The Australian Defence Force "wiped their hands" of a mentally-ill veteran who took his own life after being discharged from the military following bullying and victimisation, a royal commission has been told.
Colleen Pillen, the mother of veteran Michael Powers, who took his own life in October 2017, testified at the royal commission into veterans' suicides on Wednesday.
Her son was "failed" by four psychiatrists, including one at a "DVA-based practice" from whom he sought help after receiving an administrative discharge from the army earlier the same year, she said.
Less than a week before he ended his life, the inquiry was told Mr Powers saw a psychiatrist in Richmond, in Sydney's west, but returned home "astounded by how he was treated by this doctor".
"He felt she looked at him with contempt, that he was just trying to work a claim, and she was quite dismissive of him," Ms Pillen said.
"She disregarded all his risk factors that he presented with which was weight loss, couldn't sleep, previous suicide attempt."
Ms Pillen said all the psychiatrists her son went to for help "turned him away".
"None of them really took on any responsibility for him or therapy for him, they didn't look after him."
Days after the session in Richmond, Ms Pillen tried to contact her son but found that his mobile phone had "gone flat".
"I found Michael passed away, he'd taken his life finally."
The inquiry was told Mr Powers initially enjoyed the army after joining up in 2014, but his mental health declined, including becoming severely anxious, after he was "victimised and bullied" following a shift to a different group inside the ADF .
After suffering bouts of "intrusive thoughts", he spent around eight weeks in hospital, before being administratively discharged from the military in April 2017, a decision that haunted the soldier.
The inquiry was told that the administrative nature of the discharge - versus a medical one - made it more difficult for him to access support via the military.
On leaving the army, he became violent, started drinking heavily, began smoking, got into fights, lost weight, and couldn't sleep.
"There was no ongoing support for him, as soon as he was discharged they wiped their hands of him," Ms Pillen said.
She is still waiting for the bullying that he suffered in the armed forces to be investigated after the coroner declined to launch an inquest.
"I was just given condolences, and case closed," she said.
The royal commission into ADF suicides is probing what defence is doing to address cultural issues and what support is being provided to veterans.
A two-week block of hearings in Sydney has so far heard from high-ranking ADF members who have conceded that more must be done to support people transitioning from military service to civilian life.
There have been accounts of bullying, poor treatment of women, a lack of support for veterans and recruits being forced into hazing rituals.
In February, Department of Veterans' Affairs officials were grilled about a growing backlog in compensation claims, and gay ADF veterans gave harrowing testimony about unfair treatment in the defence force due to their sexuality.
The hearing continues.
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