Veterans support group ‘stands ready’ to help roll out royal commission recommendations

A leading veterans support group says it “stands ready” to help implement key recommendations of a major royal commission report into suicides among current and former defence personnel.

The Royal Commision into Defence and Veteran Suicide will hand over its highly anticipated final report to Governor-General Sam Mostyn on Monday.

Little is known about what will be in the document, but Soldier On chief executive Amy Cooper told NewsWire her organisation had worked closely with the commissioners and she was “hopeful”.

She hailed the interim report’s 13 key recommendations as “short and sharp”.

“I think the royal commissioners will likewise be making some good, clear and concise recommendations, and that they expect further momentum and traction from government,” she said.

Ms Cooper said she expected many themes of the report to relate to defence personnel transitioning to civilian life, an area of speciality for Soldier On.

“I think there will be a lot around support throughout service life and making sure there’s positive transitions from the ADF,” she said.

“Also the importance of families as a support network, and looking after families as they provide that support too.”

Defence numbers helpline

The royal commission, which launched in July 2021, received nearly 6000 submissions that painted a horrific picture of institutional failures and widespread bullying and abuse.

With hearings right around the country, it revealed at least 1677 serving and former defence personnel took their own lives between 1997 and 2021 – more than 20 times the number killed in combat or military exercises over the same period.

But the commission has estimated the true number of preventable deaths is upward of 3000.

“There is an obligation on us as a society that we are looking into this and addressing it,” Ms Cooper said.

“Soldier On really stands ready to work with government and other stakeholders to ensure the roll out of the recommendations so that we’re improving the lives of our current and former serving ADF personnel and their families.”

She said the “royal commission is really about protecting the future from the pain of the past.”

“That means making sure that future generations of Australians who sign up to serve our country are protected from that pain and suffering that others have experienced,” she said.

The royal commission came after consistent and intense pressure from the veterans and their families.

For more than a decade, Corporal Chris Moore captured the raw, unfiltered reality of frontline operations in the ADF. Eventually, it took a toll on his mental health - yet, when he sought help from the ADF, he was met with denial and neglect.

The former Coalition government knocked back a petition calling for a royal commission in 2019.

It only set one up two years later because a motion passed both houses with cross-party support.

Even once it was off the ground, the powerful probe faced resistance from senior defence officials at hearings.

Little appeared to change after the commission released its interim report two years ago, with Commissioner Nick Kaldas saying in March there was “a catastrophic failure of leadership at a government level and within the military to prioritise the urgent reforms” laid out.

Ms Cooper said the sheer number of submissions showed there were clear systemic problems, but that while she believed there was a “genuine” willingness to change, it was a big job ahead.

“I think that there is genuine recognition that forward momentum and change is needed,” she said.

“And I think they stand ready to to respond. But of course, with over 5000 submissions to the royal commission and public hearings that ran right across the three years, it demonstrates the scale and gravity of the issues.”

Ms Cooper said she “really commended the courage of the many Australians who’ve come forward to share their experience of service and trauma and suicide.”

“There is a need for lasting, systemic change from the royal commission.”