Response to the Defence and Veteran Mental Health and Wellbeing Strategy 2024-2029 Exposure Draft

The Defence and Veteran Mental Health and Wellbeing Strategy 2024–2029 represents a progressive shift towards a strategy that is more responsive to the needs of Defence personal and veterans, including best-practice and evidence-based approaches to supporting their mental health and wellbeing. We commend the emphasis on prevention while shifting the focus from a solely individual, clinical conceptualisation with acknowledgement of the unique and systemic risks and challenges faced by those who serve, including stigma and discrimination, and the need for proactive measures to address biopsychosocial risk and protective factors associated with suicidality. However, we have made five recommendations to strengthen the strategy, i.e.:

1. Explicitly including the establishment of formal, ongoing and psychologically safe mechanisms for the meaningful engagement of Defence personnel, veterans and their families in the design, implementation and evaluation of mental health, wellbeing and suicide prevention initiatives.
2. Clearly identifying and committing to targeted support for vulnerable and high-risk sub-groups.
3. Embedding a trauma-informed approach within its guiding frameworks and committing to targeted approaches and measurable outcomes for improving trauma-informed care and culture.
4. Committing to strengthening the mental health workforce supporting Defence personnel, veterans and their families, with a particular focus on psychologists, to meet the growing demand for evidence-based care and the increasing need for health promotion, prevention and early intervention services.
5. Acknowledging the different needs of culturally and other diverse groups and recognising the challenges of intersectionality.

As it is currently conceptualised as a high-level document, the success of the strategy will also require detailed and transparent action plans outlining responsibilities, timelines and resources, including human and financial resources, to translate its strategic goals into practice. There will also need to be a commitment to ongoing evaluation, continuous improvement and sustained collaboration to ensure the ongoing success of the strategy.

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