Health service use among ex-serving Australian Defence Force members

This report did not involve new analysis of health service use in the total Australian population. However, national health service statistics from administrative sources (such as PBS and MBS), and population surveys (such as the Australian Bureau of Statistics Patient experience survey) and previous AIHW veteran reports provide useful context for interpreting the overall patterns of health service use observed among ex-serving members in this report (AIHW 2019; AIHW 2021; AIHW 2024; ABS 2024; AIHW 2025a; AIHW 2025b). 

These sources suggest that ex-serving members generally engage with health services at levels broadly similar to the general population, both in terms of the proportion accessing health services and the average number of health services used per person. For example, based on in-scope health services (PBS, MBS, ED and hospital data) but excluding DVA-specific services (which are only available to eligible ex-serving DVA clients), the average number of health services per person in 2019-20 was around 30 for ex-serving members in this report, compared with an estimated average of approximately 32 for the general population.

When disaggregated by service, 68% of Australians aged 15 and over received a prescription for medication in 2019–20, comparable to the 69% observed among ex-serving members aged 17 and over as presented in this report (ABS 2024). This also aligns with a previous AIHW report which found that around 72% of ex-serving members and 71% of the general population were dispensed PBS medications in 2017–2018 (AIHW 2019). Likewise, 14% of Australians aged 15 and over visited a hospital emergency department in 2019–20, similar to the 15% observed among ex-serving members as presented in this report (ABS 2024). Around 80% of ex-serving members accessed MBS services in 2019–20 as presented in this report, which is likely similar to the general population. A previous AIHW report showed similar proportions of ex-serving members and the general population accessed MBS services in 2018 (AIHW 2021). 

However, some aspects of mental health service use appear higher among ex-serving members. This report found that 25% of ex-serving members accessed PBS mental health medications in 2019–20. This finding is broadly consistent with an earlier AIHW report that found a higher proportion of ex-serving members were dispensed a mental health medication between 2012 and 2018 than the general population (AIHW 2019). Another AIHW report also found that a higher proportion of ex-serving members were admitted to hospital for mental health conditions than the general population (AIHW 2024). These findings suggest that mental health service use (particularly for medications and admitted care) among ex-serving members in this report are likely higher than those in the broader population. 

Together, these findings suggest that mental health service use may be elevated among ex-serving members. This could be due to differences in eligibility, service access, engagement, underlying health conditions or due to the unique impacts of ADF service, but it could also indicate poorer mental health among ex-serving members compared to the general population.