Emma Comer (Petrie, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The commission will have a dedicated and sustained focus on suicide prevention. It will ensure that agencies responsible for implementing the royal commission's recommendations are held to account. It will promote long-term cultural and structural change and drive the reforms necessary to reduce the rates of suicide and suicidality among serving and ex-serving ADF members. To perform this role effectively, the commission must have the independence, functions and powers necessary to meet these objectives and to maintain the trust of the Defence and veteran community. That is precisely what this bill delivers.

The Defence and Veterans' Service Commissioner Bill 2025 builds on the work undertaken by the parliament in February this year, when schedule 9 of the Veterans' Entitlements, Treatment and Support (Simplification and Harmonisation) Act 2025 was passed and subsequently examined through a Senate inquiry. The submissions, evidence and findings of that inquiry have directly informed the development of this bill. As a result, the government has implemented several key recommendations.

First, the bill establishes standalone legislation for the Defence and Veterans' Service Commission, reinforcing its independence and clarity of purpose. Second, the bill ensures that the functions of the commissioner explicitly include reference to veterans' families. There is no doubt that the families of veterans play a vital role in supporting the health and wellbeing of our veterans. At the same time, they face unique challenges themselves. They are often carers, advocates and first responders, yet their voices are too often overlooked. Through this legislation, the Albanese government acknowledges the significance of veterans' families and recognises that meaningful system reform must consider the experiences and needs of the families alongside those who serve. Third, the commission's functions and powers have been reviewed and the proposed amendments arising from the inquiry process have been adopted.

This bill strengthens the independence of the commissioner and the commissioner's powers to ensure accountability. It also works to access the information necessary to perform oversight functions effectively. It also expands the scope of witness protection, ensuring that individuals who provide information to an inquiry by the commissioner are appropriately protected. This is essential to fostering trust, encouraging transparency and ensuring that people feel safe to come forward.

This bill also improves transparency in the work of the commission itself. It introduces statutory deadlines for the completion of two inquiries into the Commonwealth's implementation of the government's response to the royal commission's recommendations. Those deadlines are 2 December 2027 and 2 December 2030, marking the third and sixth anniversaries of the government's response. These statutory milestones are an important accountability mechanism. They ensure that progress is measured, reported on and subject to scrutiny over time. These provisions reflect a clear understanding that system reform is not a one-off exercise. It requires sustained attention, long-term oversight and a commitment to continuous improvement.

The government has listened to feedback from stakeholders and has taken action. The changes contained in this bill ensure that the commissioner has the tools necessary to enable the commission to drive meaningful system reform to improve suicide prevention and wellbeing outcomes for serving and ex-serving members of the Australian Defence Force. Importantly, these reforms mean that agencies will be held accountable to consider and respond to the commissioner's recommendations.

The enduring nature of the commission ensures that the voices of veterans and their families continue to be heard and that systemic issues contributing to suicide and poor wellbeing outcomes are continually reviewed and addressed. These provisions ensure continuity, legal clarity and smooth transition so that there is no disruption to the important work of the commission.

Taken together, these bills strengthen independence, enhance accountability and embed long-term oversight at the heart of the Defence and veterans support system. They honour the findings of the royal commission, respond to the parliament's scrutiny and reflect the government's commitment to listening, learning and acting.

I want to finish by acknowledging the everyday heroes who work tirelessly to support veterans. The RSLs in my electorate are working tirelessly to support our veterans. I want to especially thank Rosemary, who tirelessly volunteers at the Redcliffe RSL. It's people like Rosemary who make all the difference, providing fierce support exactly where it's needed. On our end the government is getting on with the job of removing roadblocks for veterans so that they can access the services they need, the services they've earnt and the services they deserve.

Matt Keogh (Burt, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Veterans’ Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide highlighted the devastating scale and impact of veteran suicide and made clear that this is a national tragedy that desperately needed to be addressed. That is why we've worked to implement the agreed recommendations of the royal commission as quickly as possible.

In my address to the National Press Club on the one year anniversary of the government's response to the final report of the royal commission, I provided an update that 32 recommendations from the royal commission would be implemented by the end of 2025 and that we expected two-thirds of the agreed recommendations to be completed by the end of this year.

The royal commission described recommendation 122, the establishment of an independent oversight body, as its most important recommendation. In acknowledgement of the significance and urgency of this recommendation, in February 2025 the Albanese Labor government legislated the creation of the Defence and Veterans' Service Commission. It has been up and running since the end of September 2025. The current enactment within part VIIIE of the Defence Act 1903, by way of schedule 9 of the Veterans' Entitlement, Treatment and Support (Simplification and Harmonisation) Act 2025, passed the parliament in February 2025 ensuring that the commission would be up and running by September and not be subject to the vagaries of the intervening federal election.

Noting the swift passage of this legislation, government supported a Senate inquiry into this, enabling the defence and veteran community to provide feedback on schedule 9—the establishment of this oversight body. These bills before us today are a direct result of that engagement and demonstrate our commitment to working with the defence and veteran community, because we want to get this right.

The bills address the first recommendation of the Senate inquiry, by establishing standalone legislation for the commission. The bills also add a specific reference to families as part of the commission's function, strengthen the commissioner's independence and powers, improve witness protections and increase transparency. The bill requires the commission to evaluate and assess the effectiveness of the measures and actions taken to implement the government response to the Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide, first reporting on 2 December 2027.

This is in addition to other inquiries that may be undertaken by the commission, including a recently announced inquiry into the implementation of the government's response to recommendations 9 to 13 of the royal commission's interim report. The time line for the first legislated inquiry will enable a proper consideration of our work and an opportunity to genuinely evaluate if the recommendations have been implemented appropriately and are making a difference for the defence and veteran community.

I note that an amendment has been foreshadowed to bring forward the date of this first legislated inquiry. I note that these bills have been referred also to another Senate inquiry, which is the appropriate place to consider the first reporting date. I want to thank all those that have contributed to this debate and for your unwavering support of our veteran community.

I note that across the chamber there's been bipartisan support for our veterans, as we would expect, with references to local bases in people's communities and their family connections to the defence and veteran community. And I'd like to particularly acknowledge the member for Gorton, who referred to her relative Hugo Throssell VC after whom there is a bridge named in my electorate.

It's important to note that contrary to some of the assertions of the opposition during this debate, though this bill may be about a commissioner, to be clear, it is about a commissioner and a commission that was envisaged by the royal commission. This is not some reheating of the previous government's proposal for a commission in an attempt to avoid holding the Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide in the first place. This is quite different.

I think it is also important to remind members of the House that the genesis of the legislation that established the Defence and Veterans' Service Commission, via the vets act amendment in schedule 9, was based on very extensive consultation, despite what those opposite have said. There was a royal commission for three years that produced a detailed set of recommendations for the establishment of this commission. That is what was reflected in that legislation, which we ensured was passed by this parliament in early 2025 to make sure that the commission could be up and running by September, as the royal commission itself asked for. That is what this government delivered.

As I said last year in parliament and at the National Press Club, it is our nation's duty to empower and support the mental health and wellbeing of our defence and veteran community to reduce the rates of suicide and suicidality as much as possible. The commission is an integral part of this work and will ensure ongoing scrutiny of our efforts to achieve this aim, and I commend the bill to the House.

Question agreed to.

Bill read a second time.

Message from the Governor-General recommending appropriation announced.