Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide Public Consultation

The Minister for Veterans' Affairs, the Hon Darren Chester MP, is leading a public consultation process to inform the Terms of Reference for a Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide.

A key step in setting up this Royal Commission is to establish its Terms of Reference and these will set out what the Royal Commission will cover and report on.

The Minister for Veterans' Affairs is seeking your views on the Terms of Reference to make sure they will capture the issues that are important to people.

The Royal Commission will be independent of government, DVA and Defence

Current serving Australian Defence Force (ADF) members, veterans, families, ex-service organisations, states and territories, peak bodies and other interested stakeholders are encouraged to have their say about what the Royal Commission should consider in conducting its work.

The Royal Commission will focus on understanding the risk factors contributing to defence and veteran deaths by suicide, and what governments, organisations and the community can do to reduce lives lost to suicide.

Please note, this consultation does not seek details of personal experiences, or specific information on past cases of deaths by suicide.  At this time, the Royal Commission has not been formally established.  There will be a time to tell your story once the Royal Commission is operating. Processes for engaging with the Royal Commission, including opportunities to make submissions, will be determined by the Royal Commission once established, and will be widely advertised.

The Government has released themes for consultation see https://www.dva.gov.au/royal-commission-defence-and-veteran-suicide-themes-consultation  and welcomes your feedback on these to inform the Terms of Reference. 

You can provide feedback using the form via this link https://www.dva.gov.au/public-consultation-inform-terms-reference-royal-commission-defence-and-veteran-suicide

Feedback closes at 5pm on Friday 21 May 2021.

 

Crisis Assistance: 

This post contains content about suicide and may be distressing for some people. If you or someone else needs help, please call:

• Triple zero (000) if you need immediate help or feel like you may hurt yourself
• Open Arms - Veterans & Families Counselling on 1800 011 046
• ADF Mental Health All-hours Support Line on 1800 628 036
• Lifeline Australia on 13 11 14