryThe evidence index, then the exact pages cited, with the relevant lines highlighted.
Part 3Core reference filesSource documents in full where a page needs its context, each one marked with the claims it is used for.

Be first in line when DVB opens

DVB is opening to more veterans and advocates in stages. Leave your details and we will let you know when there is a place for you.

No cost and no obligation
Advocates and organisations are welcome too
Your answers help decide what DVB does next

Questions

What DVB is, and what it is not

Does DVB lodge my claim for me?

No. DVB builds the claim pack. You, or your advocate, check it and lodge it with the DVA yourselves. Nothing is ever sent to the DVA automatically.

Will it tell me whether my claim will succeed?

No. DVB shows what your records support and where the gaps are. It never gives odds of success, because only the DVA decides a claim.

Is it legal or medical advice?

No. DVB organises evidence. It works alongside your advocate and your doctor, not instead of them. It never fills in the parts of a form that only a doctor can complete.

Who can see my records?

Only you, and an advocate you choose to give access to. Each veteran's records are kept separate at the database level, and nothing is deleted without a record of what was removed.

Is there anything I can do now, before DVB is open?

Yes. Start gathering your records. The free Veterans Guide shows where to start and how to get your Defence, medical and DVA records. Records can take around 30 days to arrive, so it is worth starting early.

Can I use DVB now?

Not yet. DVB is working with its first veterans and the first real claim packs are being reviewed. To hear when it opens, register your interest.

Is DefVetBridge part of the DVA or Defence?

No. It is an independent project built by a veteran. It is not part of, or endorsed by, the Department of Veterans' Affairs or the Department of Defence.

Next step

Know a veteran who needs this?

If you know a veteran or an advocate who is working on a claim, share this page with them. The free guide helps straight away, and they can register their interest for when DVB opens.

Questions, or want to help in another way? Email [email protected].