Shayne Neumann (Blair, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I'm very pleased to speak on this bill: the Defence Force Discipline Amendment (RCDVS Implementation and Related Measures No. 1) Bill 2026. There are few areas of governance where the Morrison government did worse than in veterans affairs and defence personnel. I don't believe for a minute it was through inequity; I think it was plain incompetence due to outsourcing, underfunding of the department responsible and labour hiring. There were far too few people on the front line of claims processing. Waiting times, backlog of claims—these were words used all the time in the department and amongst the veterans community.

Imagine a minister for veterans affairs and defence personnel threatening to resign on the eve of the budget because of the incompetence and underfunding of his own department by his own government. That's what the member for Calare offered and threatened when he was not on the crossbench and when he was the minister responsible. We had to rebuild the department—500 frontline personnel processing claims—and promised, when we came to government, the funding of hundreds of millions of dollars towards this process. Why? Because all of this contributed to the tragedy of mental health problems, depression, suicidal ideation and indeed suicide. The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare has said that between 1997 and 2023 1,840 ADF, ex-servicemen and ex-servicewomen died by suicide. That's 1,840 too many.

This bill implements and responds to the recommendations of the royal commission in part. This bill represents one of the most significant reforms to the Australian military justice system in decades, and it delivers on those recommendations. It comes on top of lots of work done by the current Labor government. The royal commission came about, and the Morrison government was dragged, kicking and screaming, by the grieving mothers and families of people who had died by suicide. Whether it was the findings of coronial inquests, anecdotal evidence or personal experience, it was obvious that we needed a royal commission, and Labor called for it and pushed hard while in the opposition. We certainly did when I was the shadow minister.

The reforms contained in this bill are comprehensive and collectively modernise our system. It's all about protecting people and aligning with Australia's community expectations and contemporary expectations in terms of social issues. The bill, as I said, has its genesis in the recommendations. It's worth remembering that the coalition did everything they possibly could to avoid a royal commission. They even announced a half baked national commissioner for defence and veteran suicide prevention and claimed it was bigger and better than a royal commission. It was simply a marketing exercise to placate the grieving families and block their demands for a proper and independent investigation into these tragic deaths.

A backbench revolt, the pressure of Labor and the extraordinary campaign by brave mothers—like Julie-Ann Finney, Karen Bird and Nikki Jamieson, who all tragically lost their sons to suicide—together with so many other people are what forced the Morrison government into this royal commission. We have a 100-year opportunity to fix our broken veteran support system. The royal commission did a mighty job, and I want to commend the commission for it. They delivered their final report in September 2024 and made 122 recommendations.

We've accepted, overwhelmingly, the majority of those recommendations. We've agreed or agreed in principle to 104 recommendations. We've been working to implement them as quickly as possible, and I want to commend the Minister for Veterans' Affairs and Minister for Defence Personnel for his strong response in implementing those recommendations. The royal commission dedicated a whole volume to sexual violence and unacceptable behaviour in military justice. The legislation before us today makes a significant step towards implementing those recommendations. It responds to concerns about fairness, transparency, mental health treatment, timeliness and complexity within the Defence Force Discipline Act 1982.

The reforms are, as I said, about modernising the system, and they are very important. The bill directly implements recommendations 18, 20, 23 and 63 and gives effect to recommendation 34. These recommendations are about strengthening workplace protections during sexual misconduct investigations, sentencing and recording convictions for perpetrators of military sexual violence and reforming court martial governance. The royal commission noted that involvement in the military justice system, whether as a victim or as an accused, can itself be a factor for suicide. It highlighted the pressing need for improving workplace protections, modernising sentencing practices, reporting and recording serious offences consistently with civilian jurisdictions, and more modern management of mental impairment in disciplinary proceedings.

Nearly 34 years ago, in November 1992, Prime Minister Paul Keating declared homosexual men and women would no longer be banned from serving in the Australian Defence Force. These changes will allow Defence personnel who are convicted of offences purely on the basis of consensual homosexual activity apply to have these convictions extinguished. The effect of this extinguishment will be to prevent disclosure of that conviction or information relating to it by other people. Families of Defence members, including those of deceased veterans, can apply under this scheme on behalf of their loved ones. These changes are an overdue, restorative legal change to help lessen the detriment associated with and the stigma imposed by former homophobic attitudes and practices reflected in such convictions. We should always be proud of those who serve our nation, regardless of their sexual identity and proclivities.

With these changes to enable expungement of convictions, this will no longer be a crime. Those who had previously had to hide and had pride—and I use that word deliberately—in their service will have that accurately reflected in their service record as well. Additionally, the bill amends the offence of malingering to remove stigmatised and pejorative language, and provide for the reporting of certain service offences for inclusion in civilian criminal history records.

At its heart, the bill amends the Defence Force Discipline Act by making amendments which implement these recommendations. They're about enhancing the treatment of members engaged in the discipline system by modernising mental health provisions. We have changed enormously in terms of our understanding of mental health in the last generation. The royal commission found that Defence Force members with underlying mental health issues may be more likely to be involved with the military justice system and that such involvement is a risk factor for suicide. How didn't we know that? We knew that in the civilian criminal justice systems in our country, and it took us till a royal commission for this to come to light. This was always the case. In criminal and civilian systems and in our courts, this was always the case.

The overall effect of these measures is to give effect to necessary reforms to improve health and wellbeing outcomes for both victims and accused Defence members and reduce the risk of suicide and suicidality. Before imposing any punishment, a member's rank and the seriousness of their disciplinary contravention or offence must be considered. Generally, the higher the rank, the more serious the consequence for contravention. The royal commission stated—and I think it's really worth quoting—'A well-functioning military justice system is essential for Defence to maintain good order and effective operational control.' It's a Defence matter. It really is a Defence capability and national security issue. The royal commission went on to say this: 'It is equally crucial to the mental health and wellbeing of Australian Defence Force members.' This bill also allows the Minister for Defence to issue guidelines to the Director of Military Prosecutions, and the approach aligns with section 8 of the Director of Public Prosecutions Act 1983—a similar power to the Attorney-General's to issue directions and guidelines to the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions. It seems extraordinary that we have to do this now. It should have always been there.

The bill implements a number of other reform recommendations, including stronger protections over disclosure of sensitive material during discipline investigations. It implements a whole range of recommendations in that space. I want to make it clear that, on this side, we condemn sexual abuse and harassment in the workplace wherever it occurs. When Labor called for a royal commission into Defence and veteran suicide in opposition, and when the former government finally announced one, we called for it to cover the issue of abuse of female Defence personnel. It was pleasing that the royal commission made a number of recommendations in this area, and we are grateful for it.

Make no mistake we are committed to addressing sexual misconduct and discrimination in the ADF and ensuring that members who have experienced mistreatment during their service receive all the support they need. It was the former Labor government, under Kevin Rudd and Julia Gillard, that initiated the Defence Abuse Response Taskforce in response to sexual misconduct within the ADF. As a result of this report, the Defence Force Ombudsman's role was expanded to include an abuse-reporting function. It was that former Labor government that undertook a review by the Sex Discrimination Commissioner, which led to the establishment of the ADF's Sexual Misconduct Prevention and Response Office. We have a proud record in this space, during the years of Kevin Rudd and Julia Gillard, of taking action.

Finally, last night's budget highlighted a number of really important things that the Albanese Labor government is doing while making historic investments in defence personnel and veterans. We continue to deliver on the government's response. There's an allocation of $770 million in additional funding to deliver on the royal commission's recommendations. This includes $169.7 million in funding for five years, from 1 July 2027, to increase fees for allied health providers and the largest investment in allied health fees for veterans in more than 20 years. The budget provides $29.8 million to support the establishment of a National Veterans Data Asset and $16.6 million for the Defence and Veterans Service Commission to conduct an independent inquiry from the middle of 2026 into military sexual violence in the ADF. This all goes to show the Albanese government is committed to delivering for current and former ADF personnel and their families.

I know this from my own electorate. I was very proud to secure a $5.4 million commitment at the 2022 federal election for a new Ipswich veteran and family hub. This is part of the Albanese government's $46.7 million commitment to establish eight new veterans and families hubs across the country to ensure that more veterans and families can access support closer to home. Now that hub, which is nearly ready to be opened, will be operated by RSL Queensland and co-located with the Mates4Mates centre in West Ipswich. It was great to have the Minister for Veterans' Affairs and the Minister for Defence Personnel come to announce the final location in August last year. Importantly, the facility has been co-designed with veterans and families to ensure support and social connection that lines up with the needs of the local veterans community, and will liaise with local subbranches and wounded heroes who do mighty work in crisis support in our local area and nationally.

We have more than 10,000 veterans and families living in Ipswich and the surrounding area in addition to 5,000, and more, ADF personnel stationed at RAAF Base Amberley. The Ipswich veterans and family hub will provide tailored mental health and wellbeing services. And just like in this bill, it's all part of the Albanese government's urgent focus on responding to the recommendations of the Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide.

In conclusion, the reforms in this bill strengthen trust in the military justice system. They reduce harm. They improve transparency. They modernise mental health responses. And they ensure the Defence Force Discipline Act reflects the standard expected in contemporary Australia. I thank the minister for bringing forward these critical reforms. I want to thank the many stakeholders, experts, ADF personnel and the veterans community for their input into these reforms—and the royal commissioner and, in many cases, the brave victims-survivors of abuse in the ADF for courageously sharing their lived experiences to inform these changes. This is a careful, comprehensive and essential response to the findings of the royal commission. It supports the wellbeing of our defence personnel. It strengthens the integrity of the military disciplinary framework and upholds our expectations of fairness and accountability. I commend the bill to the House.

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