Source document: https://docs-lawep.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/1697641540648.pdf (Australia)
Dear Committee Secretary I am writing in relation to the Inquiry into the mental health of Australian Defence Force (ADF) personnel who have returned from combat, peacekeeping or other deployment.

While we understand that submissions have closed, we hope that the Inquiry will accept this short submission from the AMA.
The 2013 report of the Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade on the inquiry into the care of Australian Defence Force personnel wounded and injured on military operations recommended consideration of the development of a unique identifier for serving and former ADF personnel.

This would be particularly relevant to items (c) and (h) of the Committee's terms of reference.
In December 2013 the Government issued a response to the above report and, in relation to a unique identifier, supported the proposal in principle.

The Department of Veterans' Affairs (DVA) and the ADF were tasked with scoping this concept.

A unique identifier could help improve health outcomes for these patients, including in relation to mental health.

It would allow longitudinal tracking, which is critical to improving the robustness of research into the health of serving and former ADF personnel.
It could also support the transition from ADF funded health services to DVA funded and mainstream health services, including supporting the identification of former ADF personnel by health care providers.

We know from our contact with service and veterans groups that there is general support for this concept.

There is no sense that DVA or the ADF have progressed this concept much since 2013 and this is evident from our dialogue with the ADF and DVA.
Technical barriers have been emphasised, as opposed to solutions, and it is clear that DVA's ageing IT systems and processes may need to be reviewed.

The AMA did write to the former Defence Minister asking for the issue to be placed on the agenda of the Defence/DVA Ministerial Advisory Committee, with a response from the former Assistant Minister for Defence recently received.
The latter correspondence advised that things have evolved and the ADF/DVA were now exploring a system that will link all ADF members and veterans’ various identification numbers so that they can be identified using any of the numbers they hold.

He also highlighted relevant functionality in the Personally Controlled Electronic Health Record (PCEHR) that allows a person to nominate their status as a serving or former ADF member.
This work has not previously been advised to the AMA by either the ADF or DVA and, in our view, falls short of the benefits that a unique identifier would deliver.

Take up of the PCEHR is low and it is difficult to see how a system linking multiple ID numbers can be a viable alternative to a single identifier that could be used for life across all health care interactions.
Mental health of ADF serving personnelSubmission 76 The AMA would certainly welcome the Committee's examination of this issue, including why progress has been so slow to date, and re-affirming the merit of the 2013 recommendation.

Yours sincerely Warwick Hough Director General Practice, Legal Services and Workplace Policy Department Australian Medical Association Mental health of ADF serving personnelSubmission 76