Over the past decade, an average of 78 serving and ex-serving ADF members have died by suicide every year, the equivalent of approximately three deaths every fortnight.
These are not isolated tragedies. They point to a persistent and systemic problem that has continued despite decades of inquiries, reviews and recommendations.
Up until 2021, more than 50 inquiries and reviews had examined issues affecting the wellbeing of serving and ex-serving ADF members. Together, they produced more than 750 recommendations.
Yet there has been no sustained reduction in veteran suicide and suicidality over the past two decades. That failure led to the establishment of the Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide in 2021.
The Royal Commission set out to understand why suicide and suicidality remain unacceptably high among serving and ex-serving ADF members, despite decades of inquiries, recommendations and reform efforts. Its purpose was not simply to document the scale of the crisis, but to identify the systemic, cultural and service-related factors contributing to it, examine where institutions had failed to adequately protect people, and establish a pathway for meaningful, lasting change in the system moving forward.
From helping to understand and navigate the transition to civilian life and supporting families through challenging times to getting at the root causes of veteran suicide, Open Door is recognised nationally and internationally for tackling real-world problems and delivering evidence to drive impact across the life course.
Prior to the establishment of the Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide, Open Door’s work was already grounded in veteran support, safety and wellbeing. We were proud to contribute to the growing body of evidence, advocacy and lived experience that helped bring these issues to national attention and inform a deeper understanding at the highest levels.
Today, our focus is on what comes next: turning the Royal Commission’s findings into action. In partnership with current and former military and public safety personnel and their families, Open Door works to design and deliver practical solutions that support the implementation of key recommendations and create meaningful, lasting change.
Almost two years after the Royal Commission handed down its Final Report, only 32 of its 122 recommendations have been fully implemented.
For Open Door, these recommendations cannot be allowed to become another body of research that identifies the problem without creating the change required to address it.
Our most important priority is simple: help reduce veteran suicide now.
That means actively supporting the implementation of the Royal Commission’s recommendations and working collaboratively to turn evidence into action. Open Door is proud to work alongside government, research institutions, not-for-profit organisations, service providers, associated organisations, current and former military and public safety personnel, and, critically, people with lived experience and their families.
Read the report in full, and check in on the progress of each recommendation here.
work with us
Open Door are proud to collaborate with government, research agencies, not for profits, other associated organisations and those with lived-experience and their families.
If you would like to work with us, get in touch. We’d love to hear from you.
Our team brings together people from research, service delivery, policy and lived experience. Across fields including sociology, psychology, social work, health sciences and archaeology, we combine different perspectives to better understand the challenges facing veterans and their families.
Just as importantly, our work is shaped with the people it is designed to support. Through co-design, we work alongside those with lived experience, families, service providers and sector partners to create research and programs that are practical, relevant and grounded in real life.
[N]othing will take away what it does to a person to literally sign a piece of paper to say they will go anywhere at any time and do anything – including sacrificing their own life – in the defence of our country. And then for that country to turn around and say to them they are not worth anything to them broken. Not worth anything to them injured. That they see me as nothing.”
– Ex-serving Air Force member, quote pulled from the Executive Summary of the Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide.
Veteran suicide is not a problem that can be understood, or solved, by one organisation alone.
Open Door brings together researchers, service providers, policymakers, people with lived experience and their families to better understand the factors that place current and former military and public safety personnel at risk, and to develop practical ways to improve mental health, wellbeing and safety.
Your support helps make that work possible. Your donation supports work with purpose.
Every contribution helps Open Door continue the research, collaboration and co-designed programs needed to turn evidence into meaningful change. It supports our ability to work alongside communities, investigate where systems can do better, and develop approaches informed not only by data, but by the people and families who understand these challenges firsthand.
100% of your tax-deductible donation supports mental health and wellbeing research through Flinders University’s Open Door Initiative.