This was very much the position that we came into when designing the neurocognitive health program for Australia. We knew there was a cohort of veterans out in the community who were suffering from long-term neuropsychiatric and neurological health impacts, as well as other health impacts, that had impacted their family members and their very broad existence. We knew they were very disenfranchised from treatment modalities through the Department of Veterans' Affairs, because those have often been highly unsuccessful.
One key remit was to have an open strategy that allowed them to re-engage with that process without fear of coming into conflict with previous diagnoses, and also to allow a full and open neurocognitive assessment and holistic assessment of their current health status and health needs. One key thing that needs to occur prior to those veterans coming back into those treatment programs is the validation that their condition could be related to the drugs they have taken. An acknowledgement by the Australian government—and now through the findings of the senate inquiry—that it is a tangible and real event that has impacted their lives in a very longitudinal manner is something that is extremely important to re-engage those veterans who have been lost from treatment programs in the past.
I think these are key strategies, and an active outreach program that is very focused on improving overall quality of life, not just making a series of short-term diagnoses and therefore short-term treatment outcomes.