Defence veterans have higher incomes, better employment levels and are more educated than the average Australian, a new report has found.
The latest in a series of research studies by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare on Thursday revealed how veterans and their families cope after separation from the Australian Defence Force.
Drawing on 2016 Census data, the report's authors say it's the first time they have been able to measure veteran's education, income, social support and employment levels.
The findings presented a "largely positive picture" for the 72,000 veterans who served from 2001 and left the military by December 2015, research spokesperson Caitlin Szigetvari said.
But the research also confirmed several distinct groups of "vulnerable" veterans who did not fare so well, especially those forced into retirement on medical grounds.
"Those who separated from the ADF involuntarily for medical reasons experienced wellbeing challenges such as higher unemployment rates, had lower levels of education qualifications, and were receiving lower incomes," Ms Szigetvari said.
Veterans who served for shorter periods also faced more challenges adjusting to life after service, as did many ex-navy personnel who did not cope as well as their peers in the army and air force.
The report found these groups also generally had less higher education qualifications than the average veteran.
Ex-navy males held the lowest number of bachelor degrees, at 17 per cent, compared to male counterparts from the army (26 per cent) and 27 per cent of male air force veterans.
Working in partnership with the Department of Veterans' Affairs, the report includes comprehensive data on female veterans for the first time.
The report found female veterans were significantly better educated than male peers, with 38 per cent reporting a university qualification.
That compared to 25 per cent of males veterans who had a bachelor degree or higher, which was only marginally higher than the Australian male rate of 22 per cent.
Female veterans were also 1.4 times more likely to have a higher education than the 26 per cent of university-educated women in the general Australian population.
Despite significantly higher education levels among female veterans, males still earned more, but both genders outperformed the general Australian population in 2016.
More than seven in 10 (76 per cent) of male veterans and six in 10 (60 per cent) female veterans earned $800 a week or more. This was 1.5-times higher than the average Australian male income and 1.8-times the Australian female average.
Veterans also had lower levels of unemployment in 2016 than the Australian population, at 4.9 per cent for males veterans and 4.5 per cent for female veterans.
At the time the unemployment rates for males was 6.6 per cent and 6.3 per cent for females.
Ms Szigetvari said while education levels were an important factor to successfully transition to civilian life, there were unique stresses for veterans, many of whom had been exposed to some form of trauma.
They also had increased physical and mental risks and some were challenged just coping with "every day living" as they tried to re-integrate into society.
Another report measuring veteran wellbeing is expected within the next 12 months, based on 2021 Census data.
The institute's landmark report on suicide rates among veterans, released in September 2021, has proved critical to the Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide.
The commission published an interim report in August calling for urgent changes to support mechanisms for veterans and their families.
It found 1273 former and serving defence personnel had taken their lives since 2001, a dramatically higher suicide rate than previously recorded.
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