As Australia faces renewed strategic tension and the heightened prospect of conflict abroad, new Flinders University research warns that many veterans and their families - the very people relied upon to protect the nation - are being failed long after their service ends.
New research reveals a troubling picture of how some military veterans end up in the criminal justice system, showing a lifelong pattern of hardship, trauma and missed support that pushes a small but vulnerable group toward incarceration.
The two studies - Forgotten, Invisible, Dangerous: The Experiences of Incarcerated Veterans in Australia and Adversity and Stability: Risk Factors Across the Life Course of Incarcerated Veterans in Australia - together provide the most comprehensive multi‑state qualitative research ever conducted on this hidden cohort.
Lead author and a veteran, Professor Ben Wadham, Director of the Open Door Initiative, says the research shows that hardship for many veterans begins in childhood, intensifies during service, and becomes overwhelming when support systems fail them after discharge.
"Our research tells us that veterans aren't ending up in prison because of who they are, but because of what they've lived through and the support they never received," says Professor Wadham from Flinders Institute for Mental Health & Wellbeing.
"But by addressing the gaps identified in our research, Australia can reduce re offending, improve veteran wellbeing and honour its responsibility to those who have served."
Experts conducted more than 50 in‑depth interviews with veterans across nine prisons in South Australia, New South Wales and Queensland, and found that many incarcerated veterans experienced significant adversity long before they ever put on a uniform.
"Participants spoke openly about growing up in homes marked by violence, abuse, instability and addiction. Many joined the Australian Defence Force (ADF) seeking structure and belonging they lacked growing up, and although service was often positive, many also faced serious harms including bullying, institutional abuse, combat‑related trauma and heavy drinking cultures that encouraged self‑medication," says Professor Wadham.
In many cases, psychological injuries went untreated due to stigma or pressure not to seek help. These service‑related issues often intensified after discharge, leaving veterans increasingly vulnerable once the structure of military life fell away.
The studies reveal that leaving the ADF was often abrupt and poorly supported, with veterans given little more than paperwork and a short timeframe to vacate a base, and no meaningful planning for housing, healthcare, employment or mental wellbeing.
Many did not understand their Department of Veterans' Affairs (DVA) entitlements or doubted they counted as veterans at all, particularly those who never deployed or served for only a short time.
"This loss of identity and community, combined with unaddressed trauma, contributed to spiralling mental‑health challenges, substance use, homelessness and eventual offending," says Professor Wadham.
Inside the criminal justice system, veterans described feeling misunderstood and stereotyped, with many saying their military training was used against them.
Once incarcerated, they often lost access to DVA‑funded healthcare and found prison medical systems ill‑equipped to manage PTSD, chronic pain or complex trauma. Some concealed their veteran status to avoid being targeted by other inmates.
A rare positive finding was the role of custodial officers who were also veterans. These officers provided informal but invaluable support, helping veterans navigate services, manage mental‑health needs and plan for release. Many participants said this was the first time they felt understood inside the system.
Professor Ben Wadham said the findings reveal major gaps requiring urgent national attention.
"These veterans are not inherently dangerous or broken - they are people who have experienced trauma across their lives and were not adequately supported at the moments that mattered," he says.
"If we fail to intervene early and meaningfully, we increase the risk of crisis, offending and re‑offending. This research shows exactly where the system is failing, but also where the solutions lie."
The studies point to clear steps governments can take immediately:
- Introduce consistent national identification of veterans at prison intake
- Ensure continuity of DVA‑funded healthcare inside prisons
- Strengthen ADF transition processes and guarantee warm handovers to support services
- Formalise veteran liaison roles within correctional facilities
- Expand pre‑release programs covering housing, employment, mental‑health care and entitlements
Together, the findings make a strong case for a coordinated, whole‑of‑government approach to supporting veterans before, during and after justice‑system involvement.
