Bombshell report on Australian war veterans released publicly

An explosive report on serving Australian soldiers and war veterans contains 13 urgent recommendations.

The Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide has handed down its interim report, making 13 recommendations for immediate action.

Among the recommendations is an urgent elimination of the backlog of compensation claims.

The Albanese government says it will look to implement all recommendations.

It comes after a confronting nine months of hearings across the country.

During that time, the royal commission has heard of 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.

Chair Nick Kaldas and commissioners James Douglas and Peggy Brown said the prevalence of suicide and suicidality among serving and ex-serving ADF members was something “that should concern us all”.

Commissioner Nick Kaldas handed down 13 recommendations to the government as part of an interim review of the Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide.

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.

The Department of Veterans’ Affairs (DVA) should also provide advice to the government about its funding needs, with the average staffing level cap of the agency to be abolished.

Another key recommendation is that people who engage with the royal commission should have increased protections.

The report recommends an overhaul of policies and practices related to public interest immunity claims, which can be used to prevent questions being answered.

The commission has also recommended embedding trauma-informed practices for information access.

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.

“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.”

On the claims backlog, which numbers around 42,000 unprocessed claims, the government has already committed to providing 500 additional staff to the DVA to clear out the log.

The report recommends the backlog be cleared by March 31, 2024, but Mr Keogh said he was concerned more veterans and serving members would fall through the cracks in the meantime.

“I don’t have a timeframe by when we will be able to get through that backlog as yet, but getting greater clarity on that is something that I’m really committed to getting at the moment,” Me Keogh said.

“I would like to see the backlog cleared as soon as possible.”

The interim report found there were a “range of cultural issues” of concern within the ADF that had negative implications.

“Our preliminary observations about culture include discussing abuse as a risk factor for suicide and suicidality, the progress and monitoring of cultural reform in Defence, recent inclusion and diversity initiatives, the adequacy of reporting and support systems and accountability,” the commissioners wrote in the interim report

“We will have more to say about culture in our final report.”

Originally published as Bombshell report on Australian war veterans released publicly