Defence and veteran families’ wellbeing factors: Data strengthening project
Strengthening the evidence base on wellbeing factors for Defence and veteran families by mapping existing data and identifying gaps to inform future improvements.
Project background
The Final Report of the Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide highlighted the significant impact of military service on Defence and veteran families and recommended further research into their wellbeing, including risk and protective factors. The Australian Government also released the Defence and Veteran Family Wellbeing Strategy 2025–2030 in December 2024 to improve support and engagement with Defence and veteran families, with a key objective being to strengthen understanding of their needs through research and data.
To assist with delivering on these priorities, DVA commissioned AIFS to undertake the Defence and Veteran Families’ Wellbeing Factors: Data Strengthening project, to improve understanding of the demographics and wellbeing of Defence and veteran families, including risk and protective factors, across the DVA Wellbeing Framework.
About the project
Defence and veteran families face unique challenges that affect their wellbeing, resilience and quality of life. While several national data sources are available on this population, the extent to which these sources can provide insight into the demographics and wellbeing of Defence and Veteran families is not fully understood, nor are their strengths and limitations.
This project seeks to:
- Assess the quality and utility of current data sources for measuring veteran family wellbeing, and identify data gaps
- Enhance data and knowledge about the circumstances and wellbeing of veteran families via analysis of existing datasets
- Establish baseline demographic and wellbeing indicators
- Generate measures of wellbeing risk and protective factors across domains of the DVA Wellbeing Framework.
By mapping existing datasets and identifying areas for data improvement, the project aims to provide valuable insights into the health and wellbeing of Defence and veteran families.
Governance
The Department of Veterans’ Affairs (DVA) comissioned this work. Steering Group members include:
- Department of Defence
- Defence Families of Australia
- Australian Bureau of Statistics
- Australian Institute of Health and Welfare.
Contact us
If you are interested in this topic and/or collecting data on defence and veteran family wellbeing that might be relevant to this project, it would be great if you could get in touch with us at [email protected], so we can learn more about your work and interests.