This comprehensive report compares mental health care support in the Australian Defence Force (ADF) with world’s best practice and assessed the extent to which the mental health needs of serving and transitioning ADF members were being met.

Independent studies by Professor David Dunt

In addition to undertaking the Independent Study into Suicide in the Ex-service Community, Prof. Dunt was also appointed by the then Minister for Veterans Affairs’, the Hon Alan Griffin MP, and the Minister for Defence Science and Personnel, the Hon. Warren Snowdon MP, to undertake the Review of Mental Health Care in the ADF and Transition through Discharge.

The review was released on Friday, 1 May, 2009, along with the Government’s response.

Prof. Dunt’s comprehensive report compared mental health care support in the Australian Defence Force (ADF) with world’s best practice and assessed the extent to which the mental health needs of serving and transitioning ADF members were being met.

The review highlighted successes and gaps in the delivery of mental health programs and transition services and made 52 recommendations to improve and extend delivery of those services.

As part of the 2015-16 Budget, the Australian Government committed the Department of Veterans’ Affairs (DVA) to review its dental and allied health funding arrangements.

The Government’s response (PDF) to a review of the circumstances surrounding the death of Signaller Geffrey Gregg was published on 30 July 2008. The response outlined 15 outcomes to address systemic problems with transition out of the services.

The review of SIG Gregg’s circumstances involved three parts.

Part 1 was an independent inquiry by the Inspector General Australian Defence Force, Geoff Earley AM, which examined SIG Gregg’s Defence Service, including deployment to Afghanistan, and the ADF’s role in transition management at SIG Gregg’s discharge.

Part 2 was undertaken by Mr Chris Doogan AM (former Registrar of the High Court) and examined DVA’s actions in SIG Gregg’s transition management from the ADF, DVA’s handling of his compensation claims and the actions of the Commissioner for Superannuation in administration of SIG Gregg’s claim for military superannuation benefits.

Part 3 of the review was undertaken by Mr Ron McLeod AM (former deputy Ombudsman) to examine the whole-of-government approach to handling the Gregg case.

The Minister for Veterans’ Affairs, Alan Griffin, and the Minister for Defence Science and Personnel, Warren Snowdon, issued a media release about the Government’s response.

This report was funded by the Department of Veterans’ Affairs to assess available literature on the psychological and vocational outcomes of delivering support services to the families of veterans at times of high family stress. The review considered interventions being provided to veterans in Australia, and other English speaking countries who may have similar veteran experiences.  

The literature review was undertaken in the context of the growing body of research and policy evidence suggesting that veterans can be challenged by transition from the Australian Defence Force (ADF) into civilian life, with a consequential direct negative impact on the wellbeing of the veteran and family members. The aim of this literature review was to examine available peer reviewed research regarding the support available to families of veterans in order to inform the establishment of a policy framework.

• The review yielded 34 results, primarily considering the experiences of veterans and their families in the United States. The absence of peer-reviewed literature from New Zealand, Canada and the United Kingdom highlights that this topic is one that is still in its infancy.
• Overall, studies indicated that family involvement in care was most definitely a contributing factor to veterans achieving positive psychological and interpersonal outcomes. The review noted that younger veterans, in particular, liked the message of family involvement, the use of digital support tools and therapy that accommodated childcare needs.
• While the literature highlights some potential programs which could assist Australian veterans and their families, including online education tools for adults and children, the need for further research in this area is apparent, specifically in the Australian context.

The Review of PTSD Group Treatment Programs was undertaken by the Centre for Military and Veterans’ Health (CMVH) to ensure that services offered to clients of the Department of Veterans’ Affairs (DVA) were evidence-based and met the needs of both older and contemporary veteran cohorts.

This review came about following a recommendation out of the Independent Study into Suicide in the Ex-Service Community, undertaken by Professor David Dunt in 2009 comprised two phases. The first was a literature review of evidence-based best practice treatment for PTSD.

The second phase critically reviewed PTSD programs offered by providers contracted to DVA. This included the process of referral, the programs themselves, discharge planning and follow-up.

The report offers guidance on the next phase of group treatment programs and DVA will work closely with providers and the Australian Centre for Posttraumatic Mental Health to ensure treatment programs better met the needs of contemporary veterans. Changes to programs will only be implemented where more effective treatment and improved treatment outcomes for participants will be achieved.

The Physical Health Status Report provides a comprehensive, high-level overview of the physical health and wellbeing of ADF personnel who transitioned between January 2010 and December 2014 and members of the 2015 Regular ADF in connection with several key health outcomes previously found to be of importance among deployed and non-deployed military and veteran populations in Australia and internationally.

This report is part of the Transition and Wellbeing Research Programme (TWRP), which is the most comprehensive study undertaken in Australia on the impact of military service on the mental, physical and social health of serving and ex-serving ADF members and their families. The Programme is made up of three studies, with this report comprising part of the Mental Health and Transition Study. The other two studies are Impact of Combat and Family Wellbeing.

The Family Wellbeing Study focuses on how families are faring at two of the major stages of a military career: during service, and in the first years after the transition to civilian life. An additional focus is how differing types of family members are faring — spouses/partners, adult children and parents.

This report is part of the Transition and Wellbeing Research Programme, which is the most comprehensive study undertaken in Australia on the impact of military service on the mental, physical and social health of serving and ex-serving ADF members and their families.

The purpose of this report is to collate evidence gleaned from the international research literature, as well as the personal experiences of claimants, family members, and the Department of Veterans’ Affairs (DVA) personnel, in order to inform our understanding of the relationship between applying for compensation and adverse mental health outcomes.

The overall aim of this project was to compare the health and use of health services of women in their 70’s and 80’s who are DVA Gold Card holders, or wives of DVA Gold Card holders, with similarly aged women in the general community who have no connections with DVA. The Centre for Military and Veterans’ Health (CMVH) conducted this project, with the data sourced from the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women’s Health (ALSWH) which includes a random sample of over 10,000 women born 1921-26.

Conducted by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) in 2002, this report summarises the results of a study which examined the characteristics and service profile of recipients of Community Aged Care Packages (CACPs) who held a DVA gold or white card and compared this group and those who did not have a DVA gold or white card. It is based on an analysis of data collected through a census of CACP care recipients.