This was published 9 months ago
Serving Defence personnel face higher suicide risks, new research claims
By Caitlin Fitzsimmons
The Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide has challenged Defence Minister Richard Marles to respond to new research suggesting that serving military personnel are at greater risk of suicide, not just veterans.
At a hearing in Sydney on Thursday, Marles said the issue of suicide among veterans and active service personnel was a matter of enormous priority for the government, prompting commissioner Peggy Brown to ask why the government did not extend the commission’s deadline as requested.
The commission asked for a 12-month extension last May to allow more witnesses to share their lived experiences. The Albanese government denied this request in August last year, instead granting a three-month extension until this September.
Minister for Veterans’ Affairs Matt Keogh (left) and Defence Minister Richard Marles at the royal commission on Thursday.
Marles said he understood there were important stories to be told, but on the other hand: “We need to see change happening now. We need to get moving on this. That’s how we feel as a government.”
The royal commission was set up by the Morrison government in 2021, and this was the first time that Marles, who is also deputy prime minister, and Minister for Veterans’ Affairs Matt Keogh have appeared before the inquiry.
Marles said the government was committed to implementing the thrust of the commission’s recommendations when they were received and that he knew that “we will not be able to escape the judgment of history.”
The commission is examining suicide for both veterans and serving military personnel. But Defence in 2021 and General Angus Campbell in 2022 gave evidence that being a serving member offered a protective factor against suicide.
They relied on figures from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare that suggested from 2002 to 2018, the age-adjusted rate of suicide was 50 per cent lower for male permanent serving members of the armed forces than the general community and 49 per cent lower for males in the reserve.
The risk of suicide was 21 per cent higher for ex-serving men and 127 per cent higher – or more than double for ex-serving women – indicating it is a bigger problem among veterans.
The commission presented its preliminary research on Thursday, which appeared to contradict the notion that being a serving member offered a protective factor.
The latest research, which is still being reviewed, compared serving members with the employed population to control for the fact that unemployment is a suicide risk.
The analysis suggested the suicide rate for serving males in the Australian Defence Force was 30 per cent higher between 2011 and 2020 compared with the male-employed population nationally. It was also higher for females but not statistically significant.
The new study is yet to be provided to witnesses in hard copy but was displayed on-screen during the live hearing.
Leonid Sheptooha, counsel assisting the royal commission, asked if the comparison to the employed population was more valid. Keogh responded that “we are not the data experts” but agreed it was interesting to compare different cohorts.
Commonwealth lawyer Michael Fordham objected, saying it was “cloaked in assumption,” but Sheptooha said his question was valid because he was “not asking for expert opinion; it’s common sense.”
Marles said it was not fair to “put specifics in isolation” but was happy to respond to whether it was worth further investigation.
“Do we want to get to the bottom of this? The answer is: most definitely yes. Does this look to us like an interesting line of inquiry that the commission is embarking on? Of course,” Marles said.
“We’re really keen to hear what the commission has to say about this when the report comes down.”
In response to Sheptooha’s questioning, Keogh said: “I can’t speak to the particular data that you have put in front of us, but in a sense the number is sort of irrelevant. The point is that suicide is an issue. We want to see it reduced or eliminated, and what recommendations can we be given that will go to that.”
Keogh told the commission the Department of Veterans’ Affairs was better resourced than it had been for decades. The department runs a specialist mental health service for veterans called Open Arms.
Lifeline 13 11 14; Open Arms 1800 011 046