Mental health warnings
PRIVACY rules might have to be relaxed to ensure doctors and psychologists can alert Defence if servicemen and women they are treating could pose a risk to themselves or their colleagues, an independent Defence watchdog has warned.
Inspector-General of the Australian Defence Force Geoff Earley has raised concerns about the inability of some health professionals to provide information to Defence authorities. He said in some cases this had “resulted in the possibility of additional risk of adverse outcomes for the member concerned, or those around him or her.
“This possibility has particular resonance ... concerning the members’ fitness to handle weapons.’’