Urgent action needs to be taken to eliminate the "unacceptable" backlog of veterans' compensation claims, with almost 42,000 awaiting processing at the end of May, a royal commission has warned, saying the situation may lead to suicides.
The Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide handed down its interim report this morning, calling for an end to the backlog and for a simplification of the claims system to make it easier for veterans.
The commission made 13 recommendations, with five focused on the Department of Veterans' Affairs' claims processes and staffing levels.
Another eight are intended to make it easier for witnesses to appear before the commission and allow it to more easily access documents.
The commissioners also said they were "dismayed" at the "limited" ways the federal government had reacted to previous reports relevant to the topics of suicide and suicidality among serving and ex-serving defence force members.
"We have identified over 50 previous reports, and more than 750 recommendations [since the year 2000]," the report said.
'Lives depend on' clearing claims backlog
Commission chair Nick Kaldas said the Department of Veterans' Affairs' (DVA) claims backlog was "unacceptable" and could lead to suicide and suicidality in some cases.
"Behind each claim is a veteran who needs support, and it is gravely important that this assistance is provided as quickly as possible — lives and livelihoods depend on it," he said.
The commission has recommended the department be given until March 2024 to eliminate the claims backlog, and called on the government to streamline processes and ensure DVA had the necessary resources to do so.
The report found Australia's veteran compensation and rehabilitation system was "so complicated that it adversely affects the mental health of some veterans" and it recommended the federal government introduce legislative reforms by the end of the year.
"Previous reports and inquiries … have called for legislative simplification and harmonisation," the report said.
"We recognise that making change will not be easy, but the difficulties of reform provide no justification to delay any further."
Witness calls department 'cruel and inhumane'
The commission has heard wide-ranging accounts of horrific abuse and trauma since public hearings began in November last year.
At the Tasmanian hearings, which wrapped up on Wednesday, the commission heard from senator Jacqui Lambie, who said a back injury that resulted in her being medically discharged began a six-year battle with the Department of Veterans' Affairs for compensation, as well as debilitating pain and depression.
She said the department put her under surveillance after becoming suspicious she was faking her injuries, and representatives from the rehabilitation service spied on her from a bush near her back fence.
She said she struggled to access support following her husband's suicide.
Senator Lambie said the report had "hit all that low-hanging fruit that we've all been talking about for a very long time" and she would now be putting pressure on the federal government to act on the recommendations.
"I think it will get done … the other thing is I have a very loud voice up there and I'm not going anywhere and I will pound them every step of the day until those recommendations are implemented," she said.
Australia has lost more serving members to suicide than recent combat: Minister
Veterans Affairs Minister Matt Keogh said the federal government was committed to a better future for Australia's current and ex-service personnel and would look into implementing the report's recommendations.
"Unfortunately, the rate of veterans' suicide in Australia is a national tragedy," he said.
"It's devastating that Australia has lost more serving and former serving personnel to suicide than it has lost through operations over the last 20 years in Afghanistan and Iraq."
Mr Keogh said it was important the recommendations were "addressed as a priority" and the government had already started hiring 500 additional staff to help the Department of Veterans' Affairs clear its claims backlog.
He also said it had been made clear to the defence force and government departments that "the royal commission must be assisted in any way possible to ensure that it can make the most effective recommendations on how to address the scourge of suicide that has plagued our defence personnel, veterans and families".
Mr Keogh said he was "deeply sorry" if there had been failings in the way the defence force and the Department of Veterans' Affairs had operated.
'We've had silence for long enough'
Julie-Ann Finney, the mother of a veteran who took his own life, said it was "uplifting" to know that people were finally talking about the high rates of suicidality among current and former defence force personnel.
Ms Finney became a high-profile campaigner for the commission to be established after her son, Petty Officer David Finney, took his own life in 2019.
She has attended hearings all over the country, carrying a photo of David with her each day.
Ms Finney said the hearings were confronting, but incredibly important.
"It's frustration, anger and trauma associated with all this listening, but the alternative is silence, and we've had silence for long enough," she said.
"Unfortunately, I was quite naive before my own son took his life but I don't find myself naive anymore. I need to keep learning, keep listening to people.
Ms Finney called on the federal government to immediately act on the interim report's recommendations, but she said she was more confident than ever that change would occur.
"I don't want to speak to another mother who has recently lost her child, or a father or a partner," she said.
"We need to look at why this is happening and find solutions, and I feel at the moment that that is coming out.
"We will just keep fighting. I've said it from the beginning that I didn't bury my son to walk away — and there are hundreds like me."
Ms Finney said she wanted to see the creation of an independent body where service personnel could report concerns about their mental health and unacceptable behaviour, and she also wanted the Department of Veterans' Affairs to immediately clear its claims backlog.
Surge in compensation cases sees backlog grow six times in size
The commissioners said many people who had participated in the royal commission so far had spoken about their "frustration and disappointment" with the processing of compensation claims and "an unhelpful and negative attitude" from Department of Veterans' Affairs staff.
"Negative engagement with DVA staff regarding claims and entitlements was pervasive," the report said.
"Long waiting times to action and pursue claims produced considerable frustration for ex-serving members.
"Many said that they dealt with simultaneous injuries, mental ill health and complex socio-economic pressures."
The report also found veterans were not given accurate information about claims processing and wait times, which it said could cause "considerable distress".
The report found the backlog of undetermined claims — both allocated claims that had yet to be processed and those that had not yet been allocated — had multiplied by almost six times in the past five years.
It found the backlog was partly caused by "a significant surge" in the number of claims DVA received since 2016.
The department had expected the number of veterans receiving assistance to drop to just over 150,000 by June this year, but it had instead grown to 240,000.
Further hearings to come, full report in 2024
The report said the commission intended to make recommendations that resulted in "effective, long-lasting and compassionate change".
"The prevalence of suicide and suicidality among serving and ex-serving Australian Defence Force members is something that should concern us all, " the report said.
"Each death by suicide, each life lost, has profound effects on family, friends, colleagues and the wider community."
The commission has held six hearings around the country since it was established in July 2021.
It will hold further hearings in Darwin and Wagga Wagga this year, with a full report to be handed down in June 2024.
Mr Kaldas said the interim report did not touch on a number of issues, but he promised they would be examined in the final report.
The interim report is available to download on the Federal Parliament website.
