One year after the Royal Commission into Defence and Veterans Suicide delivered its landmark report, the Albanese government has established Australia’s first independent agency dedicated to preventing suicides among current and former members of the Australian Defence Force (ADF).
The new Defence and Veterans’ Services Commission (DVSC) is the centrepiece of the government’s response to the Royal Commission’s findings, which exposed widespread institutional failures, systemic bullying, and chronic neglect across defence services.
Among the Commission’s 122 recommendations, its chair described the creation of a stand-alone, independent body as “the most important”. The Albanese government has now delivered on that commitment, with the DVSC fully operational less than a year after accepting the recommendation.
Veterans’ Affairs Minister Matt Keogh said the new body would be “a powerful champion for personnel and their families”, focused solely on addressing long-standing systemic issues and implementing reforms based on the best available evidence.
The Commission’s primary mission is to reduce suicide rates and suicidal behaviour among serving and retired ADF members, overseeing reform and accountability across government and defence institutions.
The Royal Commission, which conducted hearings nationwide, found that at least 1,677 serving and former personnel took their own lives between 1997 and 2021 — a figure more than twenty times higher than the number killed in combat or exercises during the same period.
Commission chair Nick Kaldas described the findings as evidence of a “catastrophic failure” of leadership in both government and defence. He criticised successive administrations for commissioning numerous reviews without ensuring their recommendations were ever implemented. “Many simply turned a blind eye, believing it was too hard or caring too little to act,” Kaldas said.
The Albanese government has accepted 104 recommendations, is considering 17 more, and has declined to support one, marking a major step toward cultural reform and mental health support for Australia’s veterans and defence community.
