Luke Gosling (Solomon, Australian Labor Party) | Hansard source

I welcome the opportunity to speak to the reforms that the Albanese government is making to the Defence Act 1903 and the Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 2004—commonly known as the MRCA—to give effect to key elements of the government's response to the Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide. This legislation, the Defence Legislation Amendment (RCDVS Implementation and Related Measures No. 2) Bill 2026, demonstrates that our Labor government is working to improve things for veterans and engage in systemic and structural reform as recommended by the Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide. As a fourth-generation veteran—

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I was just saying that as a fourth-generation veteran, having been alive for about 54 years, over that period of time I've had so many conversations with so many veterans, including First World War veterans; Second World War veterans; Korean War veterans; my dad's mates, Vietnam War veterans—lots of those; Rwanda veterans; Cambodia veterans; Timor veterans; and Iraq and Afghanistan veterans. Throughout my whole life, during my time in the service and then working with ex-service organisations afterwards, I've been continually speaking with veterans.

Our veterans support system right now is the best it's ever been and the best in the world. I challenge anyone to point to somewhere in the world that has a better system to support their veterans. This legislation is a part of that. But, of course, particularly when the uninformed or those taking political opportunities create increased anxiety, it sometimes increases what has become a bit of natural scepticism in the veteran community because of their bad experiences in the past. I'm not saying the system is perfect, but what I am saying is that it is vastly better than it has been. It is excellent, and, with the launch of the Veteran and Family Wellbeing Agency this morning, it's going to get even better. But it's going to take maturity and integrity for this issue not to be used as a political football. Purposefully, we need members of this place and senators to take their responsibility to lower anxiety and to provide proper information.

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We are making it so the DVA can operate better, with increased efficiency, to deliver a level of service in reasonable timeframes that veterans deserve. It's bills like this one that upgrade the operating system of DVA, so to speak. It's bills like this that should reduce that scepticism over time by enabling DVA to deliver better outcomes

Primarily, this bill creates legislative authority for information sharing between Defence and DVA to enable proactive support and early intervention for suicide prevention research, data analysis and evaluation underpinned by strong privacy safeguards. Additionally, it modernises the Defence health framework to align with contemporary clinical practice and national governance standards; improves continuity of care and transition arrangements between Defence and DVA; enhances support and communication with defence families, including in the context of family and domestic violence; and introduces fairer, more transparent end-of-service provisions.

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Together, these reforms enable Defence and DVA to better support personnel by intervening earlier; sharing and using data more effectively; and further equipping departments to protect the health, wellbeing and safety of those who serve, those who have served and their families.

Our government is working at pace to implement the recommendations of the Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide. Acknowledging the national tragedy of veteran suicides, this government called for the establishment of the royal commission while we were in opposition, and we have supported the work of the royal commission since coming to government. By the end of last year, 32 recommendations had already been implemented, including the establishment of the Defence and Veterans' Service Commission. By the end of this year, we expect that around two-thirds of the royal commission's recommendations will be implemented.

The royal commission found that enhanced information sharing between Defence and DVA is fundamental to improving the health and wellbeing of defence personnel, veterans and their families. A number of interim measures have been in place while policy and legislative reform initiatives have been developed. The legislation before us today takes a significant step towards implementing recommendations in that space. This bill forms part of the government's ongoing response to the royal commission. It enables the implementation of 35 of those recommendations focused on enhancing health, wellbeing and safety outcomes; improving suicide prevention and information sharing; supporting defence families; enhancing transition and continuity of care; and modernising governance and accountability arrangements.

Broadly, these reforms outlined in the bill support the health, wellbeing and safety of members of the Defence Force, former members of the Defence Force and their families by strengthening the legislative frameworks for information sharing, defence health services, family support and, as previously mentioned, end-of-service arrangements.

We need this bill because it provides clear statutory authority to collect, use and disclose information for research, data analysis, and evaluation relating to health, wellbeing and safety outcomes. Now, as mentioned, these powers are carefully balanced by strong privacy safeguards, including compliance with ministerial guidelines and alignment with the Privacy Act framework. Critically, the bill supports a more integrated approach across Defence, the Department of Veterans' Affairs and other portfolio agencies, including the new Veteran and Family Wellbeing Agency that was launched this morning, and the Defence and Veterans' Service Commission that began last year. It enables earlier and more effective information-sharing to support continuity of care, proactive outreach and improved transition arrangements.

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Sitting suspended from 13:25 to 16:00

Earlier today, I was speaking about the launch of the new Veteran and Family Wellbeing Agency, the fact that last year we had started the Defence and Veterans' Service Commission, and the fact that these organisations and the Defence Legislation Amendment (RCDVS Implementation and Related Measures No. 2) Bill 2026 are going to enable earlier and more effective information sharing to support continuity of care, proactive outreach and improved transition arrangements, including earlier transfer of relevant information from Defence to the Department of Veterans' Affairs to support timely claims processing, compensation and tailored support for individuals who are identified as being at increased risk, consistent with royal commission recommendations. While you're in the chair, Deputy Speaker Haines, I want to acknowledge your support for Defence personnel and veterans and the establishment of the royal commission. Together with other royal commission related reforms, this bill delivers further practical, system-wide change aimed at reducing harm, supporting families and ensuring that Defence and DVA are better equipped to intervene earlier and more effectively when members, veterans and their families are at risk

To summarise the key changes, this bill strengthens information sharing to support health, wellbeing and safety by amending the Defence Act and the MRCA, providing clear legislative authority for Defence, DVA and other Commonwealth agencies to collect, use and disclose information, including personal and sensitive information, for research, analysis, evaluation, prevention and early intervention, subject to those robust privacy safeguards. The bill also modernises and clarifies the Defence health system framework by establishing a dedicated legislative basis for Defence health services, including clinical governance, health monitoring, quality assurance and improvement activities, enabling lawful, proportionate use of health data to improve health care, suicide prevention and Defence health system performance. The bill enhances support for ADF families, including by providing information sharing and communication between Defence and families and by ensuring benefits and supports can continue for a former spouse or partner in the immediate aftermath of separation, where family and domestic violence is present, to support safe separation outcomes.

I had a great conversation this morning with the Veteran Family Commissioner, Annabelle Wilson, and I want to pay tribute to her. In this legislation, there's the start of presumptive liability for specific conditions and service types, which goes live from today. I want to acknowledge Annabelle because she advocated strongly for these changes.

This bill strengthens integrity and safety requirements for service in the ADF by prohibiting persons convicted of, and sentenced to imprisonment for, serious violent or sexual offences from joining the ADF; introducing mandatory discharge for members sentenced to imprisonment by an Australian court; consolidating 'fit and proper person' requirements; and aligning substance related separation processes with existing medical separation arrangements.

In addition to this bill, our government has properly funded DVA so that we have a better system of support. It is true that in the past we haven't had the level of resourcing that DVA required to speedily get through claims. Consider that, in the first three financial years of this current government, we spent $37.9 billion—that's with a b—on compensation and treatment for veterans, compared to just $31 billion by the previous government. It is just a matter of fact that, in this financial year alone, we expect to spend almost $15 billion on compensation and treatment. In the Morrison government's last year, that figure was $10 billion. That's a $5 billion a year difference—a 50 per cent increase in support going to veterans. That's what happens when you fund DVA. If you resource it properly and get through the backlog of claims, of course there's going to be an increase in compensation that's out there helping Australian veterans and their families.

Before the changes that we introduced into the budget, veterans were locked into an arbitrary 12-session treatment cycle. That meant that every time a veteran needed more treatment, they had to go back and get a new referral—another GP visit, more paperwork, more delay and more administration standing between them and the care that they needed. We've removed that 12-session treatment cycle and replaced it with a more flexible system. Alongside that, we're delivering the biggest increase in allied health fees paid to providers in two decades. For example, physiotherapy consultations will rise from $75 to $110, and psychology consultations will rise from $163 to $260. Under these changes, veterans will be able to better access services because providers can now actually afford to treat veterans. That is what the royal commission recommended. This is the biggest increase in funding in two decades, and it will kick in from July next year.

For those wondering why this increase in resourcing for DVA was needed, it was because there was a huge backlog. In fact, there were 42,000 veterans waiting for their claims to even be allocated to someone at DVA to start working through them. That is why more funding and more personnel were required at DVA, to get through that backlog. We're also about to start a consultation process to make sure that veterans get a smooth pathway to accessing over $5,000 worth of allied health support. There's going to be more allied health professionals providing that support, because we've upped their fees, making it more viable for them.

I call on all MPs and senators to do the right thing and let veterans know that the new system does not kick in for a year, and, not only that, there's also going to be a lot of consultation to make sure that it's streamlined. The last thing we want to do is make the system more difficult—quite the opposite. We're making it easier for veterans to get the support they need.

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