Veterans’ MATES Program – 2004-2024
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Veterans’ MATES Program – Update

The Veterans’ MATES Program closed in February 2024 following concerns in the veteran community regarding the program.

The program was a proactive healthcare program focused on preventing adverse health outcomes, such as hospitalisations or unwanted side effects, for veterans who take multiple medications.

DVA recognises the concern about the program in parts of the veteran community and reiterates that the Department takes the privacy of veterans very seriously. 

Data used for the delivery of the program was securely stored on a stand-alone ‘data server’ in Australia. All data used to administer the program has been returned to the Department.

DVA continues to map the operations that took place under the 20-year program and will continue to provide more information as this work progresses.

How was Veterans’ MATES data used?

At all times, Veterans’ MATES operated under ethics approval and formal contractual arrangements, including strict data security provisions.

Throughout the life of the program, information was shared with the University of South Australia (UniSA). The program was suspended in August 2023 and no data was shared with UniSA after that time.

Between 2004 and 2023, Veterans’ MATES data was transferred to UniSA by secure file transfer and then stored in a secure facility.

Most of the information used throughout the program was non-identifiable data for research purposes. Identifiable data was only accessed if researchers determined an individual veteran may be at risk of adverse health outcomes due to their medication use. In these instances, the identifiable data was accessed by a restricted and small number of UniSA staff who held Australian Government Negative Vetting 1, security clearances.

What does this mean for me?

Identifiable information was only used for sending program correspondence and targeted health information to the veteran and the general practitioner who billed the majority of DVA-funded health services for the veteran.

In these instances, the data accessed was limited to the veteran’s name, address and targeted patient feedback for the treating health professional. For example, this may have included prescribed medicines, prescriber details and potential risk factors.

What information was shared as part of the MATES program?

DVA collaborated with UniSA to share the most meaningful data to support the outcomes of the program. Data provided to UniSA included data related to health billing information, including:

  • client demographic data
    • name
    • DVA reference number
    • gender
    • address
    • date of birth
    • client type
    • conflict codes relating to service (e.g. World War 2, the Gulf War)
    • date of death
  • eligibility/claims information including accepted and rejected conditions
  • invoicing information
  • provider information
  • date and item numbers for access to pharmacy (Repatriation Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme and PBS safety net status)
  • date and item numbers for medical and allied health services including doctor visits, radiology, pharmaceutical and pathology claims
  • some details of DVA-funded treatment services outside of card arrangements (e.g. for accepted SRCA conditions prior to the implementation of a white card)
  • date and diagnosis codes of private and public hospital admissions
  • date and item numbers of ambulance and DVA-funded private transport for treatment
  • date and item numbers of DVA health programs provided to the client: Veterans’ Home Care, Coordinated Veterans’ Care, Community Nursing, the Rehabilitation Appliances Program, DVA-funded residential aged care and DVA-funded disability

General (non-DVA funded) Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) or Medicare Benefits Scheme (MBS) data was not used in the delivery of the program. Certain health care items accessed by DVA clients and funded by DVA through the Repatriation Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (RPBS) and Repatriation Medical Fee Schedule (RMFS) use the same item numbers for health billing purposes as MBS and PBS items.

The data did not include detailed clinical information including doctors’ notes, medical records, lab results, or medical diagnoses used directly for treatment.

Did UniSA have any subcontractors that accessed identifiable information?

UniSA engaged a secure mail house, Fujifilm Data Management Solutions Pty Ltd, to manage the correspondence to veterans and their general practitioner when it was identified they may be at risk of adverse health outcomes.

A restricted small number of mail house staff accessed identifiable data from a limited dataset (such as contact information and information contained in patient feedback sent to GPs) for the purposes of mailing the relevant correspondence.

To ensure individuals’ privacy was protected and as part of the contractual agreement, this information was destroyed between six and eight weeks after the mailout occurred.

Who can I contact for further information?

Please contact DVA on 1800 VETERAN (1800 838 372)

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Related DVA information:

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