Defence Health

Evaluation of the PTSD Coach Australia mobile phone application

For more information see Evaluation of the PTSD Coach Australia mobile phone application

The RESTORE Trial

Serving members that may have developed PTSD during or after their military service may be able to participate in a new clinical treatment trial known as the RESTORE Trial - Rapid Exposure Supporting Trauma Recovery.

The RESTORE Trial is investigating one of the most effective treatments for PTSD - known as Prolonged Exposure (PE). Prolonged Exposure therapy is a gold standard evidence-based treatment best described as a type of trauma - focused cognitive behavioural therapy.

The trial is being held in Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne.

For more information visit the RESTORE page.

Cadets now have access to the Employee Assistance Program

ADF Cadets now have access to the Employee Assistance Program (EAP). EAP provides free, confidential and professional counselling to help people resolve problems that may impact their life. For more information see For Cadets

JHC Annual Review 2016-17

The annual performance review for health services provided to ADF personnel highlighting the significant progress made in delivering high quality healthcare during the reporting period

The Annual Review 2016-17 is available via this link

The Australian Gulf War Veterans’ Follow Up Health Study 2015

The findings of the Australian Gulf War Veterans’ Follow Up Health Study 2015 have been released and can be found on the DVA Website. The study is a follow up to the original Australian Gulf War Veterans’ Health Study 2003, also commissioned by DVA, to assess Gulf War veterans’ health and wellbeing 20 years after deployment.

Health Information Privacy in Defence

On 12 March 2014 changes to the Privacy Act 1988 took effect. These changes replace the Information Privacy Principles (IPP) with 13 Australian Privacy Principles (APP), which govern the way agencies collect, store, use and disclose personal information. As an agency, Defence must comply with the APP. Health information is considered to be sensitive personal information, and has additional protections under the Privacy Act.

The Joint Health Command (JHC) Privacy Statement explains how the personal health information of Defence members is collected, managed and used by Defence. See the following PDF or Word documents:

• JHC Privacy Statement—Health Information of Defence members (PDF)
• JHC Privacy Statement—Health Information of Defence members (Word)

For further information visit the Defence information privacy site or email the Defence privacy officer on defence.privacy@defence.gov.au.

ADF Family Health News

Participating ADF families are now able to lodge manual claims via the new Online Claiming functionality. For more details visit ‘How to Claim’.

RADM Walker has launched the Strategic Intent for Joint Health Command for 2013-15 (PDF). The Strategic Intent informs JHC planning, performance and governance over the next two years.