Luke Gosling (Solomon, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Australian women represent a vital and growing segment of the Australian Defence Force and receive extensive training in critical areas to defend Australia and our interests. Supporting women veterans throughout their service and when transitioning is crucial to maximising Australia's defence capability and ensuring that we maintain a highly skilled workforce into the future.

Like servicemen, we must retain servicewomen and look after them following their service. Women veterans face distinct challenges during service and transition, which can impact their wellbeing and ability to fully contribute to society and to live their best life. These challenges include higher rates of mental health issues, difficulty navigating specialist women's health care, service-related health impacts, and interrupted career trajectories from balancing service and care responsibilities.

The Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide identified some harrowing experiences of women in our ADF. We have listened and we are seriously looking into better ways to support our women veterans. We are consulting women veterans, and I look forward to holding an engagement with women veterans in my electorate, in Darwin, Palmerston and the greater rural area, next week to hear firsthand from their experiences.

The Australian Defence Force is a very proud organisation in our country, and we're going to look after every member of it.