Issues requiring urgent or immediate action will be the focus of a much-anticipated interim report by the Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide.
Chairman Nick Kaldas and his fellow commissioners have spent eight months traversing Australia to gather evidence in a series of private and public hearings.
At every turn commissioners have flagged concerns about the urgency of their task, amid an alarming suicide rate among defence members and veterans.
The inquiry has resulted in some startling revelations, including a frank admission by the secretary of the Department of Veterans’ Affairs, Liz Cosson, of failings so profound the agency was “not fit” for their needs.
Ms Cosson conceded a backlog of 60,000 claims by injured defence members and veterans, which has left some people waiting for years, may have contributed to a spike in suicides.
Thursday’s interim report is expected to recommend emergency measures to begin a wholesale reform of the department’s claims system which has been dysfunctional for decades.
More resources and comprehensive support services for traumatised families of veterans has also been identified as a priority.
Multiple witnesses have told the inquiry they were left without support, with no help from the Australian Defence Force or the department, as they watched a family member unravel, unaware they were suicidal, until it was too late.
Mr Kaldas noted the bravery of witnesses.
“We can’t pretend to know how difficult and traumatic the process can be,” he said.
“But we are incredibly grateful for your strength. Please know your stories are invaluable to the progress of this inquiry.”
Such is the scope and complexity of the inquiry, the federal government in June extended the commission for an additional 12 months to June 2024.
The inquiry’s next public hearing will be in Darwin in October, then Wagga Wagga in November.
Further hearings will be held in 2023, when the commission team will travel to Perth and Adelaide before returning for second hearings in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane.
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