Veterans and families call for proof that Royal Commission Reforms are delivering change
Two years after the Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide tabled its Final Report, the Open Door Initiative at Flinders University is calling for a transparent, publicly accessible and independently verifiable account of progress against each of the Final Report's 122 recommendations.
While the Australian Government has reported progress across many of the Final Report's recommendations, veterans, families and the broader community still lack clear visibility of what has been delivered, what remains outstanding, who is accountable and how success is being measured.
"Two years on from the Final Report, there is still no single public, recommendation-by-recommendation account that enables veterans, families and the public to independently verify what has been implemented, what remains incomplete, and what evidence exists of impact," says Professor Ben Wadham, Director of the Open Door Initiative.
Coinciding with the two year anniversary of the Royal Commission, the Open Door Initiative has launched the Two Years On campaign. The campaign features veterans and family members who describe concerns they believe remain unresolved, including experiences relating to bullying, harassment, sexual violence, leadership, military justice processes, complaints handling and family violence.
The campaign tracks progress against the 122 recommendations contained in the Final Report, tabled on 9 September 2024. It seeks to distinguish between activities that have been announced, reforms that have been delivered, and evidence demonstrating whether those reforms are improving outcomes.
Professor Wadham is a member of the Defence and Veterans' Service Commission (DVSC), which was established following Recommendation 122 of the Royal Commission's Final Report.
The DVSC is due to provide its independent review of progress on the recommendations to the Australian Government by February 2027.
"This is an important function, but two years on, the veteran community wants a clearer picture of where reform is up to now, not knowing contributes to confusion and despondency in our community," says Professor Wadham.
"Consultations, reviews and policy development are important steps, but activity should not automatically be treated as implementation, and implementation should not automatically be treated as evidence of impact.
"Families deserve to know what has changed, what has not changed, and how governments are measuring whether reforms are actually improving safety, wellbeing and support."
The latest publicly available annual monitoring published by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare does not currently provide a verified count of deaths by suicide occurring since the Final Report in 2024.
Without timely public reporting, families, veterans and the broader community cannot independently assess whether reforms are contributing to improved outcomes.
Open Door Calls on the Commonwealth Government to:
- Publish a recommendation-by-recommendation implementation register covering all 122 Final Report recommendations.
- Identify the responsible agency for each recommendation.
- Detail funding commitments, milestones and delivery timeframes.
- Provide evidence supporting claims that recommendations have been implemented.
- Identify outstanding actions and unresolved elements.
- Publish evidence of impact where available.
"Transparency and access to information is fundamental to accountability and the public should be able to see what has been promised, what has been delivered, what remains outstanding, and what evidence exists that reform is improving outcomes," says Professor Wadham.
"Veterans and families deserve more than assurances that work is underway. They deserve clear, independently verifiable information about what has changed and what difference those changes are making."
The Open Door Initiative's Veteran Suicide Website includes a public report card tracking progress against the 122 recommendations in the Royal Commission's Final Report. The report card is designed to distinguish between commitments, work described as underway, completed reforms and evidence that change is improving the lives and safety of serving members, veterans and families.
For support or advice contact Open Arms - Veterans & Families Counselling: 1800 011 046, Lifeline: 13 11 14 or Emergency Services: 000
