Seeking your support for a very important cause.
You may recall that earlier this year on 11 August 2016, the Prime Minister, the Minister for Health and Aged Care and the Minister for Veteran’s Affairs announced a review of the services available to veterans and members of the Australian Defence Force in relation to the prevention of self-harm and suicide. The Government has asked the National Mental Health Commission to conduct the Review. In my capacity as Chair of the PM’s Advisory Council on Veterans Mental Health I was asked and I agreed to be a member of a reference group consisting of current and former members of the ADF. The Reference Group is available to the Commission for advice during the review.
The Commission has requested support in motivating those in the retired community to participate in the on-line survey which has been developed. This is an important piece of work which I know we all want to see succeed. From this work new proposals may well come forward to assist with policy formulation and resourcing in supporting those of our serving and retired community in need of additional care. I commend the online survey to you and ask that you forward this to your various networks such that we get an appropriate response. The survey is open to all personnel including friends and families. They also have a large part to play in this work. The survey which closes on 22 November is available at:
www.mentalhealthcommission.