Chapter 1
Introduction
1.1
On 25 March 2015 the Senate referred the following matter to the Foreign
Affairs, Defence and Trade References Committee for inquiry and report by 19
February 2016. On 2 February 2016, the Senate agreed to extend the reporting
date for the inquiry to 29 February 2016, and then on 29 February 2016 agreed
to further extend the reporting date to 15 March 2016. The terms of reference
for this inquiry concerned the mental health of Australian Defence Force (ADF)
personnel who have returned from combat, peacekeeping or other deployment, with
particular reference to:
- the
extent and significance of mental ill-health and post-traumatic stress disorder
(PTSD) among returned service personnel;
- identification
and disclosure policies of the ADF in relation to mental ill-health and PTSD;
- recordkeeping
for mental ill-health and PTSD, including hospitalisations and deaths;
- mental
health evaluation and counselling services available to returned service
personnel;
- the
adequacy of mental health support services, including housing support services,
provided by the Department of Veterans‘ Affairs (DVA);
- the
support available for partners, carers and families of returned service
personnel who experience mental ill-health and PTSD;
- the
growing number of returned service personnel experiencing homelessness due to
mental ill-health, PTSD and other issues related to their service;
- the
effectiveness of the Memorandum of Understanding between the ADF and DVA for
the Cooperative Delivery of Care;
-
the effectiveness of training and education offerings to returned
service personnel upon their discharge from the ADF; and
-
any other related matters.
Conduct of inquiry
1.2
The committee advertised the inquiry on its website and in the
Australian newspaper. The committee also wrote to individuals and organisations
likely to have an interest in the inquiry and invited them to make written
submissions.
1.3
The committee received 82 submissions and 11 supplementary submissions
to the inquiry. These submissions are listed at Appendix 1 and are published on
the committee's website.
1.4
The committee held four public hearings on 31 August 2015 in Canberra,
1 September 2015 in Brisbane, 21 September 2015 in Canberra, and 18 November
2015 in Narrabeen. The witnesses who appeared at these hearings are listed at Appendix
3 and the programs and Hansard transcripts of the hearings are published on the
committee's website.
Past parliamentary inquiries
1.5
In June 2013, the Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence
and Trade tabled its report into the Care of ADF Personnel Wounded and
Injured on Operations. The report found that the mental health of ADF members
(current and former) is not well documented nor understood by the Defence
organisations and made three recommendations to improve this understanding:
Recommendation 8
The Committee recommends that the Department of Defence
publish periodic detailed written assessments on:
-
the implementation of the recommendations of both the 2009 Review
of Mental Health Care in the ADF and Transition through discharge, and the 2010
ADF Mental Health Prevalence and Wellbeing Study;
-
the Australian Defence Force mental health reform program; and
-
what additional enhancements have been made to current programs,
as indicated in the Defence White Paper.[1]
Recommendation 9
The Committee recommends that the departments of Defence and
Veterans' Affairs undertake a study into psychological support of partners and
families of Australian Defence Force (ADF) members and ex-ADF members. The
Committee further recommends that the study be conducted with the objective of
developing recommendations to overcome partners' and families' mental health
issues that may be highlighted by the study.
The Committee further recommends that the Government
implement, as a priority, the recommendations of The Health and Wellbeing of
Female Vietnam and Contemporary Veterans report.[2]
Recommendation 10
The Committee recommends that the effectiveness of
psychological first aid be made a research priority by the Department of
Defence, in consultation with the Department of Veterans' Affairs.[3]
1.6
The Returned and Services League of Australia (RSL) expressed
disappointment with the government's progress implementing the recommendations
of this inquiry and other past inquiries:
It is with considerable disappointment that the earlier,
excellent [i]nquiries held over the previous decade have failed to produce the
necessary follow-up they so rightly deserved. Too few of the recommendations
were adequately pursued and we now find ourselves in much the same position
once more...on close examination it can be seen that many of these excellent
reforms have failed to come to pass or they have produced less benefit than
they intended to implement.[4]
1.7
The government response to the report's recommendations was tabled in
March 2015. Recommendations 8 and 10 were supported and recommendation 9 was
supported in principle.
Structure of report
1.8
The report is structured as follows:
-
Chapter 2 considers the extent and significance of mental
ill-health in ADF members, veterans, and the families of ADF members and
veterans;
-
Chapter 3 considers the mental health strategies for ADF members
and veterans; identification and disclosure policies in the ADF in relation to
mental ill-health; and recordkeeping for mental ill-health for ADF members;
-
Chapter 4 considers the diagnosis and treatment of mental
ill-health and the adequacy of mental health support services provided to ADF
members, veterans, and their families;
-
Chapter 5 considers the barriers to accessing mental health
services for ADF members and veterans, primarily their reluctance to seek help.
It also focuses on the difficulties and challenges experienced by ADF members
and veterans seeking assistance through DVA delivery models and claims
processes, including ADF members and veterans who live in regional and remote
areas; and
-
Chapter 6 considers the effectiveness of training, education, and
transition support services provided to ADF members at discharge; the
Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the ADF and DVA and the effective
transfer of responsibility of care; and veterans experiencing homelessness due
to mental ill-health and other issues related to their service.
Definitions
1.9
The committee acknowledges that there is more than one definition for
the term 'veteran' and that the term means different things to different
people. The Veterans' Entitlement Act 1988 defines a veteran as a person
who is 'taken to have rendered eligible war service';[5]and
the term is not specifically defined by the Military Rehabilitation and
Compensation Act 2004, rather it notes the kinds of service to which the
act applies, listing warlike service, non-warlike service, peacetime service
and defence service.[6]
1.10
This report uses the term 'veteran' to describe all former members of
the ADF, irrespective of whether they were deployed or undertook war or warlike
service.
Acknowledgements
1.11
The committee thanks all those who contributed to the inquiry by making
submissions, providing additional information or appearing at the hearings.
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