RAA Liaison Letter 2024 - 2025 Edition

RAA Liaison Letter 2024 / 2025 Edition 11 Today, the Prime Minister, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence Personnel released the Government’s Response to the Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide Final Report. This Royal Commission is the most significant and comprehensive inquiry ever conducted into suicide and suicidality in the Defence and veteran communities. This is our blueprint for real, meaningful and enduring reform. The death by suicide of any ADF member or veteran is a tragedy, one felt deeply by their families, the ADF, the veteran community and the wider community. The Royal Commission was a watershed in examining this most difficult and distressing issue. The Royal Commission made 122 recommendations in its Final Report. The Government has agreed or agreed in principle to 104, noted 17 recommendations, and one recommendation is not supported in part. Defence and the Department of Veterans’ Affairs will lead the implementation of a majority of the recommendations. Defence has already undertaken work to improve our culture, policies and processes, but there is much more to do to prevent suicide, and to support the mental health and wellbeing of our people. Delivering reforms will require significant work over the coming weeks, months and years that will ultimately change the way we work and support our workforce and their families. This will see closer integration with the Department of Veterans’ Affairs and a new taskforce within the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet that will provide advice to Government on the prioritisation and sequencing of the implementation of the Royal Commission’s recommendations. A new oversight body will be established by September 2025 to independently monitor our progress on implementing the recommendations. Defence is already a better place to work than it was before. We can and must do better to ensure we are stronger, and better able to defend Australia and our national interests. The Final Report and the Government’s response may raise mental health and wellbeing issues for some of our people. Where the Royal Commission has raised issues that are personally challenging for people in our Defence community, please know that support is always available. Once again, we thank everyone for their commitment to the work of the Royal Commission. Learn more about the Government’s response to the Final Report here. Thank you Greg Moriarty AO David Johnston AC RAN Secretary Admiral Department of Defence Chief of the Defence Force