The Minister for Veterans' Affairs, De-Anne Kelly, today announced the final results of a three part study into the health of Australian veterans of the Korean War. Mrs Kelly said that the suite of three studies was a major investigation of health in the Australian veteran population and one of the most comprehensive studies ever conducted on a specific veteran group.

"The aim of this study was to compare the health of Australian veterans of the Korean War with the health of similarly aged Australian men who did not serve," Mrs Kelly said.

The health studies: Cancer Incidence Study 2003 Australian veterans of the Korean War, the Mortality Study 2003: Australian veterans of the Korean War and the most recent, Health Study 2005, were commissioned by the Department of Veterans' Affairs and conducted by a Monash University research team. A Scientific Advisory Committee and a Consultative Committee comprising representatives from ex-service organisations assisted this team.

The study showed that veterans have a lower standard of health than men who did not serve.

"The Australian Government has already recognised the health issues faced by these veterans by granting the Repatriation Gold Card to Korean War veterans who are more than 70 years of age," she said. Mrs Kelly said all veterans, including those from the Korean War, have access to a wide range of health and well-being programs run by the Department of Veterans' Affairs. "These programs include health education, intervention and counselling, as well as programs for tobacco and alcohol misuse," she said.

Mrs Kelly said it is important to honour Australian veterans of the Korean War. "The Korean War Nominal Roll was released in July and the online nominal roll commemorates more than 17,000 Australian men and women who served in the defence of South Korea," she said.

The study can be found at www.dva.gov.au