Susan Templeman (Macquarie, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

When the Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide delivered its final report in September the year before last, it contained 122 recommendations. Recommendation 122, the very last recommendation—last but definitely not least—was that the government establish a new statutory entity to oversee system reform across the whole Defence ecosystem. According to the royal commission, this was its most important recommendation. It went on to say that this recommendation would underpin all the other 121 recommendations that had been made and that it was the most significant action the Australian government could take to address Defence and veteran suicide.

We acknowledged the urgency and significance of the recommendation, and in February 2025 the Albanese Labor government legislated the creation of the Defence and Veterans' Service Commission. It's been up and running since the end of September, and this legislation, the Defence and Veterans' Service Commissioner Bill 2025, builds on that early work to have it up and running as a matter of urgency. For people in my electorate of Macquarie, many of whom have families working at RAAF Base Richmond or RAAF Base Glenbrook or are connected to the Defence Force in many, many other ways, knowing that something was happening was really important.

The role of this new statutory oversight entity really is to provide independent oversight and evidence based advice so that the system can be reformed to improve suicide prevention and improve wellbeing outcomes for the Defence and veteran community. The commission has a dedicated and sustained focus on suicide prevention, as it should, having come out of that gut-wrenching royal commission. The establishment and the framework will ensure agencies implementing royal commission recommendations will be held to account by promoting long-term change and driving the changes that are needed to reduce the rates of suicide and suicidality among serving and ex-serving ADF members.

There are a lot of things that have to happen to make sure this is effective, and one of them is that the commission must have independence. It has to have the functions and powers necessary to meet its objectives. Most importantly, it has to be able to maintain the trust of the veteran and Defence community. This bill delivers on the full implementation of these things by enshrining the legislative establishment of the Defence and Veterans' Service Commissioner and the Defence and Veterans' Service commission into its own standalone legislation, as was always intended.

I note that the previous speaker from the opposition talked about things being rushed. Well, let's look at the work that has been done to get us to this point. The Defence and Veterans' Service Commissioner Bill builds on the work that was undertaken by the parliament when schedule 9 of the Veterans' Entitlements, Treatment and Support (Simplification and Harmonisation) Act 2025 was passed and a Senate inquiry was undertaken. The submissions, the evidence and the committee's report have informed the development of this bill, and it's led to the implementing of a whole range of recommendations that they had. That's why we now have standalone legislation for the Defence and Veterans' Service Commission, which reflects its independence.

I think it's really important for people to be aware that the commissioner also has a role in recognising veterans' and Defence members' families. There is no doubt that families of veterans and Defence members play a vital role in the health and wellbeing of those who are serving or have served. They also face some unique challenges themselves, whether it's the moving from location to location or whether it's the fact that the hours and the operational requirements that their family member has mean that they're not always at home when they might want them to be. The whole lifestyle of being in a Defence family is a very different thing from what the average family experiences. So we're really pleased that, through this legislation, we're able to acknowledge the significance of veteran families.

Under this legislation, the commission functions and powers have been reviewed, and there have been a bunch of amendments adopted. I'm very satisfied that this has been done at a pace that allowed for sufficient input from all the stakeholders who are important—most importantly from veterans and Defence personnel and their families.

The bill strengthens the independence of the commissioner by ensuring the role is appointed by the Governor-General after a merit based and public recruitment process. The bill strengthens the commissioner's powers in ensuring accountability and accessing necessary information. The bill also expands the scope of witness protection to ensure that a person is protected in providing information to an inquiry by the commissioner. That's a very important improvement. The bill improves the transparency of the work of the commission to ensure accountability for the commission itself and those who are subject to its oversight. It is not unexpected but very important that we have in this legislation the requirement that the commission will be publicly reporting on the government's progress on implementing the government response to the recommendations of the royal commission on the third and sixth anniversaries of the government's first response—that will be in 2027 and 2030. That public reporting will ensure that anybody will be able to measure it against what was set out to be achieved.

In preparing for this bill, the government has listened to feedback from stakeholders and taken action on it. It's one thing to listen; it's another to act, and that's what this bill does, so that the commissioner has the tools necessary to ensure the Defence and Veterans' Service Commission can drive system reform, because we do need to see an improvement in suicide prevention and wellbeing outcomes for serving and ex-serving Australian Defence Force members.

This legislation is one of the steps that we're taking. It was recommendation 122, one of the most important things to do. But we've already seen improvements happening on the ground that go to the objectives of this legislation in my own community, where, as I say, we have the Richmond and Glenbrook RAAF bases, which have been there for a long time. The new Hawkesbury Veteran and Family Hub is part of ensuring that there is an easy point of access for current serving personnel and their families and for veteran personnel and their families. I'm very pleased to be attending an open day tomorrow—sorry, Friday. I'm a day ahead of myself—wishful thinking! I will be back in my electorate on Friday attending the open day for the Hawkesbury Veteran and Family Hub to really showcase the work that has already been done in a temporary location, underneath the Windsor RSL, while there is work being done for the permanent home of the Hawkesbury Veteran and Family Hub. I congratulate Brett and his team on the work they're doing in this interim period, and I also congratulate all of those working to restore the historic former Richmond Court House, which is right in the heart of historic Richmond. It's a building that has not been used and has had no purpose for many years but will come to life to provide a hub and support for the many veterans and defence personnel and their family in the Hawkesbury.

When it's complete, around 20,000 veterans and families who live in the Hawkesbury—and then it will be linked to one in south-west Sydney—will be able to access tailored support close to where they are. What we've seen from the hubs really speaks to the piece in this legislation that is focusing on the recognition of mental health and wellbeing as being fundamental. The hubs offer better access to support, resources and services all in one location and—in some ways, more importantly—provide an opportunity for that social and community connection. I'm very excited to see it evolve, and, of course, I can't wait for the beautiful renovation to be complete.

At another part of the electorate, the same issues that this bill is seeking to address are being tackled in a different way, and that is through Taskforce Veteran, formerly known as the Hunter Anzac Memorial Limited, who have been working on the properties at Scheyville. They're working on historic veterans' housing—it has been a veterans' and migrants' centre at different times—and, thanks to a $5 million federal grant, are transforming dilapidated buildings into something really special. I particularly want to mention the key person who has driven this: Brett Wild. I want to wish him all the best, because he has suffered a stroke and is in hospital.

I really want to see him continuing the fantastic work he's done at Scheyville. All our thoughts are with Brett. He has an amazing committee who are continuing the work in his absence. The Scheyville National Park transformation means that a very dilapidated part of our community is now alive with activities and has such a bright future thanks to the very caring work that has been done, and it's been done with the work of local tradies and builders. I know Allscope Constructions had a very large hand in it, and I suspect they were very generous with the rates that they charged to do this important work. These are the sorts of things that are already happening on the ground to ensure that veterans and their families have places they can turn to so they don't feel isolated.

My experience of being a member of the Defence liaison program, spending time in Iraq in Camp Taji and spending time at Amberley in Queensland, has shown me how tight the defence family is and what a big wrench it must be when you leave that defence family, particularly when it may be driven by a health reason and not necessarily the natural timing that you might have chosen. I've talked to many veterans who tell me that stepping away from Defence is one of the most scary things that they've done, and we hope that the veterans' hubs create a sense of place for people so that they can feel welcome in those places.

As well as being so pleased to see this legislation as a key part of it, I've also been very pleased to see the work that we have been doing to improve veteran wellbeing outcomes. That includes the latest commitment in the announcement we've made around how veterans health is treated. We've often focused on reactive treatment. When something goes wrong, it gets treated. But, consistent with the findings of the royal commission, DVA will now have a greater focus on early intervention and prevention, working really closely with the Department of Defence to identify risks earlier and act sooner. The announcement this week around these improvements will make a real difference to people's lives.

It includes using insights from the claims decision-making to support Defence's proactive approaches and making it easier for veterans to access treatment and rehab early. I want to let veterans know we are taking action against bad actors who have been seeking to take advantage of the improvements in government service delivery and who have been putting in false claims for veterans health. Veterans should know that they can come directly to the Department of Veterans' Affairs. Claims are being processed promptly, there are independent processes in place and the integrity of that system is much improved in the changes we've made. We will stop medical practitioners and unscrupulous people from exploiting these veterans.

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