Data
The Defence and Veterans’ Service Commissioner will monitor, inquire and report on data and trends regarding suicide and suicidality among serving and ex-service Australian Defence Force members, as part of their functions.
According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics 2021 Census, more than half a million Australians (581,139) have served (496,276), or are currently serving (84,865), in the Australian Defence Force (ADF).
The DVSC will work closely with the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) and other data providers to understand and investigate current and emerging data and trends regarding health, wellbeing, suicide and suicidality among serving and ex-serving ADF members.
The AIHW publishes an annual report on suicide among permanent, reserve and ex-serving ADF members.
The report includes people with at least one day of service from 1985 to 2023, with deaths by suicide monitored from 1997 to 2023.
On 9 September 2025, the AIHW published its eighth annual report on suicide among ADF veterans, including the latest data from 2021 to 2023.
Some key findings were:
- Between 1997 and 2023, 1,840 serving and ex-serving ADF members have died by suicide (1,532 ex-serving and 308 permanent/reserve).
- Consistent with previous monitoring periods, the suicide rate during 2021–2023 was 26.4 deaths per 100,000 per year for ex-serving males, 16.0 for permanent males, 15.2 for reserve males and 10.0 for ex-serving females.
You can learn more about the work of the AIHW as it relates to the veteran population on the AIHW website, including the Australian Defence Force suicide and self-harm monitoring data.
