Louise Miller-Frost (Boothby, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

One of the particular honours that I've experienced since being elected in 2022 is the opportunity to get to know so many defence personnel and veterans living in my electorate of Boothby. As well as the Warradale Barracks, we have a number of RSLs in Boothby and also the statewide Vietnam Veterans Federation of Australia South Australian branch. We also have the Veteran Wellbeing Centre at the Repat Health Precinct in Daw Park. The centre was established by the Plympton-Glenelg sub-branch of the RSL and in particular the late Bill Hignett. It is under the auspices of SA Health but consists of a number of agencies, such as Open Arms and Military Advocates, and it provides free services, including advocacy for DVA claims. They are always generous with their time and their insights, and I greatly enjoy visiting them.

It's a fairly uncontroversial statement, I hope, to say that in Australia we respect and honour our serving defence personnel and the veterans for their service and sacrifice in our name and for our protection. It is no small thing to put your life on the line to serve your country. It is part of our Australian way of life that we know that we have the Australian Defence Force there to protect us.

It was while I was campaigning in 2021 that I first started hearing from veterans and their families seeking assistance with their claims. Their stories were remarkably similar. They had submitted their total and permanent incapacity claims usually around 18 months or so earlier, and they'd heard nothing, and when they contacted the department, they couldn't get any information about where their claim was up to. What we know about veterans is that they have a tendency to not put their TPI claims in until things are pretty dire. They don't put them in when they're just a bit wobbly. So these veterans were in dire circumstances when they finally put their TPI claims in, and then the department and we as a country left them sitting for 18 months or more with no response.

Of course we have since discovered that there were close to 42,000 TPI claims sitting in the department that had not even been allocated to a staff member to look at them. I'm pleased to say that, during the last term of this government, addressing this backlog was a priority for the minister and for the government, and that backlog has now being addressed. TPI claims submitted now are allocated to a staff member to assess within two weeks, and the majority of claims are finalised within a matter of a few months, depending on their complexity. This is as it should be.

People are our most important defence capability. They need to be respected. We want Australians to choose to serve their country and be confident that they and their families will be well supported by their leaders, the broader defence organisation and their country. Every member of the ADF should be safe in the knowledge that, whatever may happen in service, they and their families will be looked after and acknowledged by a grateful nation. It is our nation's duty to empower and support the mental health and wellbeing of our defence and veteran community. There is an expectation that they will be looked after. For too long, this was not the reality.

When the Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide was established in 2021, it heard from thousands of current and former serving defence members and families, particularly families of those who are no longer here to speak for themselves. I'd like to particularly acknowledge Julie-Ann Finney, the mother of the late David Finney, who was in the chamber earlier to hear the minister's statement, and thank her for her unrelenting advocacy. We heard of systems that were broken, of a culture that was toxic, and that not enough was being done to support our personnel during and after service. We've heard those calls, and we have acted. The royal commission released an interim report in 2022 containing recommendations they deemed the most urgent. We have acted, and we will continue to act on them all.

We've legislated the Veterans' Entitlements, Treatment and Support (Simplification and Harmonisation) Act 2025 to simplify the veteran compensation system. These changes begin next year, and they will replace the current complex system that causes confusion and frustration, which the royal commission identified as a contributor to suicidality among our veteran community. This will mean all veteran claims will be assessed for compensation and rehabilitation under a single piece of legislation that will be simpler and faster to process. This is the most significant reform to how we support veterans in a century. As a result, we will be better able to provide the services and supports the veteran community needs when and where they need them.

The final Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide report was released in September 2024—seven volumes, 122 recommendations, harrowing reading. It showed a way forward and once-in-a-generation opportunity for cultural change and reform. The government has agreed or agreed in principle to 104 recommendations, noting 17 for further work. As at the beginning of August, nine recommendations had been fully implemented, and a further 110 are under way.

Changes to date include the establishment of the royal commission implementation taskforce within the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet to focus on the implementation and the establishment of a new statutory oversight body, the Defence and Veterans' Service Commission, with a dedicated and sustained focus on suicide prevention, which will be up and running at the end of September. This was considered by the royal commission to be the most significant action the government could take to address defence and veteran suicide. We're currently recruiting the inaugural defence and veterans services commissioner through a merit based recruitment process. This commissioner will have significant independent investigation powers into veteran supports and progress on the implementation of the royal commission's recommendations. We will introduce standalone legislation for the Defence and Veterans' Services Commission to ensure its independence and enhance its oversight of the implementation.

The royal commission identified the need for a holistic approach to wellbeing when supporting Defence personnel, veterans and their families. Today we have released the Defence and Veteran Mental Health and Wellbeing Strategy. In addition to early intervention and comprehensive care, it prioritises wellbeing from the day a person signs up for our ADF until well after they have hung up their uniform for the last time. This ensures veterans who are transitioning to civilian life and their families don't fall through the gaps during a time that we know is of particular risk. We will introduce a mandatory obligation to consider mental health issues during involuntary separation processes. Defence is working closely with the Department of Veterans' Affairs on establishing a comprehensive brain injury pathway to improve prevention, early detection and treatment for current and former ADF members with neurocognitive issues.

The royal commission's final report also contains several significant recommendations related to sexual violence in the ADF, which are being actioned as a priority. There is now an updated central policy on sexual misconduct that provides clearer, more consistent guidance for commanders and managers. It outlines when to engage the Joint Military Police Unit and how to determine whether conduct may constitute a criminal offence, and introduces structured return-to-work protocols for those impacted by misconduct.

Commanders and managers must now consider suspension from duty and involuntary separation of members alleged to have engaged in serious misconduct, including sexual offences, sexual harassment, intimate image abuse and stalking. Defence has now completed the work to support the implementation of a presumption of discharge in circumstances where ADF members are convicted of sexual and related offences. This will be in place by the end of the year and supported by further legislative change. These reforms represent a critical shift. They send a clear message that sexual misconduct has no place in our Defence Force.

Further work is being done to ensure the military justice system balances the need for military discipline with the protection of individual rights and minimises adverse mental health impacts on those who engage with the system and to ensure that support mechanisms available to members involved in the military justice processes are effective at meeting their needs and preventing harm. This includes an independent inquiry into potential weaponisation of the military administrative system, examining whether the system has been or could be misused in ways that cause harm to ADF members. The establishment of the military justice assurance branch will strengthen coordination of governance, assurance and policy functions within the military justice system.

The royal commission was an important, groundbreaking, sobering and necessary exercise, but it is the implementation of change that really matters. A year on from the final report, we're making good progress, and we are seeing more people choose to stay in the ADF longer as a result, but there is a lot more work to do. The royal commission's task for us as a government is no small feat, but implementing these reforms from the royal commission is vital to ensure that Defence personnel, veterans and families receive the care, services and supports they not only need but deserve. I'd like to finish by thanking any current or former serving members who might be listening for their service. (Time expired)

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