The Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide is a

royal commission A royal commission is a major ad-hoc formal public inquiry into a defined issue in some monarchies. They have been held in the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Norway, Malaysia, Mauritius and Saudi Arabia. In republics an equi ...

established on 8 July 2021 by the

Australian government The Australian Government, also known as the Commonwealth Government or simply as the federal government, is the national executive government of Australia, a federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy. The executive consists of the pr ...

pursuant to the Royal Commissions Act 1902. The

Governor-General Governor-general (plural governors-general), or governor general (plural governors general), is the title of an official, most prominently associated with the British Empire. In the context of the governors-general and former British colonies, ...

, His Excellency

David Hurley David John Hurley (born 26 August 1953) is an Australian former senior officer in the Australian Army who served as the 27th governor-general of Australia from 2019 to 2024. He was previously the 38th governor of New South Wales from 2014 to ...

, issued th
Letters Patent
which established the Royal Commission Under the

Letters Patent Letters patent (plurale tantum, plural form for singular and plural) are a type of legal instrument in the form of a published written order issued by a monarch, President (government title), president or other head of state, generally granti ...

, Nick Kaldas APM, James Douglas KC, and Dr Peggy Brown AO were appointed as Royal Commissioners. They delivered a
interim report
on 11 August 2022. The Letters Patent set out the Royal Commissioners’ terms of reference. They were originally to produce
final report
by 17 June 2024, but it was actually presented on 9 September 2024 to the Governor-General, Her Excellency the Honourable

Sam Mostyn Samantha Joy Mostyn ( ; born 13 September 1965) is an Australian businesswoman and advocate, who has been serving as the 28th governor-general of Australia since 1 July 2024. Mostyn has been an advocate on climate change and gender equality ...

AC. It was tabled in Federal Parliament on the same day. The report made 122 recommendations.

Background

Between 1997 and 2020 there were 1600 known cases of Defence and veteran suicides in Australia. The

Federal Government A federation (also called a federal state) is an entity characterized by a political union, union of partially federated state, self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a #Federal governments, federal government (federalism) ...

resisted calls for the establishment of a

Royal Commission A royal commission is a major ad-hoc formal public inquiry into a defined issue in some monarchies. They have been held in the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Norway, Malaysia, Mauritius and Saudi Arabia. In republics an equi ...

, instead preferring establishing a permanent National Commissioner for veteran suicides. A

National Commissioner for Defence and Veteran Suicide Prevention The National Commissioner for Defence and Veteran Suicide Prevention is a statutory official in Australia, independent of the Government of Australia, established under Australian law. History On 5 February 2020, the Prime Minister of Australia, ...

was established in February 2020. The work of the National Commissioner for Defence and Veteran Suicide Prevention concluded on 15 September 2021. Following increased pressure from members of the public, on 22 March 2021, the motion to support the establishment of the Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide passed both the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

and the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entities. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often ...

. The Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide was established on 8 July 2021 by Letters Patent, pursuant to the Royal Commissions Act 1902. Th
Letters Patent
appointed Nick Kaldas APM, James Douglas KC and Dr Peggy Brown AO as Royal Commissioners.

Powers

The powers of Royal Commissions in Australia are set out in the
Royal Commissions Act 1902 (Cth)
'. After a recommendation in the Interim Report, the Australian Government agreed to make legislative reform to provide stronger and broader protections to those who engage with the Royal Commission. On 30 March 2023, the Government expanded protections with
Royal Commissions Amendment (Enhancing Engagement) Bill 2023
' becoming law. The amended legislation ensures any sensitive, personal or confidential information disclosed to the Commission is protected during and after the life of the inquiry. On 14 September 2023, the ''Royal Commissions Amendment (Private Sessions) Bill 2023'' passed in parliament. The new laws outlined in this bill allow royal commissions to appoint qualified and experienced senior staff members of royal commissions to conduct private sessions, in order to assist in workload. Prior to this, only royal commissioners were able to conduct private sessions, as outlined in the
Royal Commissions Act 1902
'.

Hearings

The Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide commenced its proceedings with
Ceremonial Hearing
in Brisbane on 26 November 2021. In its first two years, the Royal Commission has conducted eleven public hearings in various towns and cities across

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

, including:

Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

Canberra Canberra ( ; ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the Federation of Australia, federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's list of cities in Australia, largest in ...

Townsville The City of Townsville is a city on the north-eastern coast of Queensland, Australia. With a population of 201,313 as of 2024, it is the largest settlement in North Queensland and Northern Australia (specifically, the parts of Australia north of ...

Hobart Hobart ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the island state of Tasmania, Australia. Located in Tasmania's south-east on the estuary of the River Derwent, it is the southernmost capital city in Australia. Despite containing nearly hal ...

, Darwin,

Wagga Wagga Wagga Wagga (; informally called Wagga) is a major regional city in the Riverina region of New South Wales, Australia. Straddling the Murrumbidgee River, with an urban population of more than 57,003 as of 2021, it is an important agricultural, m ...

Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...

, and

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

. Across these hearings, the Commission heard from over 300 witnesses, including: * Lived Experience witnesses – people with direct experience of Defence service, their families, and support people * Professional witnesses – ex-service organisations, academics, mental health professionals * Commonwealth witnesses – high-ranking Defence personnel, Members of Parliament, public servants. The Royal Commission heard evidence about risk and protective factors that are unique to military service, including the role and importance of families,

Australian Defence Force The Australian Defence Force (ADF) is the Armed forces, military organisation responsible for the defence of Australia and its national interests. It consists of three branches: the Royal Australian Navy (RAN), Australian Army and the Royal Aus ...

culture, transition out of the

, delays with Department of Veterans’ Affairs claims, and more.

Reports

Interim report

As outlined by th
Letters Patent
The Royal Commissioners presented th
Interim Report
of the Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide to the

, His Excellency, General the Honourable David Hurley AC DSC (Retd) on 11 August 2022. The Interim Report was tabled in

Parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

on the same day. The Interim Report includes urgent recommendations and information based on the Royal Commission’s work so far. It includes initial findings on suicide prevention and wellbeing, families,

culture, transition, and what might happen after the Royal Commission. In the Interim Report, the Royal Commission mad
13 urgent recommendations
including: * Legislative reform to simplify the veteran compensation and rehabilitation system. * Steps to eliminate the Departments of Veterans’ Affairs claims backlog. * Improving access to information for serving and ex-serving members and their families. * Strengthening protections to help serving members feel more comfortable sharing their stories. * Calling on the

Government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a State (polity), state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive (government), execu ...

to remove the barriers to the Commission’s work caused by

parliamentary privilege Parliamentary privilege is a legal immunity enjoyed by members of certain legislatures, in which legislators are granted protection against civil or criminal liability for actions done or statements made in the course of their legislative duties ...

and public interest immunity. In September 2022, the Government responded to the Interim Report, and outlined changes it would implement based on recommendations made by the Royal Commission.

Final report

On 9 September 2024 the Royal Commission handed down its Final Report. It made 122 recommendations including establishing a new support body to assist defence personnel transition into civilian life.

Submissions

The Royal Commission invited members of the public, organisations, and institutions to share their experiences by making a submission. This included serving and ex-serving Defence personnel, their friends and family, support people, and organisation whose work related to the Royal Commission'
terms of reference
Those who made a submission could remain anonymous. Submissions did not need to relate only to suicide. Submissions could include anything relevant to the Royal Commission's terms of reference. Themes such as military service, trauma, mental health, family support, and more were important to the Royal Commission's inquiry. Submissions opened on 8 July 2021 and closed on 13 October 2023. In that time, the Royal Commission received over 5000 submissions that covered a range of issues that related to the Royal Commission's terms of reference. About 80% of submissions were from serving and ex-serving

personnel, and their families and friends. The five most common themes identified were - * suicide and suicidal behaviour * ADF culture, governance and accountability * mental illness * Department of Veterans' Affairs claims and compensation, and * ADF mental health support and responses. Some submissions have been published on th
Royal Commission's website
with the consent of the author.

References

External links

* of the Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide.
Interim report of the Royal Commission

Final report of the Royal Commission
{{Commonwealth of Australia Royal Commissions, state=autocollapse Commonwealth of Australia royal commissions 2021 establishments in Australia 2021 in Australia Morrison government