Key findings

ADF member population, 2001 to 2018

ADF members

  • In the study cohort, there were 216,640 living or deceased ADF members: 118,584 ex‑serving, 55,438 serving, and 42,618 reserves.
  • Of these, 61% Army, 20% Navy and 19% Air Force.
  • 84% of ADF members are males and 16% are females.
  • Serving members were younger than reserve and ex-serving members, with nearly two‑thirds (66%) aged under 35 years compared with 44% of reserve and 28% of ex‑serving members in the same age group.
  • Ex-serving and reserve members were generally older than serving members, with 41% and 34% aged 45 years and over, respectively, compared with 17% of serving members.

Service-related characteristics experiences

  • Of all ex-serving members in the study cohort, around half (51%) served for 10 or more years, while 13% had served for less than one year.
  • Half (50%) ex-serving separated voluntarily, around 1 in 8 (12.5%) for medical reasons, around a quarter (28%) for other involuntary reasons, and 1 in 10 (9.6%) for contractual/administrative reasons.

ADF members who died by suicide, 2001 to 2018

ADF members who died by suicide

  • 465 ADF members died by suicide: 429 males and 36 females.
  • Of the 429 males who died:
    • 109 were serving
    • 78 were reserve and;
    • 242 were ex-serving.
  • The suicide rate for ex-serving males was higher than for serving and reserve males and also higher than the rate for ex-serving females.
  • The age-adjusted rate of suicide, when compared to the Australian population was:
    • 50% lower for serving males
    • 49% lower for reserve males
    • 22% higher for ex-serving males
    • 127% (or 2.27 times) higher for ex-serving females
    • 53% lower for serving/reserve females
  • The median age at death for ADF members who died by suicide between 2001 and 2018 (34 for males and 32 for females) was younger than for those who died by suicide in the Australian population (43 for males and 44 for females).
  • Age-specific rates of suicide among ex-serving males generally decreased with age, from 36 per 100,000 per year among those aged under 25 years to 8.7 per 100,000 per year among those aged 55 years and over.

Service-related characteristics

  • Officers were less likely to die by suicide than general enlistees.
  • The suicide rate for ex-serving males with 10 years of service was lower than for ex-serving males with less than 1 year of service.
  • Ex-serving males who separated for medical reasons or other involuntary reasons were more likely to die by suicide than those who separated for voluntary reasons.

Socioeconomic status and selected demographics

  • ADF members (serving, reserve and ex-serving) who died by suicide were less likely to be married or in de‑facto relationships than the ADF population (40% compared with 72%) and more likely to be never married (39% compared with 12%).
  • 21% of ADF members who died by suicide between 2001 and 2018 were unemployed1 at time of death. This is in contrast to the alive ADF population with less than 1% being unemployed in 2017−182.
  • More than half of the ADF members who died by suicide usually resided either in New South Wales (28%) or in Queensland (27%). This is consistent with the proportions in the alive ADF population, with 24% residing in NSW and 27% in Qld, according to the 2017−18 NHS.

Notes

  1. ADF members who died by suicide include those who were serving, reserve, or ex-serving with at least 1 day of service in the ADF between 1 January 2001 and 31 December 2018. Ex-serving ADF members may have been unemployed at the time of death.
  2. The 2017–18 National Health Survey (NHS) was conducted by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) from July 2017 to June 2018. Alive ADF members include who responded to the 2017–18 NHS, and identified as having ever served in the ADF. They include ADF members who served prior to 2001. See the ABS 2017–18 NHS for more information.

Measures of risk and protective factors

Psychosocial risk factors

  • The three most common psychosocial risk factors for those who died by suicide were the same for the ADF population and the Australian population yet were identified in a higher proportion of male ADF members:
    • Personal history of self-harm: 1 in 3 (29%) ADF males compared with around 1 in 5 (21%) Australian males,
    • Disruption of family by separation and divorce: over 1 in 4 (27%) ADF males compared with around 1 in 6(16%) Australian males, and
    • Problems in relationship with spouse or partner: 1 in 5 (21%) ADF males compared with around 1 in 9 (11%) Australian males.

Department of Veterans’ Affairs clients

  • Between 2001 and 2018, there were 42,798 (36%) ex-serving ADF members who were DVA clients; comprising 37,023 (37%) males and 5,775 (32%) females.
  • This pattern was similar among those who died by suicide, with one in three (33%) or 154 ADF members who were DVA clients at the time of death: 146 males and 8 females.
  • Male ex-serving non-DVA clients were less likely to die by suicide compared with male ex-serving DVA clients.

Use of health services

  • From 2001 to 2018, a lower proportion of ex-serving males (from 59% to 84%) and ex-serving females (from 77% to 92%) used Medicare-subsidised services and DVA‑funded services compared with the Australian male (from 83% to 87%) and female population (from 94% to 95%).
  • Between 2001 and 2018, 88% of ex-serving males and 96% of ex-serving females who died by suicide used at least one Medicare-subsidised or DVA-funded health service in the year before death. Similarly, 86% of Australian males and 95% of Australian females who died by suicide used a Medicare-subsidised health service in the year before death.
  • Among the ex-serving DVA clients who received hospital-based (secondary) care between 2001 and 2018, 25% received care for mental and behavioural disorders.
  • Between 2001 and 2018, 20% of ADF members who died by suicide and were DVA clients received admitted patient care.

Use of medicines

  • Between 2012 and 2018, a higher proportion (35%) of all ex-serving members were dispensed at least one mental health-related medication compared to Australians (18%).
  • 60% of ex-serving males who died by suicide were dispensed medications used for mental health conditions in the year before death compared with 54% of Australian males who died by suicide.
  • For all ex-serving members, Amoxicillin was the leading medicine dispensed, while diazepam was the most commonly dispensed mental health medication. Diazepam was the leading medicine dispensed to ADF members who died by suicide. For Australians who died by suicide, paracetamol and codeine combination product was the most commonly dispensed medicine, while diazepam was the most commonly dispensed mental health medication.
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