Shannen Box (left) died by suicide after discharging from the Australian Defence Force.
Data shows 73 serving and former Australian Defence Force members died by suicide in 2023.
Data released Tue 9 Sep 2025 shows 1,840 serving and ex-serving Australian Defence Force members died by suicide between 1997 and 2023.
The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare says veterans face higher rates of suicide than the Australian population.
Analysis shows 86 per cent of ex-serving members who died by suicide had used health services in the year before their death.
Elena Rowland vividly remembers the day she learned her friend and former colleague, Shannen Box, had died by suicide.
“I felt sick. I couldn’t believe it, it didn’t feel real,” she said.
Her 29-year-old friend — who had just bought a house and finished her apprenticeship, and was deeply loved — was gone.
“Nobody knew that she was fighting this internal war, which made it so shocking to everybody when she did die and caused a huge crack in the veteran community and to the people that knew her,” Ms Rowland said.
Shannen had an outstanding claim to have her service-related injuries recognised by the Department of Veterans Affairs at the time of her death. (Supplied)
The pair had met through the Australian Defence Force (ADF) in 2013, when they were posted to a unit at the Enoggera Barracks in Brisbane.
Ms Rowland remembers her as someone who was naturally good at everything. It was why she was admired by bosses, but her friends loved her for a different reason.
“One of the things that made her really special wasn’t what she did or how good she was at everything; it was more like her heart. She had a good heart,” she said.
“She had this beautiful smile; she had this natural aura around her that you could tell that she was really special.”
Shannen discharged from the ADF about five years ago; Ms Rowland believes she struggled with the transition.
“When you join the army, you get this compass, and it’s like your internal guide. It’s got your role, your tribe and your mission — so your job, your mates and your purpose,” Ms Rowland said. “When you get out of the army, not only have you got trauma, you’ve got pain, you’ve lost your mission, you’ve lost your purpose in life, you’ve lost your tribe of mates. “Those things were taken away from Shan and I don’t think she knew how to navigate it properly.”
At the time of her death, Shannen also had an outstanding claim to have her service-related injuries recognised by the Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA); a process that many reported to the royal commission as lengthy, unfair and difficult to navigate.
Difficulty transitioning to civilian life was also an issue frequently raised during the Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide.
Between 1997 and 2023, 1,840 serving and ex-serving ADF members died by suicide.
In the most recent reporting year, preliminary data suggests 73 occurred in 2023.
AIHW’s head of the defence and veterans’ insights unit Paul Pham said veterans faced higher rates of suicide than the Australian population.
ADF member feels like he has been ‘treated like a problem’ after DV attack
A year on from the landmark Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide, ADF members say cultural issues have not been addressed.
The reports focused on ex-serving ADF members who accessed a range of health services between July 2010 and June 2020. It found 86 per cent of those ex-serving members who died by suicide had used health services in the year before their death — one-third of those had a mental health service as the last type of care used.
Veteran Brodie Moore, who was deployed to Afghanistan when he was 18 years old, said one death to suicide is one too many.
“We as a nation owe it to these people that are putting their hand up to serve the nation,” Mr Moore said. He said he saw soldiers he served with face struggles and some “tragically died by suicide”….
Source: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-09-09/australian-defence-force-deaths-by-suicide-data/105734216
