DVA Veterans' Children Education Scheme (VCES)

What Is This Payment?

The Veterans' Children Education Scheme supports the education of children whose veteran parent has died from service or is severely incapacitated. It is more than a payment: it provides education allowances, career and study guidance, and support services to help these young people complete their education.

The rule database tags it as a Group B benefit with eligibility_only as its result role, inside the DVA Education cluster. The parallel scheme for more recent service is the MRCA Education and Training Scheme (MRCAETS), which provides equivalent support under the Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Act.

Allowances vary with the student's age, level of study and living arrangements — a school student living at home, a tertiary student living away, and an apprentice are supported differently. The common thread is that the scheme aims to remove education disadvantage flowing from a parent's service-related death or incapacity.

How Much Can You Get?

The amount block is eligibility_only with period: none because allowances depend on the student's age, study level and living arrangements.

• Education allowances scaled to the level of study (school, tertiary, apprenticeship) and whether the student lives at home or away.
• Guidance and support services — study and career guidance to help the young person succeed.
• Continuation while studying — support generally continues for full-time students up to age 25.

Eligibility Conditions

The eligibility block is an all set.

1. Veteran parent deceased or severely incapacitated: concession_card_type in {dva_gold_card}. The Gold Card is the questionnaire proxy for the qualifying veteran status.
2. Dependent child: dependent_children = true. There is an eligible child studying — generally under 16, or aged 16 to 25 in full-time study.

The underlying eligibility is that the child's veteran parent has died as a result of service or is severely incapacitated, and the child is within the eligible age and study range. VCES applies to older service; MRCAETS provides the equivalent for service covered by the MRCA.

Required fields are concession_card_type and dependent_children. The product surfaces the scheme to eligible families because it is frequently overlooked — families dealing with a veteran's death or severe incapacity may not realise their children have a distinct education entitlement.

How To Apply

The channel is online through DVA, with evidence of the veteran's status and the child's study. Apply through the scheme that matches the veteran's service (VCES or MRCAETS).

• Confirm whether the veteran's service falls under VCES or the MRCA scheme (MRCAETS).
• Lodge a claim for the eligible child and provide evidence of their enrolment and study.
• Ask about the education guidance and support services, not just the allowances.

Read the official DVA education schemes guidance

Rule-Based Scenarios

Scenario 1: school student living at home

The child of a veteran who died from service is still at school and living at home. VCES provides an education allowance scaled to that situation, plus access to guidance services.

Scenario 2: tertiary student living away

A 19-year-old whose veteran parent is severely incapacitated studies full time at a university away from home. The scheme supports them at the higher away-from-home rate while they remain a full-time student.

Scenario 3: more recent service under MRCAETS

Where the veteran's service is covered by the MRCA, the child is supported through the MRCA Education and Training Scheme rather than VCES, with equivalent allowances and support.

Scenario 4: family unaware of the entitlement

After a veteran's service-related death, the family focuses on other entitlements and does not realise the children have a separate, ongoing education entitlement until it is flagged.

Common Mistakes

• Not realising children have a separate entitlement: the scheme is distinct from the family's other DVA entitlements and is easy to overlook.
• Assuming it stops at school: support generally continues for full-time students up to age 25, including tertiary study and apprenticeships.
• Applying under the wrong scheme: older service uses VCES; more recent service uses the MRCA Education and Training Scheme (MRCAETS).
• Treating it as only an allowance: the scheme also provides study and career guidance and support services.
• Missing the higher living-away rate: students living away from home to study are supported at a higher rate than those living at home.
• Claiming through Centrelink: this is a DVA education scheme — claim through DVA.

Related Benefits

• DVA Orphan's Pension — per-child compensation for the children of deceased veterans.
• DVA War Widow(er)'s Pension — for the surviving partner of the veteran.
• DVA Disability Compensation Payment — compensation for a severely incapacitated veteran.
• Pensioner Education Supplement — Centrelink study help for income support recipients.
• Austudy — Centrelink income support for older students.
• Family Tax Benefit Part A — family assistance for dependent children.

Frequently Asked Questions