DVA commissioned La Trobe University to investigate literature on best practice in in-home domestic assistance programs in order to provide a contemporary evidence base to inform any future policy and program development aimed at improving DVA domestic assistance service offerings to veterans and families.

The Department of Veterans' Affairs (DVA) commissioned Australian Catholic University (ACU) National Centre for Veterans and Families to determine the number and accessibility of suicide prevention and postvention programs for the Australian veteran community. The project aims to enhance DVA's understanding of the number and location of Australian suicide prevention and postvention programs and the future needs of the veteran community regarding suicide prevention and postvention programs.

The Department of Veterans' Affairs commissioned the Australian Institute of Family Studies (AIFS) to identify and synthesise existing research on older veterans, and their families’ experiences and needs in aged care. The project was commissioned to inform any future improvements to the way aged care is delivered to veterans and to identify gaps in understanding of the needs of older veterans and their families in aged care settings.

The Defence and Veteran Family Wellbeing Strategy 2025-2030 has been developed to recognise the pivotal role families play in supporting current and former serving Australian Defence Force members. 

The Department of Defence and the Department of Veterans’ Affairs worked closely together to develop the Strategy and First Action Plan. This coordinated approach ensures that the impacts of service and related life events on families are managed, both during and after service, with appropriate fit-for-purpose policies, programs and support – now and in the future.

Over the next 5 years, this Strategy will guide how the Department of Defence (Defence) and the Department of Veterans’ Affairs (DVA) provide targeted support to Defence and veteran families. 

The Strategy outlines how families will be supported, reaffirms a commitment to understanding their needs, and prioritises stronger engagement and ongoing support to enhance their wellbeing.

The First Action Plan outlines the actions that Defence and DVA will initially take to achieve the Strategy’s objectives. Defence and DVA will update the Action Plan as actions progress, with the most current version available here.

The aim of this project was to review the literature in relation to how moral injury is conceptualised, models of moral injury, linkages between moral injury and common mental health issues, and the effectiveness of moral injury interventions in veteran and military populations.

In order to answer these questions, a narrative literature review and a REA were conducted.

The focus of this review is the comparison of veteran rehabilitation offerings of the Five Eyes countries to understand where Australia's offerings sit in terms of focus, scope of services and eligibility in relation to comparable schemes.

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 Comparative Literature Review was the first research project to involve collaboration between the Departments of Veterans’ Affairs of the United States of America (US) and Australia, and was funded by the Australian Department of Veterans’ Affairs.

The review aimed to gain an understanding of the differences and similarities between post-1990 military deployment contexts, health impacts and veterans’ health care systems in Australia and the US.

By reviewing and analysing existing research and publicly available data, the study found that:

The US deployed significantly more personnel to each of the conflicts. US personnel in the Gulf War were more likely to experience direct combat than Australian personnel. The US also maintained a longer presence in Somalia compared to Australia.

Overall rates of posttraumatic stress disorder were similar between Australia and the US.  Prevalence estimates for US veterans of Iraq tended to be higher compared to Australian veterans, and prevalence estimates for Australian Somalia veterans appeared to be higher than in US veterans.

Gulf War veterans from both countries had a reduced risk of suicide compared with respective general populations.  US veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan had high estimated rates of suicidal ideation.  

Estimates of multisymptom illness were lower for Australian Gulf War veterans compared to US Gulf War veterans.

Traumatic brain injury prevalence estimates in Australian Afghanistan/Iraq War veterans were at the low end of those reported in US studies.    

The two countries’ healthcare systems were similar in range of services, focus on mental health, and increasing use of technology. The systems were different in method of service provision and financial structure.

This study was a preliminary overview covering a range of deployments and health and social outcomes.  While it gives an accurate summary of the published literature, it did not test for the statistical significance of differences in health outcomes between different populations.

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: