Dr Charana Perera is a highly experienced Consultant Psychiatrist and the Founder of March Ahead, a specialist service providing independent psychiatric assessments for veterans. With a strong commitment to clinical excellence and impartiality, he leads a team dedicated to delivering objective, evidence-based psychiatric evaluations for Department of Veterans’ Affairs (DVA) claims and medico-legal reporting.
Dr Perera has five years of specialist experience in general adult psychiatry, with expertise in trauma-related disorders, veterans’ mental health, and medico-legal psychiatry. His professional background includes perinatal and women’s mental health, reflecting a broad and nuanced understanding of psychiatric conditions across diverse populations. Having served in the Royal Australian Army, Dr Perera possesses first-hand insight into the psychological challenges faced by veterans. His military experience enables him to approach psychiatric assessments with a deep understanding of service-related mental health conditions, including PTSD, depression, anxiety, adjustment disorders, and neuropsychiatric conditions linked to mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI). This background allows him to assess complex cases with both clinical accuracy and contextual awareness, ensuring a fair and balanced evaluation for medico-legal purposes.
At March Ahead, Dr Perera ensures that all psychiatric assessments are conducted with the highest professional and ethical standards, adhering to the guidelines set by AHPRA, RANZCP, and DVA requirements. His role involves conducting independent psychiatric evaluations for veterans seeking compensation through DVA claims, ensuring that assessments are thorough, objective, and clinically robust. As the lead psychiatrist, he oversees a team of specialist psychiatrists and clinical psychologists, maintaining a rigorous and impartial assessment process to uphold the integrity of each evaluation. In addition to his clinical work, Dr Perera remains actively engaged in veteran mental health research, advocating for best-practice approaches in psychiatric evaluations to enhance the quality and accuracy of assessments in the medico-legal field.
Dr Perera is actively involved in veteran-oriented research and collaborates with Gallipoli Medical Research to advance the understanding of mental health conditions affecting veterans. His research focuses on the long-term psychological impact of service-related trauma, mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI), and the effectiveness of treatment approaches tailored for veterans. His contributions aim to bridge the gap between clinical practice, research, and policy development to enhance mental health outcomes for former service members.
He is also engaged in education, professional development, and industry collaboration, hosting peer discussions, medico-legal training, and research initiatives to enhance the field of military psychiatry and medico-legal assessments.
Beyond his professional work, Dr Perera is dedicated to promoting veteran wellbeing through research, community engagement, and sponsorship initiatives. He is currently developing a veteran mental health retreat, focusing on holistic rehabilitation, social reintegration, and structured psychiatric care for veterans, particularly female veterans.
As the driving force behind March Ahead, Dr Perera remains committed to ensuring that veterans receive thorough, independent, and clinically robust psychiatric assessments, reinforcing the service’s reputation for professional integrity and excellence in the medico-legal field.
