Associate Professor Charana Perera Ingiriya Arachchige

Associate Professor Charana Perera MBBS, FRANZCP

Consultant Psychiatrist | Academic | Veteran Mental Health Specialist

Associate Professor Charana Perera is a Consultant Psychiatrist and academic whose clinical and research career has been defined by a sustained commitment to improving the mental health and wellbeing of Australian Defence Force personnel, veterans, and their families. He holds Fellowship with the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists (FRANZCP) and brings extensive expertise in general adult psychiatry, with a specific focus on military trauma, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), moral injury, and complex comorbid presentations frequently seen in veteran populations.

Clinical Practice

Dr Perera currently provides clinical care at the Keith Payne Unit (KPU), located at Greenslopes Private Hospital in Brisbane—Australia’s leading veteran mental health inpatient facility. The KPU is purpose-designed for entitled veterans and war widows and offers comprehensive mental health care, including diagnostic assessment, trauma recovery, inpatient stabilisation, and evidence-based therapeutic programs. Dr Perera is involved in the multidisciplinary delivery of care, including pharmacotherapy, trauma-focused psychotherapies, and management of comorbid conditions such as substance use disorders.

He also provides outpatient psychiatric care through Pine Rivers Private Hospital and Brain & Mind Hub, where he sees a broad spectrum of patients, with a continued clinical emphasis on military and first responder populations.

In addition, he is the Founer and Clinical Director of March Ahead, an independent psychiatric assessment service with a focus on DVA claims, permanent impairment evaluations, and medico-legal opinions. His practice is grounded in ethical, impartial, and evidence-based evaluation, and he is recognised for his ability to articulate complex psychiatric conditions within a medico-legal framework.

Academic and Research Engagement

Associate Professor Perera holds an academic title at Flinders University, where he contributes to the teaching and supervision of postgraduate psychiatry and psychology trainees. He has an active interest in improving cultural competency among psychiatrists working with veteran patients, with a focus on understanding military culture, service-related exposures, and the intersection between psychiatric morbidity and psychosocial functioning in transition and post-service life.

He is currently involved in collaborative veteran-oriented research projects with the Gallipoli Medical Research Foundation (GMRF), with a focus on service-related PTSD, comorbid medical and psychiatric burden, and treatment innovation. His research also examines barriers to mental health access among veterans and the development of models that integrate clinical psychiatry with policy-relevant outcomes.