Australian veterans report calls for 13 "urgent" recommendations
The Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide has handed down its report, calling for 13 "urgent" recommendations to be made.
The Albanese government says it will look to implement all recommendations, which include an urgent elimination of the backlog of compensation claims for veterans.
The report comes after nine months of hearings across the country, which detailed abuse at all ranks of the service.
Commissioners heard that the Australian Defence Force (ADF) was not doing enough to address suicides and accounts of ex‑personnel who said they were left suffering from anxiety and panic attacks due to lack of resources.
Chair Nick Kaldas and commissioners James Douglas and Peggy Brown said the prevalence of suicide and mental health issues among serving and ex-serving ADF members was something “that should concern us all”.
Among the recommendations, the government has been told to simplify veteran compensation and rehabilitation laws, eliminate the claims backlog and improve administration of the scheme.
Another key recommendation is that people who engage with the royal commission should have increased protections.
Veterans’ Affairs and Defence Personnel Minister Matt Keogh said the Albanese government had only seen the “confronting” report 15 minutes before it was publicly released and would go through the recommendations in detail, while working to see how the recommendations can be implemented effectively.
“Unfortunately, the rate of veteran suicide in Australia is a national tragedy … It is devastating that Australia has lost more serving and former personnel from suicide than it has lost through operations over the last 10 years,” Mr Keogh said.
“We recognise the importance and the significance of this report.”
The 13 urgent recommendations include:
- Simplify and harmonise veteran compensation and rehabilitation legislation
- Eliminate the claims backlog
- Improve the administration of the claims system
- The Department of Veterans' Affairs to provide advice on its funding needs
- Remove the Department of Veterans' Affairs Staffing Level Cap
- Increase protections for persons engaging in this Royal Commission
- Provide exemption from parliamentary privilege
- Limit public interest immunity claims
- Improve administrative release of information
- Co-design information to increase awareness of redactions for access requests
- Embed trauma-informed practices for information access
- Encourage up-to-date consent for information access
- Co-design education on information access mechanisms
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