Veteran suicides royal commission: DVA secretary Liz Cosson on knowing veterans, service and compassion

While much has been learned about reducing suicide stemming from the Dunt report into ex-service suicides in 2009, Ms Cosson believes the new inquiry will be important in revealing the causes and life experiences that her department never saw.

"I think the Royal Commission does need to look at whole-of-life events which includes pre-enlistment, during service, during the transition period - which we know is a critical piece - then post transition and when they're with DVA," Ms Cosson told The Canberra Times.

"But also it's important to acknowledge that some of the incidents of suicide were veterans that were not known to us."

Only about a third of the estimated 640,000 still-living veterans are known to the department. The seeds to fixing that began five years ago and now everyone who joins Defence are known to Veterans Affairs from the start and contacted when they transition out.

It's likely the inquiry will look at all aspects of the lives of veterans who suicide in the search for answers, and the department also wants to know more than just a name and rank when an individual leaves service.

When an injury or illness occurs during that person's service, that information will be available to Veterans Affairs as it happens so it can plan what support is needed for their eventual transition.

Ms Cosson says there's still work to be done on data sharing and privacy consent, but an indication of trust in the new approach the department has taken is that over 90 per cent of veterans seeking counselling support through Open Arms agree to have their records shared with DVA.

"We wouldn't be where we are today if we hadn't listened to our veterans about what they wanted to see change in this department," Ms Cosson says of the reforms over the last five years.

Of the roughly 6000 members that leave the Defence Force each year, a majority of those "don't need us, and that's good," she says.

"For those that have had a bad experience with us, I'd like to think that they are now hearing from others that the experience has improved. It needs to come from the ground up, others who have come to the department and had a good experience."

The union and some support networks have questioned if existing services are enough to match the need as difficult topics and events are raised during the 18-month to two-year inquiry process.

Demand on the services such as the government's veterans and family counselling service Open Arms have increased, but Ms Cosson says wait times aren't as significant as they potentially were a few years ago.

"If someone comes to us and identifies that they are in need, or they're at risk ... you will always be prioritised and we will put a resource to support you," she says.

The importance of compassion and empathy by departmental staff towards their clients was recently highlighted by Christine Morgan, the Prime Minister's National Suicide Prevention Adviser in a report to government.

Being "problematised", seen as a problem that needed to be fixed, was one of the most challenging things for people who were already in suicidal distress, she found.

The point of crisis for veterans could be connected to transitioning out but may have nothing to do with Defence, such as losing a civilian job, and is usually accompanied by increased risk behaviour like use of alcohol.

"We need a seismic shift, where we do things differently, do things earlier and we need to do things in a way that brings in support of family and caregivers," Ms Morgan told a veteran suicide symposium in Canberra.

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Ms Cosson says the comments resonated with her and her efforts to build upon the existing connections to military service among Veterans Affairs staff to help drive compassion and capability.

"That's where we are unique. We understand the unique nature of military service, because of our connection with service," Ms Cosson says, a former Major General herself and a wife and daughter of veterans.

"It's understanding what is service and building that compassion. Also, our Open Arms have introduced a peer-support program, and we have now peers with lived experience, who are trained in helping those that just need to talk to someone that understands that experience first-hand."

• Open Arms provides 24-hour free and confidential counselling and support for current and former ADF members and their families on 1800 011 046, or through SafeZone on 1800 142 072.
  
• The Defence all-hours Support Line is a confidential telephone and online service for ADF members and their families: 1800 628 036.
  

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