ADF veterans who serve must be treated properly

Despite generous bonuses and good pay rises for Australian Defence Force personnel in recent years, the nation’s military services remain seriously understaffed, with a shortfall of about 5000 recruits. In our current strategic circumstances that is dangerous to national security. At least some of the reluctance to put on the nation’s uniform can be explained by the chronic problems detailed by the Royal Commission into Defence and Veterans Suicide. The seven-volume report, tabled in parliament on Monday, highlighted grim realities well known to current and former military personnel, and those close to them, but not well understood by the wider community. The raw facts are shocking – especially the tragedy that 1677 serving and ex-serving defence personnel died by suicide between 1997 and 2021. That was more than 20 times the number killed on active duty during those years.

Over the past 30 years, dozens of inquiries into the problem have made no discernible difference. This one needs to be different. It is encouraging that the royal commission report, commissioned by Scott Morrison in 2021, has gained bipartisan support. Governments on both sides, the military with its flawed culture and processes, and the Department of Veterans’ Affairs are culpable for the countless tragedies. The DVA, the commission found, is not capable, in its current form, of delivering optimal support to those who need it. With as many as three veteran suicides a fortnight as late as Tuesday, implementation of the report’s recommendations, as quickly and comprehensively as possible, is a must. That includes the creation of a new agency to proactively support those leaving the services, not just in the immediate term but longer term. The three royal commissioners are right in proposing that it be co-designed by veterans with lived experience of leaving the services. Bridging training for staff leaving the ADF, the inquiry recommends, is needed to assist with employment pathways. The problem of veterans suffering homelessness, the report recommends, should be tackled under a new national funding agreement by the states and Canberra.

Many of the traumas suffered by veterans, the inquiry identified, arise as the result of problems embedded in ADF culture. That points to the need for ADF top brass to tackle those issues head-on, including high rates of sexual assaults and misconduct, which were linked to suicide, as well as bullying, stalking, harassment, violence and abuse. About 800 sexual assaults were recorded within the ADF in the past five years. But about 60 per cent of cases, reportedly, were not reported. The inquiry received multiple reports of gang rapes, with many victims declining to report sexual violence out of fear of repercussions. Women who served in the permanent forces and were separated involuntarily for medical reasons are almost five times more likely to die by suicide than women in general, the report noted. On a more basic issue, the inquiry found that the ADF does not sufficiently prioritise injury prevention, despite the risks of injury inherent to military service and the impacts of workforce injuries on operational capability. Disincentives for staff to seek medical help increased the risk of chronic injury.

As the royal commissioners – former NSW deputy police commissioner Nick Kaldas, retired judge James Douglas and psychiatrist Dr Peggy Brown – said, the report was not an indication they had reached the end of the road. But they had started down the correct path. It is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, Mr Kaldas said, to save veterans’ lives, which the current and future governments must accept. ADF Diggers have long been recognised as Australian heroes. For all the emotion engendered by Anzac Day, the royal commission has uncovered tragedies that no decent nation or government can ignore.