With less than three months left of the Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide, I’m sure many people in the Defence and veteran community are concerned about what comes next.
My fellow Commissioners and I will make robust, evidence-based findings and recommendations as part of our Final Report in September. The rest will be up to Government. Still, when I look at where we are now compared to when we started our inquiry three years ago, I am optimistic this Royal Commission will lead to real, meaningful change.
Across 12 public hearings, starting in Brisbane in November 2021 and concluding in Sydney in March this year, we heard evidence from 346 witnesses. Many of them spoke about their experiences of life in our Navy, Army and Air Force – and how aspects of their service have impacted their health and wellbeing.
We have also completed some 900 private sessions with serving and ex-serving ADF members, and their loved ones, who have been touched by military suicide and suicidality, to hear their deeply personal stories.
And we received 5,889 submissions from interested individuals and organisations keen to shed light on the many complex cultural and systemic issues across the veteran ecosystem that are failing past and present Defence personnel, and their families – and which are contributing to what is a national tragedy.
To honour all those with lived experience who courageously came forward to share their insights with this Royal Commission, we recently submitted to the Governor-General a special book, Shining A Light: Stories of Trauma & Tragedy, Hope & Healing by Patrick Lindsay. We hope the book will lead to a greater understanding of the unique sacrifices made by those who defend our country. The Government will decide when to release it publicly.
When the former Government was considering whether to establish a Royal Commission, there were many in the Defence establishment who didn’t believe it was necessary. The ADF leadership did not believe the issue of military suicides was relevant to them.
Through submissions, private sessions and public hearings we have consistently heard how the institutions are failing serving and ex-serving ADF personnel. The bottom line is: the problems are now undeniable and those in charge must act with urgency to turn the tide on military suicide.
During our final public hearing block in March, the Chief of Defence and the Chiefs of Navy, Army and Air Force finally accepted there is a link between service experience and suicide and suicidality. This is something that has previously been dismissed by Defence.
We also heard a strong commitment from Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence Richard Marles to act on “the thrust” of what we recommend in our Final Report. “History will be our judge”, he said. That gave us cause for hope that Government is serious about tackling the suicide crisis in our military community.
There has been significant media coverage recently about the ADF’s retention and recruitment challenges. We have heard a lot of evidence about abuse, bullying, harassment, sexual misconduct and other unacceptable behaviour in the Defence Force that often goes unaddressed. Sometimes victims are re-traumatised when they report the behaviour.
Fixing the cultural and systemic issues we’ve identified will establish the ADF as an ‘employer of choice’ at a time of geopolitical uncertainty when Defence needs to be attracting the right people, in the right numbers. It will help stop the revolving door of employee turnover that poses a real risk to Australia’s defence capability.
When it comes to DVA, there has been some positive progress off the back of our Interim Report. Government has taken steps to address the backlog of compensation claims and to simplify the legislation governing veterans’ entitlements.
We’re pleased the Government will soon be introducing a bill (the Veterans’ Entitlements, Treatment and Support (Simplification and Harmonisation) Bill 2024) to consolidate the four pieces of legislation into one. This will make it easier for veterans to know what payments they are entitled to.
However, there is still need for improvement, on issues such as the way DVA engages with veterans and their families, and the determination of claims within agreed timeframes. We will be watching this space closely as we develop our recommendations in this area.
We believe transformational change is needed to address Defence and veteran suicide once and for all. Multiple reviews and inquiries have preceded this Royal Commission; however, suicide rates have not come down and the senseless loss of life continues today.
That’s why we believe there needs to be an independent new entity to pick up where we leave off. This body would provide oversight of all elements of the Defence and veteran landscape and monitor the implementation of our recommendations, and, most importantly, it would report publicly on the progress of reforms.
I sincerely hope Government takes this opportunity to show it is committed to addressing suicide in the military and veteran community on an ongoing basis.
I want to thank Soldier On for the vital work it does to support veterans. Soldier On, and the broader ESO sector, have a significant role to play to maintain support for the Defence and veteran community once this Royal Commission has handed over its Final Report and comes to a close.
The recommendations we will make in our Final Report, due on 9 September, will help drive improved health and wellbeing outcomes for serving and ex-serving personnel, and their families – and, in turn, build a stronger, more resilient and psychologically-safe Defence Force to meet Australia’s future security capability requirements.
