Mirage News
Mirage News
Mirage NewsNational10 Jul 2026 11:28 am AESTDate Time
RAAF
The Department of Veterans’ Affairs (DVA) Longitudinal Wellbeing Project is being expanded to include current serving Australian Defence Force (ADF) members who are DVA clients
This marks an important step in building a more complete understanding of wellbeing across the full military lifecycle
Established in partnership with the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), the project combines DVA data with ABS data. This enables researchers to examine long-term wellbeing outcomes
Until now, the project has largely focused on veterans and their families. Including current serving members who are DVA clients will provide a more comprehensive view of wellbeing outcomes over time
This strengthened evidence base will help inform improvements to policies, programs and services that support serving members, veterans and their families
A range of DVA administrative information will be included as part of the project. This includes de-identified DVA information and data that helps determine representation in veteran groups, such as participation in specific DVA programs or services
It also includes aggregate claims and injury information, such as the number of claims lodged and summarised injury details
Importantly, clinical records are not shared. Data on service usage, such as veteran card type and the number of DVA services accessed, will also be included to provide a more complete picture of support utilisation
Protecting the privacy of members is a central feature of the project. All data is de‑identified before it is provided for research, meaning names, addresses and other identifying details are removed
Researchers only access data within secure ABS environments, and strict controls are applied to ensure individuals cannot be identified in any outputs
All published findings are aggregated and undergo confidentiality checks prior to release
Participation in the project has no impact on an individual’s service, career, claims, compensation, entitlements or access to services. The data is used solely for research and policy development purposes, and is not used to inform decisions about individual members
/Public Release. This material from the originating organization/author(s) might be of the point-in-time nature, and edited for clarity, style and length. Mirage.News does not take institutional positions or sides, and all views, positions, and conclusions expressed herein are solely those of the author(s).View in full here.
