Incidence of suicide among serving and ex-serving Australian Defence Force personnel 2001–2014

There is strong and increasing public interest in, and concern about, the incidence of suicide among serving and ex-serving Australian Defence Force (ADF) personnel. A study undertaken by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare calculates, for the first time, accurate rates of suicide deaths among ex-serving ADF personnel. This fact sheet presents the preliminary results of this analysis for three ADF populations—serving full-time, reserve and ex-serving personnel—and shows the number of suicide deaths for 2001–2014 and the comparative rate of suicide death for 2002–2014 (for men only, as number of women in the study meant valid comparisons were not possible). Further detailed results are anticipated to be released in mid-2017.