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Caution: Some readers may find parts of this content confronting or distressing
Please carefully consider your needs when reading the following information. This report contains information and statistics on suicidality and self-harm of ex-serving ADF members.
If this material raises concerns for you, support is available. Please contact Lifeline on 13 11 14, or Defence All-hours Support Line on 1800 628 036, or Open Arms - Veterans and Families Counselling, available free of charge, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, or see other ways you can seek help. Open Arms – Veterans & Families Counselling provides free, confidential military-aware mental health and wellbeing support. Available 24/7 to anyone who has served one day of continuous full-time service in the ADF and their immediate families.
The information included here places an emphasis on data, and as such, can appear to depersonalise the pain and loss behind the statistics. The AIHW respectfully acknowledges the individuals, families and communities affected by ADF member and veteran suicide or intentional self-harm each year in Australia.
The AIHW supports the use of the Mindframe guidelines on responsible, accurate and safe suicide and self-harm reporting. Please consider these guidelines when reporting on statistics on the monitoring of suicide and self-harm.
This report presents information on veterans including current and ex-serving members based on their engagement with the Department of Veterans’ Affairs (DVA). DVA provides support, funding and services for veterans and their eligible dependants. DVA support services include health care, rehabilitation, mental health, income support (benefits, payments, pensions, compensation), housing and other services (Overview of DVA benefits and services).
However, the Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide identified that DVA should seek to better understand why veterans do not engage with DVA. Analysis released in 2021 (Serving and ex-serving Australian Defence Force members who have served since 1985: suicide monitoring 1997 to 2021) showed that most ex-serving members who died by suicide between 2002 and 2021 were not DVA clients at the time of their death.
In response to the Royal Commission, AIHW and DVA have collaborated on this research to explore the demographic, health and wellbeing characteristics of ex-serving ADF members who are not DVA clients (see page 221 of Volume 5: Final Report: Transition, DVA and support for ex-serving members).
This report outlines information on veterans who have not engaged with DVA services (non-DVA clients) as well as veterans who have not recently engaged with DVA (earlier DVA clients) services and compares these veterans with others who have engaged with DVA or engaged with DVA recently (recent DVA clients).
More information on these groups can help identify potential reasons for why veterans and which groups of veterans have not engaged with DVA services or not recently engaged with DVA. This can inform DVA planning and policies and build understanding on ways to target these veterans to increase their engagement with DVA or develop policies to improve their health or wellbeing.
Non-DVA clients
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The proportion of ex-serving members who were non-DVA clients has decreased between 2002 and 2021
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Current and ex-serving members who were non-DVA clients had shorter lengths of service than DVA clients
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four of five ex-serving members
who were non-DVA clients had not served in the ADF in 10 or more years
Earlier DVA clients
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The proportion of ex-serving members who were earlier DVA clients has increased between 2002 and 2021
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Of veterans in 2021, more than 1 in 2 (55%) earlier DVA clients were current serving members
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24%
of ex-serving members who were earlier DVA clients had served 20 or more years in the ADF, compared with 46% of recent DVA clients