A damning report from a royal commission has exposed critical flaws in the Australian Defence Force’s (ADF) health assessment system. The findings reveal that the Military Employment Classification (MEC) system, intended to manage workforce fitness, is a significant factor in the rising rates of suicide among veterans. This has sparked urgent calls for reform to protect those who serve.
How the MEC System Ends Military Careers
Every member of the ADF is assigned a Military Employment Classification (MEC) based on their medical and dental fitness. While this system is designed for workforce management, the commission found it often operates as a rigid and impersonal process that can abruptly end a person’s career.
When a member’s health declines due to injury or illness, their MEC can be downgraded. This reclassification often leads to limited career opportunities or even involuntary separation from the Defence Force. Affected members have reported having little to no say in a decision that fundamentally alters their lives and removes them from a career they have dedicated themselves to.
This lack of agency and the sudden loss of identity and purpose contribute to severe distress, pushing many into a crisis.
The Devastating Link to Veteran Suicide
The royal commission’s findings are stark and deeply concerning. The report establishes a clear and strong connection between medical separations from the ADF and a higher risk of suicide among veterans.
The statistics paint a grim picture. Ex-serving men who were medically separated are nearly three times more likely to die by suicide than the general population. For ex-serving women, the rate is five times higher. This highlights a systemic failure to support members during one of the most vulnerable points in their transition to civilian life.
One former member shared the emotional toll of their discharge, stating, “It’s ruined my life really — in a lot of ways — but I’m still here, so I can be grateful for that. If it wasn’t for my wife and my children, I probably wouldn’t be here. I thought about suicide a lot.”
Commission Demands Urgent Systemic Reforms
The commission heavily criticized the MEC system for its lack of procedural fairness, describing life-altering decisions being made by “faceless bureaucrats” without proper consultation. Members are often left feeling invalidated and abandoned by the very organization they served.
To address these systemic failures, the royal commission has put forward several key recommendations aimed at creating a more supportive and fair process. The goal is to retain skilled personnel and ensure those who can no longer serve are treated with dignity.
- Increase Employment Opportunities: Actively provide roles for members who are medically downgraded but can still serve in non-deployable capacities.
- Enhance Procedural Fairness: Allow members to review all relevant documents and make their case during the MEC Review Board process.
- Maximize Continued Employment: Invest resources in retaining and utilizing the valuable skills of affected members rather than forcing them out.
Wider Impact on Defence Force Readiness
These high rates of medical separation are not just a welfare issue; they are creating a significant recruitment and retention crisis for the ADF. In 2022 alone, roughly a quarter of all separations were for medical reasons.
Over the past two years, more than 80% of all involuntary separations were attributed to medical issues. This continuous loss of skilled and experienced personnel undermines the ADF’s operational efficiency and makes it more difficult to attract new recruits. The report noted a critical gap in the ADF’s failure to formally analyze why so many members are leaving on medical grounds.
Furthermore, the report pointed to inadequate health care and a culture that stigmatizes mental health as root causes. One former member of an elite unit said, “it is very disappointing to see that there was little to no support around mental health, like it was a shameful and almost embarrassing thing to talk about.”
