Mapping Veteran Mental Health Services

This project aims to improve the way mental-health and crisis-support services are understood and organised for Australian veterans by creating an adapted framework of veteran specific services.

A conceptual framework functions like a road map for the support system. Veterans often need to navigate a mix of health services including, mental health services, specialist veteran programs, and emergency care. However, many existing mental-health frameworks are only structured for general population mental health service-systems, currently there is no clear, evidence-based framework that describe the service operations for ADF veterans.

To address this gap, we will adapt established Australian mental health system frameworks to better reflect the veteran context. We will do this by reviewing a set of research and policy documents that were already identified in a recent scoping review focused on veterans experiencing suicidality, we will also be taking the existing classification of services systems from three foundation mental health system frameworks. Instead of searching for new literature, we will re-examine this existing body of evidence to look specifically for information about the types of services veterans access, how those services are funded and delivered, and where gaps or unique needs exist. We also will be identifying if these services collect data and where that data is reported.

We will then compare this information to the current national mental health frameworks to identify areas where additional service types or pathways are needed to accurately represent veteran experiences. Our goal is to create a clear, structured model of the veteran mental health service system that can support future research, policy planning, and program improvement.

This project does not involve contact with veterans or the use of personal or identifiable information. All data used are from publicly available sources and previous research. The outcome will be a practical and evidence-based framework to help guide better support for veterans and to inform future service planning and intervention design.

This study forms a subcomponent of a broader data linkage study examining service use among veterans experiencing suicidality in Australia (DOI: 10.1136/bmjopen-2025-106771).

Funding for this project was provided by the Australian Government Department of Veterans’ Affairs (DVA). Any future work associated with the project will be subject to ongoing review processes to ensure compliance with all relevant legal, privacy, and ethical requirements.

Maddy Deery

Jiatong Chen

Emilia Janca

A/Professor Carla Meurk

Professor Ed Hefferenan

Suggested citation:

Deery, M., Chen, J., Janca, E., Meurk, C., & Heffernan, E. (2026). Mapping Mental Health Services for Ex-ADF Veterans Experiencing Suicidality in Australia: A Conceptual Framework Adaptation. https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/NEMYB

Footnotes:

*Workers Compensation – Civilian Employment work-related psychological injury.

Abbreviations:

ADF: Australian Defence Force, NFT: Not-For-Profit, PBS: Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme, RPBS: Repatriation Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme.

This framework was developed as part of an academic research project. The classification of listed funders, providers, service types, and service sectors were determined from the perspective of the authors and should be interpreted as such. The framework represents identified services and pathways as of 21 May 2026 and reflects funding structures and service arrangements at the time of development. It is not intended to provide an exhaustive list of veteran-accessible mental health services in Australia. Included funders, providers, and service types were identified from a limited review of the available literature corpus. Information regarding service pathways and relationships was derived from open-access sources available to the authors and may not capture all service relationships. Service availability, funding arrangements, eligibility criteria, and operational structures may change over time. This framework was designed to visually map reported service relationship pathways identified within the source literature to support understanding of the veteran mental health service system. It should not be used in place of official Government frameworks, policies, or service guidance.