Introduction
Background Over recent years, it has become evident that the typical profile of Ex-Services Organisation (ESO) sector clients has been changing. It is clear that ESOs need to adapt their services and support to enable needs-based, client-centric and meaningful provision of services to the current and future generations of veterans. The change in profile of ESO clients is due to the simultaneous decline in the size of the Second World War veteran segment, and the increasing proportion of younger veterans transitioning from the Australian Defence Force (ADF)2. Department of Veterans’ Affairs (DVA) statistics for the positive and negative growth of their treatment populations are illustrated in Figure 1.
A key challenge for ESOs will be the transition to client-directed services
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The segments within the younger veteran client population are no longer neatly defined, unlike the historical status quo within the sector. The historical veteran was typically a male, the family was typically a female spouse and children, and client needs were typically focussed on health or social services3. The younger veteran demographic still has clients with these support requirements, but most of their needs relate to post-ADF employment and their families4. ESOs must adapt. A key challenge for ESOs will be to become clientdirected organisations to provide the most effective experience for all clients before, during, and after they need support from an ESO within the sector. The requirement for the ESO sector to adapt is being enabled by the Commonwealth Government’s Supporting Younger Veterans (SYV) Grants Program. This program provides funding to ESOs to encourage partnerships that will deliver innovative and sustainable services for younger veterans, and build community capacity to meet the needs of this group5. The grants will also help raise awareness of the issues faced by younger veterans. The SYV Grants Program generously funded Melbourne Legacy to conduct this Victorian ESO Mapping Project.