Stuart Robert (Fadden, Liberal Party, Assistant Minister for Defence) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Bass for his question. I acknowledge his distinguished service over more than 30 years. It is very refreshing to have a sensible voice speaking from Tasmania about real issues impacting people.

Without wishing to be overly technical, funding for treatment services, as mentioned by the member for Bass, is provided by DVA as set out in a range of legislation—including: the Veterans' Entitlement Act; the Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 1988, SRCA; and the Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 2004, MRCA. This means if a treatment service is required it is funded with no limits placed on the amount that can be spent in any one year. The minister is determined that the Department of Veterans' Affairs will continually improve the mental health services it has available, and he is determined to develop new approaches to meeting the mental health needs of veterans.

I would like to share that earlier this year the minister announced the establishment of the Prime Ministerial Advisory Council, with a renewed and particular focus on veterans' mental health issues, particularly those relating to service post 1975. It is chaired by Vice Admiral Russ Crane, a man we know well, former Chief of Navy. Deputy Chair is Ben Roberts-Smith VC MG. Mr Ryan Stokes is another key member and continues the Stokes family's long and unwavering commitment to the interests of veterans and their families. The new PMAC membership will also comprise experts in mental health matters, representatives of the Defence Force, the community and industry leaders.

DVA will spend around $166 million a year on mental health services for clients, including online mental health information and support, GP services, psychologists and social work services, specialist psychiatric services, pharmaceuticals, post traumatic stress disorder programs, and in-patient and outpatient treatment. It is important to stress that this number is demand-driven; it is not capped. It is about need. It is about taking care of our people. DVA has adopted new approaches to communicating with and providing support to these veterans by increasingly using a range of online methods—social media and mobile applications. The budget implements a range of initiatives focused on the mental health of our veterans, such as greater access to the VVCS for ex-members and their families.

Finally, I am exceptionally pleased to advise the House that the government has recently launched the $5 million Transition and Wellbeing Research Program, which is a significant new research program into mental health and wellbeing of contemporary service personnel and veterans. Defence will contribute $1.2 million and Veterans' Affairs $3.8 million to this research program announced by the minister last Wednesday. It is the largest, most comprehensive program of study undertaken in Australia to understand the impact of military service on the mental, physical and social health of serving and ex-serving personnel and their families who have deployed to our contemporary conflicts.

The program has three major study areas. The first two will be conducted by the Centre for Traumatic Stress Studies at the University of Adelaide and the third by the Australian Institute of Family Studies. The first study, the mental health and wellbeing transition study, will target both serving and ex-serving personnel to determine their mental, physical and social health status. The second study, the impact of combat study, will comprehensively follow up the mental, physical and neurocognitive health of those personnel deployed to the MEAO between 2010 and 2012. The third study, the family and wellbeing study, will investigate the impact of military service on the health and wellbeing of the families of serving and ex-serving personnel.

As the minister has said, the government is determined that we will not repeat the mistakes of the past. We are investigating in the research ways to better understand the services and support needed by younger veterans and their families. Importantly, this research will not wait years. As each part of the project is completed it will be released. DVA and Defence will work together very closely. Improvements in how we work together will be made every time there is an opportunity to make them. Through the combined funding of this project between DVA and Defence we will get a greater understanding of issues of contemporary service and we will be able to identify strategies to deal with them.

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