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MINISTERIAL BRIEF
- To:
- Hon. Matt Keogh MP
- From:
- SOUDCOH · Program Lead
- Reference:
- MIN-2026-014
- Date:
- 19 May 2026
- Subject:
- AHRC Military Sexual Trauma Prevalence Survey 2026
Recommendation
That the Minister note the progress of Wave 2 fieldwork and approve the public release of the interim methodology paper attached at Annex A.
Key Issues
- Sentinel has received 28 verified responses across 24 active cohorts, with a national completion rate of 61.8% (+1.4 pp on Wave 1).
- Disclosure prevalence is trending consistently with the 2024 baseline (refer Trends, p.3). Reserve and Civilian Defence Staff cohorts continue to lag in coverage.
- Support referral throughput sits at 3212 (30-day), within Open Arms' agreed capacity envelope.
- No PROTECTED-level data loss, integrity, or availability incident has occurred in the reporting period.
Background
The AHRC Military Sexual Trauma Prevalence Survey 2026 is delivered by SOUDCOH under instrument of engagement from the Australian Human Rights Commission, with assurance arrangements through Defence People Group. Sentinel is the accredited PROTECTED-level platform of record.
Sensitivities
Cohort-level results below n<30 must not be released externally. Press handling lines have been pre-cleared with the Department's Media Operations branch.