Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide release interim report, 13 recommendations
A mother who lost her son to suicide after a 20-year Navy career has commented on failings highlighted in the Royal Commission’s interim report.
Townsville
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A MOTHER who lost her son to suicide after a 20-year Navy career has called for all outstanding claims before the Department of Veterans’ Affairs to be accepted immediately.
Julie-Ann Finney’s call to action comes after 13 urgent recommendations were released in an interim report for the Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide.
Ms Finney, who was instrumental in campaigning for a royal commission after her son David died by suicide in 2019, was present during the commission’s nine-day public hearings in Townsville this year.
The commission has given the Department of Veterans’ Affairs (DVA) until March 31, 2024 to eliminate the backlog of 42,000 claims, but Ms Finney said that more needed to be done immediately for veterans.
“Veterans have waited so long, and most claims are not fraudulent and will be accepted, so just accept them all and use (extra staff) to go back through after the event,” Ms Finney said.
“Let’s turn the tables and accept that what veterans are saying is the truth.”
She said while the interim recommendations were acceptable, she wanted to see one allowing serving members to seek help from outside of Defence instead of waiting for help internally.
“Serving members must be allowed to go off-base when they aren’t getting acceptable outcomes from defence,” she said.
She described witnessing Townsville’s hearings as “one of the most traumatic” experiences she has faced since the royal commission began, claiming the truth was “still not being told in full”.
Shadow Assistant Minister for Defence Phillip Thompson apologised to families who had lost a loved one to suicide, saying he believed the 13 “well thought” recommendations were achievable.
“The royal commission has outlined that the department needs to go back to the government with exactly how much it’s going to cost, and how it’s going to work, and the government then needs to act,” Mr Thompson said.
Mr Thompson could not comment on the number of claims that have come directly from Townsville, but said his office was “inundated” by veterans, current serving members and their families regarding claims that have taken too long.
The commission in their interim report said they were “dismayed” to find that previous governments had provided “limited” responses to more than 50 previous reports and more than 750 recommendations on a range of discrete topics.
A final report will be handed down by June 17, 2024.
Do you or anyone you know need help?
• Open Arms: Veterans and Families Counselling 1800 011 046 or visit openarms.gov.au
• ADF All-hours Support Line: 1800 628 036
• Defence Members and Family Helpline: 1800 624 608
• Defence Chaplaincy Support: 1300 333 362
• Lifeline: 13 11 14 or visit lifeline.org.au
• Suicide Call Back Service: 1300 659 467 or visit suicidecallbackservice.org.au
• Beyondblue:1300 22 4636 or visit beyondblue.org.au
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Originally published as Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide release interim report, 13 recommendations
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