The Constant Battle
The Constant Battle: Suicide by Veterans — Government Response to the Senate Committee Report on Veteran Suicide
In 2016, the Senate Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade References Committee (the Senate Committee) conducted an inquiry into suicide by veterans and ex-service personnel.
The Senate Committee's report on the inquiry, The Constant Battle: Suicide by Veterans, was tabled in Parliament on 15 August 2017.
Progress Report — Implementation of Recommendations
Following is an update of the implementation of the recommendations of the Senate Committee report, as at 31 January 2020:
- Update 31 January 2020 on implementation of recommendations from the Senate Inquiry (PDF 1 MB)
Update 31 January 2020 on implementation of recommendations from the Senate Inquiry (DOCX 110 KB)
Background
On 1 September 2016 the Senate referred ‘Suicide by veterans and ex-service personnel’ to the Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade References Committee for inquiry and report by 30 March 2017, subsequently extended to 15 August 2017.
The Senate Committee held five public hearings across Adelaide, Canberra, Brisbane and Perth and received 458 submissions.
The Committee’s report on the Inquiry was tabled in Parliament on 15 August 2017. A link to the report is provided below:
Government Response
The Government's response to the Senate Committee Report, The Constant Battle: Suicide by Veterans, was tabled by the Minister for Veterans' Affairs on 24 October 2017, and included an immediate package of measures in response to recommendations of the Senate Committee Report.
- Government response (PDF 576 KB)
- Scoping study to professionalise veterans' advocacy (DOCX 43 KB)
- Annual GP health assessment five years post-discharge (DOCX 43 KB)
- Veteran payment (DOCX 40 KB)
- Case management services (DOCX 43 KB)
- Extended family support for veterans (DOCX 43 KB)
- Mental health impacts of compensation claim assessment processes (PDF 0.98 KB) (DOCX 1.71 MB)