Suicide in Australian Defence Force (ADF) members is a significant concern in the Australian community. According to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW), ex-serving ADF members are at a much higher risk of suicide than other Australians, with males 24% more likely to die by suicide, and females 102% times more likely to do so than their peers in the general population. The death by suicide of any ADF member is a tragedy with widespread and long-lasting effects for families, friends, and communities. Preventing these suicides is, therefore, a key priority for the Australian Government.

The project has two parts. Part 1 focuses on identifying short-term opportunities to improve suicide and self-harm monitoring for the serving and ex-serving ADF member population and is the subject of this report. Part 2 involves the development of a long-term road map to improve monitoring of suicide and self-harm in ADF members including a move towards real-time monitoring. This document reports on Part 1 of the project and will be followed by the Part 2 report, to be completed in August 2022.