This Mental Health Prevalence Report is the first of eight reports and two papers that comprise the Transition and Wellbeing Research Programme (the Programme). The Programme is the most comprehensive study undertaken in Australia on the impact of military service on the mental, physical and social health of Transitioned and 2015 Regular Australian Defence Force (ADF) members and their families (the study populations).

This report investigates the prevalence of 12-month and lifetime mental disorders, trauma exposure, suicidal ideation and self-reported mental health symptoms among Transitioned ADF members. Comparisons are also made between the self-reported mental health symptoms in Transitioned ADF with 2015 Regular ADF members and where possible, with the Australian Community.

The second report in the Programme, Pathways to Care, tells the next phase in the ADF mental health story by investigating how Transitioned ADF and 2015 Regular ADF members access, use and value mental health care services.

The Strategic Research Framework (SRF) sets out the principles, objectives and priorities for DVA to facilitate research and evaluation in areas of special strength or need as identified in priority research areas. Research and analysis help to identify emerging issues facing the veteran and defence communities and their families, and are integral to developing effective departmental policy, shaping service delivery responses, and evaluating programs and pilots.

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.

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 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.

This study investigated the health of Australian veterans of deployments on United Nations sanctioned peacekeeping missions to Rwanda, Somalia, Cambodia, Namibia, Western Sahara and East Timor over the period 1989-2002.

The study examined the long-term effect of peacekeeping on the mental and physical health status, health service use and quality of life of veterans who had transitioned out of full-time service.

The study found that 65% of peacekeepers reported they were in good, very good, or excellent health.  However, 30% of peacekeepers had at least one diagnosable mental health condition.

The research provides a better understanding of the long-term pathways to care and usage of health care services for peacekeepers.

This Pathways to Care Report is the second of eight reports and two papers that comprise the Transition and Wellbeing Research Programme (the Programme). The Programme is the most comprehensive study undertaken in Australia on the impact of military service on the mental, physical and social health of Transitioned and 2015 Regular Australian Defence Force (ADF) members and their families (the study populations).

This report complements the first report, Mental Health Prevalence, which explored the prevalence of 12-month and lifetime mental disorder in the Transitioned ADF and compared self-reported symptoms in Transitioned ADF with 2015 Regular ADF members.

Pathways to Care investigates how transitioned and 2015 regular ADF access, use and value mental health services. This includes the proportion who received care, the type of care received, reasons for seeking care, pathways into care, satisfaction with services, funding of services and their attitudes and beliefs about mental health and seeking care.

Final report for the Department of Veterans' Affairs

Revised 7 October 2009

This report describes the development, implementation and evaluation of activities undertaken for the Study to Improve Treatment Options for Hard to Engage Clients, conducted by the Australian Centre for Posttraumatic Mental Health (ACPMH), as part of the Australian Government’s Mental Health Lifecycle Package.  

The target group for the initiative was veterans and former serving members with a mental health problem for which they had not previously had treatment. 

This literature review was funded under the Department of Veterans' Affairs Applied Research Program and conducted by the Australian Institute for Suicide Research and Prevention.  The review examined Australian and international sources to determine prevalence and risk factors for suicide and non-fatal suicidal behaviour in serving and ex-serving military personnel.  

Fifty-one Australian and international papers and reports were included in the review.  The review indicated that there is no current research that would allow a comparison of suicide mortality rates between Australian ex-serving personnel and the general community.  However, there is some evidence that Australian Vietnam veterans could be at increased risk of non-fatal suicidal behaviour and suicidal ideation.  Other research suggests that veterans might experience veteran-specific risk factors such as difficulty returning to civilian life and a reluctance to seek help for their problems.  International research, from the United States in particular, provides a different spectrum of evidence.  However, international findings have limited generalisability to the Australian context due to differing military sizes, operational tempo, models of health care, and access to firearms.

The limited number of Australian publications available for review points to the need for high-quality studies that analyse the prevalence of and risk factors for suicide among Australian ex-serving personnel. The Department of Veterans’ Affairs, in collaboration with the Department of Defence, is continuing to explore rates of suicidal behaviour and ideation as part of its Transition and Wellbeing Research Programme.

Suicidal behaviour and ideation among military personnel: Australian and international trends: