Invictus Australia Establishes Cross-Sector Advisory Group to Guide Veteran Community Sport Knowledge Hub  

Invictus Australia has announced the establishment of a cross-sector advisory group to support the co-design of the Veteran Sport Knowledge, Translation and Implementation Hub – a global initiative focused on strengthening and translating the evidence that underpins the value of sport for members of the defence community. 

Bringing together subject matter experts from the Department of Veterans’ Affairs (DVA), the defence research industry, academia and the veteran community, the advisory group will help amplify the value of sport for the defence community, inclusive of current and former serving veterans and their families. The Hub will act as a sector-wide mechanism to consolidate existing knowledge and ensure it is translated and operationalised into policy, program design and service delivery across the veteran community support system.  

The need for knowledge translation  

Over recent years, a substantial body of national and international research has demonstrated the contribution that sport and physical activity can make to veteran and family wellbeing, particularly in relation to transition, identity, social connection, and mental and physical health. However, effective knowledge translation is critical to embedding evidence where it can drive consistent, preventative and system level change, strengthening collaboration and improving outcomes for veterans and their families.  

The Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide underscored that improving outcomes in these areas requires prevention focused, collaborative approaches that move beyond isolated programs and fragmented evidence. In this context, Invictus Australia has prioritised the consolidation, synthesis and translation of evidence rather than research duplication, to ensure it is actively used to inform policy, investment, program design and service delivery across the defence and veteran support system.  

Read more about Invictus Australia’s research work here.

Connecting Knowledge Communities  

Building on their longstanding partnership with the Department of Veterans’ Affairs, Invictus Australia is working collaboratively to address a clear gap across the sector, turning what is already known into what people can actually use. DVA is represented on the advisory group by Associate Professor Jonathan Lane, the department’s Chief Psychiatrist, whose leadership in mental health and clinical research expertise helps inform the Hub’s evidence translation work. 

The development of this advisory group brings Government, researchers, the sport sector and the veteran community into closer conversation, sharing insights, experience and evidence so the value of sport isn’t lost between organisations or disciplines. Connecting these knowledge communities helps ensure the benefits of sport and physical activity are better understood, more consistently applied and more effectively embedded to support veterans and their families.  

Developing a knowledge hub  

The advisory group will guide the design, validation and implementation of a global veteran community sport knowledge hub, ensuring the work remains rigorous, relevant and practically applicable.  

Neil Burgin, Invictus Australia’s Director of Strategy and Research, is leading the development of this Hub and driving its translation capabilities. He is supported by Research Strategy Advisor Assoc. Professor Miranda Van Hooff, a leading academic and industry expert with extensive experience in military and veteran mental health research and implementation. Together, with consultation of the broader advisory group, they are focused on ensuring the Hub goes beyond consolidating knowledge and delivers meaningful, real-world impact.  

There is already a substantial and credible evidence base demonstrating the role sport can play in supporting veterans and their families, Our focus now is on ensuring that evidence drives decision-making. By working collaboratively across sectors, we can translate existing research into policy, programs and practice that deliver sustained, system-level outcomes for the defence community.”

NEIL BURGIN

DIRECTOR OF STRAtEGY AND RESEARCH, INVICTUS AUSTRALIA

The establishment of the Veteran Sport Knowledge Translation and Implementation Hub marks a deliberate shift from evidence generation to embedded implementation, positioning sport as a recognised and integrated contributor to long-term veteran and family wellbeing.  

The formation of this advisory group is the first step in that shift by bringing the right expertise into the conversation to ensure the Hub is shaped by evidence, experience and sector-wide collaboration from the outset. 

Learn more:

• Invictus Australia’s Research Agenda
• Defence Community Sport Research Register
• Invictus Australia’s Foundational Research
• National-first partnership unites UNSW Canberra and Invictus Australia to support veteran wellbeing through a shared commitment to education, research and sport