Today marks two years since the Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide delivered its final report.
The experiences shared by serving and ex-serving members and their families during the inquiry provided important insights into the impacts of service life and continue to shape reform efforts across Defence.
Director General Defence Royal Commission Program Management Office, Brigadier Melanie Cochbain, said the experiences shared with the Royal Commission continued to guide Defence’s reform efforts and priorities.
“We are grateful to everyone who shared their experiences with the Royal Commission. They have challenged us to do better, ensuring we remain focused on delivering meaningful change. Lived experience continues to play an important role in shaping our priorities as we work to deliver lasting improvements,” Brigadier Cochbain said.
Since 2024, Defence has implemented 33 of the 76 recommendations for which it is the lead or joint lead agency, and continues to make progress on the remaining recommendations.
Key reforms include delivering suicide awareness training for more than 90,000 Defence personnel; strengthened suicide prevention and sexual violence initiatives; improved avenues for personnel to raise concerns and access support outside the chain of command; enhanced support for veterans, families and transitioning members; and ensuring lived experience continues to inform and shape Defence policy and reform.
‘We are grateful to everyone who shared their experiences with the Royal Commission. They have challenged us to do better, ensuring we remain focused on delivering meaningful change.’
Brigadier Cochbain said reform efforts were focused on improving the health, wellbeing and safety of Defence personnel and their families.
“The scale of this reform effort is immense, but Defence is making real progress and remains committed to getting it right,” Brigadier Cochbain said.
“My hope is that every person who chooses to serve in the ADF has a positive experience of service and knows that their contribution truly matters.”
A member of Defence’s Lived Experience Advisory Forum, KC, said being able to contribute her perspective gives her hope that positive change is possible.
“I think there has been greater recognition that tinkering at the edges is not enough. While there is still a long way to go, there is a sense that change is happening at all levels, which hasn’t happened before,” she said.
“Everyone knows someone who has been medically separated because of mental health or difficult circumstances, but I am looking forward to everyone knowing someone who has gotten the help they needed and continued their ADF service.”
The Defence Lived Experience Framework and Lived Experience Advisory Forum help ensure lived experience continues to inform policy, programs and implementation activities across Defence.
‘My hope is that every person who chooses to serve in the ADF has a positive experience of service and knows that their contribution truly matters.’
Senior ADF Enlisted Adviser to the Chief of the Defence Force, Warrant Officer Jason Robinson, acknowledged the courage of those who contributed to the inquiry.
“For many of our team presenting to the Royal Commission, it was a tough and daunting process and, through your evidence and lived experiences, you have made us a better Defence Force,” Warrant Officer Robinson said.
“For most of our people, their experience in Defence has been an extremely positive and rewarding one. For some, their experience has been a harrowing and corrosive one. We, as an organisation, have let some of our people down through their transition journey and we will learn through their experiences.”
While important progress has been made, Defence recognises there is more work to do and remains committed to delivering meaningful and enduring change for current and future generations.
Key reform achievements
- Enhancing Defence’s Suicide Prevention Program through a system-wide approach focused on prevention, awareness, education and support.
- Expanding support for Defence families, including enhanced family and domestic violence resources, stronger wellbeing services and greater accountability for family focused programs.
- Introducing new welfare management arrangements to help commanders identify wellbeing risks earlier and coordinate support when it is needed most.
- Establishing the Complaints, Resolution and Support Services unit, providing members with an avenue to raise complaints outside their chain of command.
- Trialling a new support model that provides additional welfare support outside the chain of command for members involved in military justice processes.
- Supporting the pilot and rollout of Comcare’s Psychosocial Proactive Inspection Program – a three-year program to help Defence identify and manage workplace psychosocial hazards, assess current controls, and improve prevention and early intervention.
