The Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide – brief summary and commentary on the research findings in Volume 7

Abstract

The Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide recently published research analysis of the risk of suicide based on data from the Australian Defence Force (ADF). We aim to provide a brief summary of the salient findings, as well as a commentary from a clinical perspective for the psychiatric profession providing care for ADF serving members and veterans who bear a burden of psychiatric morbidity related to the nature of their work. The suicide risk from current and past service, and in certain roles, highlight the challenges facing those in military service, with implications for the time spent on active deployment and transition post-deployment.