CBD and DVA: funding for veterans

The Department of Veterans’ Affairs (DVA) may pay for medicinal cannabis, which includes CBD products, for eligible Veteran Card holders. It does so case by case, for a short list of conditions, after standard treatments have failed, and only where the doctor obtains DVA’s approval before prescribing.¹ DVA does not fund it for mental health conditions.¹ The rules were tightened on 16 February 2026.²

Everything on this page is as of November 2026 and comes from DVA’s own pages. DVA funding is a payment decision. It is separate from the question of whether a doctor may lawfully prescribe, and from whether the medicine works.

Which Veteran Card holders does the funding cover?

Funding can be considered where DVA “has an existing liability to treat the stated condition”. DVA says this covers:²

• Gold and Orange Veteran Card holders with all conditions covered
• White Veteran Card holders with an accepted condition that is on the list below.

Which conditions will DVA consider?

DVA says it will only consider funding for:¹

• chronic pain
• chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting
• palliative care indications
• anorexia and wasting associated with chronic illness such as cancer
• spasticity from neurological conditions
• refractory paediatric epilepsy.

This is DVA’s funding list. It is not a statement that CBD works for these conditions. Most of the evidence behind several of them comes from products that contain THC. For CBD on its own, trials in chronic pain have largely found no benefit over placebo.³⁴ See CBD for chronic pain, chemotherapy nausea, multiple sclerosis and epilepsy.

Why does DVA not fund it for PTSD?

DVA states: “We cannot approve funding for medicinal cannabis for conditions where its use has not been proven to be effective, harmless and safe, such as treatment for a mental health condition.”¹ Its provider page lists “treatment for a mental health condition” among the reasons funding will not be considered.⁵

DVA also requires the prescriber to complete a mental health assessment and to be satisfied there is “no increased risk from medicinal cannabis on suicidal ideation or mental health”.⁵ See CBD for PTSD, anxiety and sleep for what trials have found.

What must have happened first?

“Before we can approve funding, you need to have previously received standard treatment for the same condition. We can only fund medicinal cannabis after standard treatments for your condition haven’t been successful.”¹ DVA’s framework says medicinal cannabis “is not a first line treatment for any medical condition”.²

The doctor must also confirm, among other things, that:⁵

• the product is clinically indicated and a trial may be of benefit (or, for a repeat request, that treatment has shown benefit)
• the assessment followed Ahpra’s guidance on medicinal cannabis prescribing
• all TGA and state or territory approvals have been obtained
• the veteran has no current substance use disorder and is at low risk of one
• there is active monitoring for signs of cannabis use disorder, with a plan that may include stopping the medicine.

What changed on 16 February 2026?

DVA says it updated its Medicinal Cannabis Framework because of growing concern about the safety of unapproved products, “especially those with higher levels of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC)”, and because it had “become aware of concerning prescribing practices which are placing veterans at harm, prioritising profits over patient wellbeing”.²

The main changes:²

• Prescribers. DVA will only accept applications and prescriptions from a doctor who has specialist registration with Ahpra.
• In-person consultations. Required for a first prescription, when changing to a new prescriber, and when a change moves the veteran from Tier 1 to Tier 2.
• Product limits. A maximum of three products at once. Oral products must be capsules or liquids, not gummies or pastilles. Dried herb is funded only for vaporising with a TGA-approved device, at 25% THC or less and 2 g a day or less.

Veterans who had a DVA-funded cannabis prescription dispensed between 16 February 2025 and 15 February 2026 had until 31 August 2026 to move to the new arrangements. That transition period has ended.²

DVA does not explain on these pages which doctors hold “specialist registration”. Its Tier 2 rules refer separately to a “non-GP specialist”, which suggests “specialist registration” is not limited to non-GP specialists, but we could not confirm this.⁵ A doctor’s registration type is shown on Ahpra’s public register.

How do the tiers work?

Source: DVA.⁵ If a request meets any Tier 2 criterion, it is treated as Tier 2.⁵

The tiers are defined by THC dose and the number of products. All the other conditions apply to a CBD-only product as they do to any other.

Which products will DVA fund?

DVA only funds products “that exclusively have Cannabidiol (CBD) and/or THC as the labelled active ingredient”. It does not fund products that list other cannabinoids as active ingredients.⁵

It will not fund:⁵

• oral forms other than capsules or liquids
• externally applied products such as creams, ointments and patches
• cannabis concentrates
• liquids for vaporising through a device that is not TGA-approved.

So an oral CBD oil or capsule is within the product rules. A CBD cream is not. See ways to take CBD compared.

How does DVA’s approval process work?

As DVA describes it:¹

1. The veteran sees their treating doctor, in person where the rules above require it.
2. The doctor contacts DVA for approval before prescribing. Some requests can be approved by phone through the Veterans’ Affairs Pharmaceutical Advisory Centre. Others need a written application with a specialist’s assessment.
3. If DVA approves, the doctor arranges an Authority prescription under the Repatriation Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (RPBS), the veterans’ equivalent of the PBS.
4. The veteran takes it to any pharmacy that can dispense RPBS prescriptions.

DVA notes that approval “may not occur immediately after you see your doctor”.¹ The doctor still needs the usual TGA approval or authority for an unapproved product. See the Special Access Scheme.

What does the veteran pay?

The concessional co-payment of $7.70 each time the prescription is supplied, unless the veteran has reached the concessional safety net. DVA does not reimburse the co-payment.¹

DVA may also help with travel to an in-person appointment, limited to the cost of reaching the closest approved prescriber.¹

What if a veteran has been paying privately?

DVA funds medicinal cannabis only under the RPBS, through an approved Authority prescription, supplied by a pharmacy that dispenses RPBS items. On privately paid costs it says: “Reimbursement is not guaranteed. DVA does not provide reimbursement as an avenue for ongoing funding of treatment.”¹

It encourages veterans to make sure the doctor seeks approval before the prescription is issued.¹ A veteran who is prescribed CBD outside the framework, for example for a mental health condition or through a service that does not meet the in-person rule, should expect to pay the full private cost. See how much CBD costs in Australia.

Does DVA recommend prescribers?

No. DVA says it “is unable to provide details of doctors currently prescribing medicinal cannabis or make any provider recommendations”. It refers veterans to general health service directories and to its own enquiry line for health providers in general. Under the framework, a prescriber must accept Veteran Card arrangements, hold specialist registration, and prescribe in line with DVA’s rules.²

How many veterans use it?

DVA has funded medicinal cannabis case by case since 2018. A DVA document released under freedom of information reports about 8,000 veterans using it in 2023 to 2024 and about 12,000 in 2024 to 2025.⁶ Those figures predate the February 2026 changes and cover all cannabis medicines, not CBD alone. Spending figures have been quoted in public debate, but we could not check them against the parliamentary record, so we have left them out.

Safety points for veterans

Many veterans take several medicines, including pain medicines and antidepressants. CBD can interact with other medicines and can affect the liver. See drug interactions and CBD and the liver. Products containing THC affect driving and drug testing.

This page is general information, not medical or legal advice. Laws and evidence change; we show the date we last checked the facts at the top of every page. Talk to your doctor or pharmacist before starting, stopping or changing any medicine.

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