The decision you only get to make once
SRDP or Incapacity. Choose with your eyes open.
Two structures, two offset stacks, two very different lifetime totals. Enter your numbers once and watch both paths run side by side using the same GARP-V offsets DVA applies.
Incapacity (combined annual)
$78,000
$102 / wk incap
Pays more
SRDP (combined annual)
$72,675
$0 / wk SRDP
An honest estimate, not a promise. These tools apply the published DVA, CSC and VEA rates that drive every payment letter. Your real outcome turns on service history, accepted conditions, offsets, dependants and case-by-case discretion - the human details a calculator cannot see. Use the number to start the conversation, then bring it to Witton Lane for the financial plan or KSC Law for the claim itself.
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Making the SRDP vs Incapacity decision
Two structures, two timelines, one permanent choice
Choosing between SRDP and ongoing incapacity payments is one of the most consequential financial decisions a medically discharged veteran will make. The numbers on this page are the starting point. The full decision rests on tax, life expectancy, partner income, super strategy and what indexation does over decades - which is why the law requires written financial advice before you sign.
How it works
- Incapacity pays more now for many veterans because the wage-replacement base (NWE) is usually higher than the SRDP rate. But it is taxable income and it stops at Age Pension age.
- SRDP usually pays less weekly but is tax-free and continues for life - which can flip the lifetime total in SRDP's favour from your late 50s onward.
- The CSC super offset hits both options but at different rates: 85% or 100% against incapacity, and a flat 60% against SRDP. Veterans with larger CSC pensions often find SRDP closes the gap faster.
- PI weekly rate is the SRDP offset not a notional drawdown of your lump sum. Taking PI as a lump sum does not increase your SRDP.
- The election is irrevocable Once you choose SRDP you cannot return to incapacity. Once you have refused SRDP, future entitlement is reassessed only if your circumstances change.