Melissa Bakhurst Biography
Dr Melissa Bakhurst completed her PhD in Psychology in 2016, specialising in Defence and veteran couple and family relationships. Dr Bakhurst has since worked in mental health research and policy at the Department of Defence, Department of Veterans’ Affairs, and the ACT Education Directorate.
Matt Bambling Biography
Clinical Psychologist | Defence Mental Health Specialist | Moral Injury Researcher
Professor (Ret.) Matthew Bambling is a senior clinical psychologist and retired academic with more than 30 years of experience spanning clinical practice, research, and leadership in both military and civilian settings. He currently holds adjunct professorial appointments at the University of Queensland and ACAP, and maintains an active clinical practice, including ongoing consultancy with the Australian Defence Force, where he also serves as a RAAF Specialist Reserve psychologist.
Professor Bamblings career has focused on the treatment of mood disorders, trauma, and moral injury, with over 8,000 hours of direct clinical care for clients with complex presentations. His research has significantly influenced the understanding and treatment of complex mood disorders, moral injury, clinical supervision, and therapeutic alliance. He has published extensively in high-impact journals, including Nature, contributing to both theoretical development and frontline application in mental health.
A former Head of School of Psychology and Director of postgraduate mental health programs, Professor Bambling has led major clinical trials investigating novel treatments for depression and anxiety. He has supervised over 20 PhD students and contributed to national policy and training reforms in psychological healthcare. His recent work focuses on the integration of trauma-informed, existential, and spiritually attuned approaches to moral injury, particularly in military and veteran populations. Professor Bambling continues to shape the field through his integration of psychodynamic, cognitive, and biopsychosocial-spiritual frameworks in research, clinical practice, and training, and is a recognised authority on moral repair and mental health systems reform.
Lindsay Carey Biography
Mark Francis Biography
He joined the Army Reserve at university and became an Infantry officer, training soldiers from varied backgrounds in almost every role in an infantry battalion. He rose to command Sydney University Regiment which focussed on training both soldiers and commissioning officers in tactics and leadership. He then instructed at the Army Command and Staff College, Queenscliff in tactics and military history, and on further promotion became a senior staff officer in Army HQ in Personnel dealing with leadership and emerging issues.
Concurrently, he is a Chartered Accountant (but please don’t hold that against him!) and a company director with extensive experience in the Not-For-Profit finance and project sector. He has held various senior corporate roles including CEO, CFO, COO, strategic planning, and strategic change management, with over 40 years’ experience in these fields. Mark is married to Hazel, and together they have two daughters.
Daniel Hynes Biography
Senior Chaplain Dan Hynes has dedicated over 40 years to the Commonwealth Navy. Born in Ontario, Canada, he began his naval career in the Royal Canadian Navy, spending 14 years in various sea and shore roles before transferring to the Royal Australian Navy. He completed Principal Warfare Officer training and held key positions, including Executive Officer of HMAS STIRLING.
Answering a call to ministry, Dan trained as a chaplain and was ordained in 2009. His chaplaincy assignments have taken him aboard multiple HMA Ships, and he later served as the Australian Defence Force Director of Spiritual Health and Wellbeing within Joint Health Command, along with other senior chaplaincy leadership roles across the ADF. Dan retired from full-time service in 2026.
Dan’s academic contributions include a completed Master of Ministry thesis, a peer-reviewed publication, and presentations at national forums. He is currently a PhD candidate at Charles Sturt University, where his research focuses on the intergenerational effects of moral injury in defence families and the role of chaplaincy in moral repair.
Dan and his wife, Mandy, recently celebrated 40 years of marriage and have two sons and two grandchildren.
Ants Hawes Biography
On retiring from the Defence Force, Ants was asked to take up the role on NZ Police Coordinating Chaplain (the head of the NZ Police Chaplains) a position he still holds.
Mark Layson Biography
Andrew Nixon Biography
Andrew Nixon commenced with DVA in 2025 to lead the Chaplaincy Program. He is a veteran, serving as a Naval Officer from 1989 to 2001 where he specialised in warfare and leadership training. He had the privilege to work with warfare officers, combat system operators, submariners, and clearance divers, but a highlight was preparing future Leading Seamen and Petty Officers to lead.
He transferred to the reserve force in 2002 to train and work in full-time ordained ministry. He had the opportunity to transfer to the Navy Chaplaincy Branch in 2011 where he continues to serve as a reserve Senior Chaplain.
Dr Victoria Thomas Biography
Victoria has also recently completed a clinical PhD at the Australian National University. Her academic research explores the construct of moral injury outside the military context, with a focus on scale construction efforts to capture moral injury experiences in occupational settings. Her work has been published internationally in peer-reviewed journals.