Defence blasted for ‘going through the motions’ on veteran suicides

The chair of the royal commission into veteran suicides has blasted the Defence establishment for failing to move urgently to prevent former service members from taking their lives, saying it appeared to be going through the motions rather than taking meaningful action.

In a fiery speech to the National Press Club on Wednesday, commissioner Nick Kaldas said veterans were still being driven to suicide two years after the royal commission was launched because of deep-rooted flaws in the Department of Veterans’ Affairs.

The chair of the royal commission into veteran suicides has blasted the defence establishment for failing to move urgently to prevent former service members from taking their own lives.Credit: Marija Ercegovac

Kaldas added that putting one’s hand up for help was often wrongly perceived as weakness in the male-dominated Australian Defence Force, as he accused various arms of the Defence bureaucracy of stonewalling the royal commission’s search for information.

Kaldas, a former deputy commissioner of the NSW Police Force, told the press club that at least 1600 veterans had died by suicide between 1997 and 2020, more than 20 times the number killed in active duty over the same period.

“Rarely a week goes by that this royal commission isn’t alerted to the untimely death of another serving or ex-serving member,” he said.

“It is unquestionably a national crisis.”

The suicide rate for ex-servicemen who were in the permanent forces was 44 per cent higher than for the general Australian male population, he said.

Despite these figures and the fact the royal commission has already issued an interim report, Kaldas said: “When it comes to protecting the mental health and wellbeing of servicemen and women, the evidence this royal commission has uncovered to date suggests there’s been far too much talk and not enough action.”

Kaldas said he was stunned that a new mental health and wellbeing branch within Defence was only commissioned two years after the establishment of the royal commission and would not be fully resourced and operational until 2025.

“Defence’s approach to investigating and reporting on suicides has progressed at a snail’s pace, and we are yet to find sufficient evidence of urgency in responding to these complex issues holistically even with this royal commission on foot,” he said.

Nick Kaldas said at least 1600 veterans died by suicide between 1997 and 2020, more than 20 times the number killed in active duty over the same period.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen

“All of this raises serious questions as to whether Defence is committed to making change in the best interests of its members or whether they’re just going through the motions.

“We’ve heard many stories of veterans and their families being driven to the brink – and in some tragic cases, beyond – while waiting years for their claims to be even looked at.”

A Defence spokeswoman said: “The mental health and wellbeing of our people is a high priority for Defence.

“The mental health and wellbeing branch has been established to focus and strengthen Defence’s approach to mental health and wellbeing in the workplace.

“This branch will support all Defence people and teams to enable a consistent approach to the management of mental health and wellbeing.”

Kaldas said that an “enduring, powerful, independent” oversight body was needed to ensure that government agencies and the Defence Force prioritised the long-term reforms necessary to tackle the veterans’ suicide crisis.

Kaldas said the Defence Force had failed to take a damning 2016 report into abuse, bullying and harassment as a wake-up call to lift its game.

“It’s troubling to imagine that such behaviour persists in any modern-day workplace,” he said.

“What is even more alarming is that an employer could neglect or mishandle a complaint of misconduct or target the complainant, leaving them re-traumatised.

“Yet that is exactly what we are hearing.”

Kaldas said that he and his fellow commissioners “did not expect to be stymied and stonewalled along the way” as they did their work, yet obtaining crucial information from government bodies in a timely manner had proven frustratingly difficult.

“We have faced significant delays in the provision of vital data and information sought from Defence,” he said.

If you are a current or former ADF member, or a relative, and need counselling or support, contact the Defence All-Hours Support Line on 1800 628 036 or Open Arms on 1800 011 046.

Cut through the noise of federal politics with news, views and expert analysis from Jacqueline Maley. Subscribers can sign up to our weekly Inside Politics newsletter here.