Future analysis directions

As noted at the beginning of this report, analysis of the wellbeing characteristics of ex-serving ADF members using data available in the MADIP data asset has enabled four additional domains from the Veteran-centred model to be investigated. This linkage project has complemented previous analysis of the Health and Housing domains and expanded to the Education and skills, Employment, Income and finance, and Social support domains, such that analysis on 6 of the 7 domains have been undertaken. Opportunities for data analysis relating to the Justice and safety domain are being considered. 

The MADIP data asset is a rich data resource, with many different datasets available to explore the Veteran-centred model domain topics in further detail. Future analysis will explore the Personal Income Tax data from the Australian Tax Office and Government Payment Benefits data from the Department of Social Services to complement the income data in this report. This will help to understand veterans’ incomes and those in need of financial assistance. Health service and medication use can also be investigated from the Medicare Benefit Scheme and Pharmaceutical Benefit Scheme datasets available in the MADIP data asset. The 2011 and 2021 Census data in the MADIP data asset will also support more up to date analysis on veterans’ wellbeing circumstances and allow for data comparisons over time. More detailed analysis of the employment and income data from the Census will also be feasible.

In collaboration with Defence and DVA, analysis of ex-serving ADF members linked to MADIP will expand to a broader ex-serving ADF population, to include those who served between 1 January 1985 to the most recent available data. This expansion will help to address some of the limitations noted in this report such as the under-representation of younger and older ADF members in the post-2001 ex-serving ADF population analysed in this report. This future data linkage and analysis will complement and expand the analysis on the post-1985 ex-serving population presented in the Serving and ex-serving Australian Defence Force members who have served since 1985: population characteristics 2019 web report. The expansion of data on ex-serving members will also enable more granular analysis to be undertaken on topic areas such as families of ex-serving ADF members and ex-serving ADF members at risk. 

Further breakdowns of data such as whether a veteran is a DVA client or information on their ADF service deployment experience could also provide valuable insights into their wellbeing outcomes.