In the week of Vietnam Veterans’ Day, Minister for Veterans’ Affairs Alan Griffin announced that key target participant numbers have been achieved to commence a study into the long term effects of war service on Vietnam veterans’ families.

“More than 13,000 randomly selected Vietnam veterans, Vietnam-era Army personnel who did not deploy to Vietnam, and their respective children have registered to participate in an intergenerational study to examine the long term effects of the Vietnam War and examine what health differences can be attributed to war service,” Mr Griffin said. “These are the key groups that were required to take part in sufficient numbers to make the study scientifically robust. Additional partners, siblings, nieces, nephews and other family members of Vietnam veterans and Vietnam-era Army personnel have also registered to provide information to the study."

"The impact of service in Vietnam, beyond veterans to the impact on their loved ones, has been a concern for many years. This study will help us to better understand what those impacts are and what action should be taken to assist those who need help. It will also help us to understand any issues resulting from more recent deployments and the implications for the families of the veterans of today and tomorrow. There are a number of components to the study. Work has already commenced on some projects and we can now be confident the overall study can be successfully conducted.”

An independent scientific advisory committee, chaired by Professor Bryan Rodgers, will ensure the research component of the study is undertaken in a sound scientific manner. Additionally, an independent consultative forum consisting of representatives from ex-service organisations will ensure the veteran community perspective is provided. Registrations are still open to participate in the study.