The next census could include a question on military service to gain a better understanding of the veterans community.
That's one of the outcomes of a meeting between Veterans Affairs Minister Dan Tehan and state and territory ministers to improve co-ordination on matters affecting ex-service personnel, including collecting better data on suicide, incarceration and homelessness.
"We need to work to make sure we are better co-ordinating the services we provide for our veterans," Mr Tehan said in Canberra on Friday.
Among the measures, states and territories will work with the commonwealth on standardised indicators of military service for data on suicide and homelessness.
The ministers will pursue inclusion of a military service-related question in the next census to improve understanding of the veterans community.
Suicide by veterans and ex-service personnel is claimed to be high, with one media report saying more had died so far this year than in more than a decade in Afghanistan.
Defence knows how many uniformed personnel have committed suicide - 118 since 2000 - but there's no reliable data on suicide by those who've left the services.
That changes next week, with the release of an interim study by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare which matches data on inquest reports and service records. The final report will be released in 2017.
Mr Tehan said indications at this stage were that the suicide rate for serving personnel was lower than in the general community while the rate for ex-service personnel was slightly higher.
NSW Veteran Affairs Minister David Elliott said veterans in 2016 could not be treated the same way Vietnam War veterans were treated 40 years ago.
Mr Elliott said there were challenges ahead but no former Defence member should need to resort to crime or be without a home.
"It is embarrassing for a country like Australia to think that there is no homeless veteran," he said.
Readers seeking support and information about suicide prevention can contact Lifeline on 13 11 14.
