Familiar structure
Set sessions, clear goals and a team. A rhythm that feels like home.
Who we help / Veterans
Veterans and their families
You trained for the fight. This is for after.
Leaving the Australian Defence Force means leaving a routine, a mission and a team. Many veterans thrive. Some find the transition hard. Through The Ropes offers what service life gave you: discipline, physical challenge and people who have your back.
By the numbers
Veterans in Australia.
- 581,139Australians have served, or are serving, in the ADF (Census 2021)Source: ABS, Service with the Australian Defence Force: Census, 2021
- 496,276of them have left the ADFSource: ABS, Service with the Australian Defence Force: Census, 2021
- 1,907serving and ex-serving members died by suicide between 1997 and 2024Source: AIHW, Serving and ex-serving ADF members: suicide monitoring 2026, media release
- 24%higher: the suicide rate of ex-serving men compared with Australian men, after adjusting for ageSource: AIHW, Serving and ex-serving ADF members: suicide monitoring 2026, media release
The picture
Why transition matters.
Behind the numbers
Most veterans do well. Some need a crew.
More than half a million Australians have served in the Australian Defence Force, and 5.3% of households include someone who has. Most veterans transition well. For some, losing the routine, the purpose and the team is harder than any deployment.
The Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide delivered its final report in September 2024 with 122 recommendations. The latest monitoring shows suicide rates among ex-serving members are generally declining, but remain higher than for other Australians.
Veterans' families serve too. Programmes should welcome partners and children wherever they can.
How Through The Ropes can help
Mission, team, routine.
Physical challenge with purpose
Hard training, built for every body, including service injuries.
Mates who get it
Cohorts and mentors who understand service and transition.
Linked to veteran services
We'll work with Open Arms, ex-service organisations and veteran wellbeing centres, and refer people to them.
Potential for impact
What the evidence says.
- Exercise eases depression. A 2024 BMJ review of 218 trials with over 14,000 people found exercise reduced depression, with more vigorous exercise doing better. Many of the trials were small or at risk of bias, so the certainty is rated low, but the direction is consistent.Source: Noetel et al. (2024), Effect of exercise for depression: systematic review and network meta-analysis, BMJ
- Boxing and mental health. A scoping review of non-contact boxing found reports of less anxiety and depression and better mood and self-esteem. The authors call the evidence early and promising, not proven.Source: Bozdarov et al. (2023), Boxing as an intervention in mental health: a scoping review, American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine
Honest about what we know. Research on sport and adventure programmes for veterans suggests benefits for wellbeing and connection, but most studies are small. We'd design any veteran cohort with ex-service organisations, and measure what changes.
What we will measure with every cohort, and publish:
- Who starts, who finishes, and why people leave early
- Wellbeing and mood at week 1, week 10 and three months later, using a standard validated scale
- Fitness and attendance: sessions completed out of thirty
- Next steps at three and six months: work, study, training, sport, housing
- Connection and wellbeing, measured with ex-service partners
Ex-service organisation?
Refer a veteran, or talk to us about a cohort for your members.
Sources
- ABS, Service with the Australian Defence Force: Census, 2021
- AIHW, Serving and ex-serving ADF members: suicide monitoring 2026, media release
- AIHW, Serving and ex-serving ADF members: suicide monitoring 2026, summary
- Noetel et al. (2024), Effect of exercise for depression: systematic review and network meta-analysis, BMJ
- Bozdarov et al. (2023), Boxing as an intervention in mental health: a scoping review, American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine
Figures are the latest published at the time of writing (October 2026). Back to Who we help.