Welfare
Social connectedness
AIHW released a report titled Veteran Social Connectedness in 2023. In this report, a DVA client is defined as a person who has been issued a White, Gold or Orange card by DVA. Veteran status and DVA and non-DVA client status was based on self-reported information. It showed, that in 2021-22, of people who had served in the ADF:
- 8.9% of non-DVA clients experienced social isolation compared with 10.7% of DVA clients
- 18.0% of non-DVA clients experienced loneliness compared with 17.5% of DVA clients
- 17.3% of non-DVA clients had volunteered or done charity work compared with 21.6% of DVA clients
- 38.5% of non-DVA clients were active members of clubs or associations compared with 42.5% of DVA clients
- 24.1% of non-DVA clients did not feel part of their local community compared with 33.5% of DVA clients
- 20.3% of non-DVA clients had infrequent social contact with others compared with 24.8% of DVA clients.
Use of homelessness services
AIHW released a report titled Use of homelessness services by contemporary ex-serving Australian Defence Force members 2011–17 in 2019. In this report veteran status and DVA and non-DVA client status was based on self-reported information. The report found that between 1 July 2011 and 30 June 2017, 1,215 contemporary ex-serving Australian Defence Force (ADF) members used specialist homelessness services (SHS). Around two thirds (65%) of ex-serving members who used SHS were non-DVA clients.
Most non-DVA clients who used SHS were male (77%) and from the Army (72%). This pattern was similar for DVA clients.
Some characteristics of non-DVA clients who used SHS were different when compared with DVA clients:
- non-DVA clients were younger (53% were under 35 years old compared with 29% of DVA clients)
- non-DVA clients discharged from the ADF at a younger age (55% were aged under 25 years at discharge, compared with 28% of DVA clients)
- non-DVA clients had served for shorter periods (74% served for less than 5 years, compared with 43% of DVA clients)
- non-DVA clients were less likely to have had operational experience (8% compared with 29% for DVA clients)
- non-DVA clients were more likely to have separated for voluntary reasons (55%) and less likely to be separated for an involuntary medical reason (2%) compared with DVA clients (30% and 37% respectively)
- a quarter (23%) of non-DVA clients were not in the labour force at the start of support, below the proportion of DVA clients (31%)
- almost half (48%) of non-DVA clients were unemployed at the start of support, above the proportion of DVA clients (39%).
The proportion of non-DVA clients homeless at the start of support was 47%, slightly above the 43% for DVA clients. Around 70% of non-DVA clients and DVA clients were either unemployed or not in the labour force at the start of support. The proportion of non-DVA clients who were unemployed was slightly higher (48% compared with 39%) but the proportion of non-DVA clients who were not in the labour force was lower.
Among ex-serving ADF SHS clients, service use of non-DVA clients (compared with DVA clients) was:
- non-DVA clients were less likely to seek assistance for financial reasons (22% compared with 28% of DVA clients who listed their main reason for seeking assistance as financial reasons)
- non-DVA clients were more likely to use accommodation services (40% had at least 1 night of accommodation across the 6-year period, compared with 34% of DVA clients)
- non-DVA clients were similar to DVA clients in the number of support days received (56% of both non-DVA clients and DVA clients had up to 45 support days across the reporting period)
- non-DVA clients received a similar amount of financial assistance to DVA clients (79% of non-DVA clients received between $0 and $200, compared with 78% of DVA clients).