Alex Gallacher (SA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I present the report of the Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade References Committee on Australian veterans, together with the Hansard record of proceedings and documents presented to the committee.

Ordered that the report be printed.

I move:

That the Senate take note of the report.

I seek leave to incorporate the tabling statement in Hansard and make some additional comments.

Leave granted.

The report tabling statement read as follows—

I rise as Chair of the Senate Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade References Committee to speak to the committee's report into suicide by veterans and ex-service personnel.

Before I begin, I wish to acknowledge the service of those current and former members of the Australian Defence Force who have taken their own lives and the sorrow of their families and loved ones. In particular, the committee members and I were saddened to learn about veterans who took their own lives during the inquiry.

A unique aspect of this inquiry has been the opportunity to examine the framework of military compensation arrangements and their administration through the issue of suicide by veterans. This focus has highlighted the burden of legislative complexity and administrative hurdles faced by veterans who are often seeking support at a vulnerable period.

Some affected veterans characterised their post-service experiences as being the most difficult and challenging period of their lives. Accordingly, the committee has chosen to title its report The Constant Battle which reflects the problematic nature of the issue of suicide by veterans and the on-going challenges in providing them with support.

The broad scope of the terms of reference and their interrelated nature has been difficult. An extremely wide range of relevant matters were raised with the committee, particularly in relation to the reasons why Australian veterans are taking their own lives. The committee has been forced to focus its consideration on a limited number of key issues.

In the near term, the committee has acknowledged and supported the work of Department of Veterans' Affairs (DVA) in undertaking the reform of its processes through its 'Veteran Centric Reform' program and Lighthouse projects. These initiatives are showing results, particularly in reducing the time taken to process claims and the committee has recommended they be funded

The BVA will supplement and support the current system of volunteer advocates. Where necessary, the BVA will be allocated a budget to commission legal aid to assist veterans make appeals. The BVA will also take over responsibility for grants to ESOs regarding advocacy, training and accreditation of volunteer advocates and insurance issues.

Finally, the burden of legislative complexity and impact of administrative hurdles on veterans were the primary issues of the inquiry. It has been a number of years since there was a large scale review of the system as a whole. There was broad support for a wide-ranging review of the legislative framework and administrative delivery of support for veterans with an emphasis on simplification and improving client experience. While steps are being taken by DVA to streamline some aspects of their processes, the committee considers that simplifying the legislative framework and administrative process should be the key objective of future reform.

Given the complexity of the current arrangements, any systemic review will be extremely challenging. It will require a public research organisation with established research and analysis capabilities. It should also be able to conduct its review largely independent of Defence and DVA. The committee considers that the Productivity Commission is the best placed to undertake this large-scale review. In particular, this review should examine use of the Statements of Principle which are used in determining compensation claims. The review should be completed within 18 months and be tabled in the Parliament.

During the committee's inquiry there have been major developments in relation to several issues including suicide prevention programs, the legislative framework in the Veterans' Affairs portfolio and the administration of claims by DVA. This was underlined by the statement made yesterday by the Minister for Veterans' Affairs, the Hon Dan Tehan MP.

The committee's report acknowledges the substantial support being committed by the government to veterans and undertaken by DVA to improve services for veterans. It is encouraging that DVA's reform agenda appears to be moving in the same direction as the recommendations suggested by many submitters. Nevertheless, it is clear that, the pace of reform has been slow and needs to be increased.

Using new research about veterans, including findings which will arise from the Transition and Wellbeing Research Program, will be important in guiding support. In this context, the committee has recommended a two-track transition process be established with intensive support for veterans who are identified as likely to need it. Further, the committee has recommended all transitioning ADF members should be provided with a DVA White Card to facilitate access to non-liability health care, serve as veteran identification and to serve as a platform for data collection.

Many of the veterans the committee spoke to felt that alternative therapies had significantly improve their conditions. While the evidence base for these alternative therapies is still developing, the committee has recommended the Veterans and Community Grants program be expanded to support the provision of alternative therapies to veterans with mental health conditions.

There also is value in developing an evidence base for alternative therapies to assist veterans in Australia. The committee has recommended funding for a trial program that would provide assistance animals for veterans with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) stemming from their military service in order to gather research.

The committee's understanding was assisted by the recent research undertaken by the AIHW into the incidence of suicide by ADF members and veterans. There was strong support expressed for an on-going national register to track this problem and to develop a better understanding of it. The committee has recommended a National Veteran Suicide Register be established and maintained by the AIHW.

A key contention during the inquiry was that the DVA claims process are a major stressor on veterans and could even act as a contributing factor to suicide. To gain a better understanding of this issue, the committee has recommended an independent study be commissioned into the mental health impacts of the claims processes on veterans with the results to feed into future administrative reform.

I wanted to make some brief additional comments in respect of this extremely important bipartisan report. The first thing I wanted to put on the record is the contribution of the deputy chair, Senator Back. Senator Back, as always in all of his work in this Senate, was extremely involved, competent, diligent and proactive with respect to what has been quite a long-running and, in some cases, distressing inquiry. So the first thing is that the contribution of Senator Back was, as always, above and beyond exemplary. Also, I would like to highlight the bipartisan nature with which this inquiry was able to conduct itself.

There were 420-odd submissions. I might say at this point that we're resourced in this parliament with quite extraordinary public servants. There is no doubt that, in the brief time that I have been in this parliament, I have had the excellent service and resource of quite extraordinary public servants. In this particular inquiry, our lead officer, Mr Owen Griffiths, has been absolutely extraordinary. I personally couldn't read all of the submissions that came in to our inquiry and still cope, because they are extremely distressing. Some of the private and confidential submissions—you can't read them without it affecting you. Mr Griffiths has had to go through all of those submissions. He's had to maintain the complete professionalism and discipline that is so evident in the Senate's exemplary staff and produce an outstanding, high-quality, bipartisan report. I think that simply needs to go on the record.

We won't please everybody with this report, but we have at least kept the parliamentary participants all on the one page, so to speak. The department has had some useful pointers on how to improve its performance, but I also think it is really important to put on the record that it is one of the oldest public sector departments and has a myriad of legislation which binds its activities. That hasn't made it easy. It hasn't made it easy for those public servants in that place. But we've gone through it all very diligently and methodically, I think, and pointed out some very useful areas where we can perhaps make some inroads into what is the constant battle. That is the title of this report, and suicide by veterans is by its very nature a constant battle. We won't solve it, but we believe that we've got a bipartisan approach and some pointers in the right direction. I will conclude at that point.

Bridget McKenzie (Victoria, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

In my role as Chair of the Senate Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Legislation Committee I would also like to attach my comments to the chair of this particular inquiry, Senator Gallacher, and his tabled comments and to reiterate his support for the very strong bipartisan approach that both the former chair, Senator Back, and he took to this complex and quite intricate issue of suicide by veterans and ex-service personnel. This inquiry received an overwhelming response and really goes to why this issue requires such a bipartisan approach from both sides of parliament and, indeed, from the crossbench with their strong advocacy for our veterans in that area.

Eight Australians take their lives every day, and suicide is the greatest cause of death for men and women aged between 14 and 44. Sadly, the challenges posed by the transition to postservice life and the inability to cope with these challenges on their own—often there is shame and embarrassment even to ask for assistance from loved ones—has meant that veterans and ex-service personnel have traditionally been overrepresented in these suicide statistics. Just over a year ago, anyone with a mental health condition who served a single day in the Australian Defence Force had to prove that it was linked to their service before they were eligible to access support from the department. In response, the government has already introduced free and immediate treatment for any mental health condition suffered by ex-service personnel.

The government is aware of this issue. We've been working tirelessly to address it, as Senator Gallacher has stated. This is very old legislation. There is a lot to unpack. This report will go a long way to assisting both our government and future governments with addressing this concern. But we stand united in this place and as a Senate committee in our desire to assist our ex-servicemen and our veterans to ensure that they have optimum mental health and that we reduce the statistics as a matter of urgency.

I'd like to thank the secretariat and former Senator Back, who led this charge on behalf of the government in that committee. Thank you.

Derryn Hinch (Victoria, Derryn Hinch's Justice Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to pass on some bleak, sad and tragic news about the reality of life in Australia for a lot of our veterans these days. On average, a veteran is lost to suicide every four days in this country. 57 of them have taken their lives so far this year. Mark Johnston, my friend who heads up the Australian National Veteran Arts Museum, is here in the gallery today. I acknowledge him. He knew many of them. He also knows many others who are at risk right now.

Thankfully—and thank you, Senator Lambie—there are now some great organisations out there supporting our veterans. Museums and cultural institutions do play an important role in creating a sense of identity, a sense of worth, some purpose and some hope for these men and women in our communities and also individually. Remember: Weary Dunlop once said, 'Give the men in hospital access to the arts and crafts so they may have an interest in life.' In the 1930s, they built at 310 St Kilda Road a repat hospital for World War I veterans—and then it was used for World War II veterans—where Weary Dunlop took care of patients. That's the building where we hope and plan for ANVAM to be. It's been owned by the Department of Defence and has been empty for 20 years, and it will be the new home of ANVAM. It will validate the service and promote creativity. We're working with the War Memorial to provide a social gathering place. It will include all those who are suffering emotional turmoil. And it's in the arts centre footprint, as they call it, near the shrine, almost opposite the wonderful bronze statue of Weary Dunlop with one touch of red, which is the red poppy in Weary Dunlop's lapel.

Tonight I want to thank the Victorian government and especially the Treasurer, Tim Pallas, for working closely with us to give this museum a home in our beautiful St Kilda Road opposite the shrine. I also want to thank the federal government and the Victorian state government for their commitment to this project, because their commitment to the project has touched many people in the veterans community. They can't wait to have that museum space to call their own. I walked through it recently—admittedly with a safety mask because there was asbestos and God knows what in there—and it is going to be a magic place for the veterans in Australia.

Just one more point I want to make quickly is that on Anzac Day this year we had a display of veterans' art in an art gallery in Collins Street. I looked at some of the beautiful artworks there and I said to the guys, 'What are you going to do with your artwork while we try to get this museum open?' And they said, 'We'll probably stack them away in packing boxes.' I said, 'Give me a couple of them—they'll be on display in my office.' And two, by veterans Michael Williams and Sean Burton, are on display in the foyer of my office here. I invite all senators—all my colleagues—to come and have a look at them.

Kimberley Kitching (Victoria, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I would like to pay tribute to the remarks made by Senator Gallacher, Senator McKenzie and Senator Hinch in relation to this report, The constant battle: suicide by veterans. Often people only see the conflict that goes on during question time, and perhaps during estimates. But I can assure them that the bipartisanship—in fact, more than bipartisanship—displayed by this committee working on this issue was exemplary. So I would also like to pay tribute to Senator Lambie and Senator Kakoschke-Moore.

I would like to acknowledge the service of former ADF members who have taken their own lives and the sorrow of their families. I wish to give special acknowledgement to those who have lost family members to suicide during the course of the inquiry.

The burden of responsibility to do justice to those ex-service personnel who have been lost to suicide has been keenly felt by all members of the committee. We don't have exact figures for the number of suicides and attempted suicides among former ADF members, but a recent Australian Institute of Health and Welfare study found that between 2001 and 2015 there were 325 certified suicides amongst ADF veterans. But the real figure may well be higher. The reason that it is sometimes difficult to know these statistics exactly is that some veterans become very isolated, and in fact it is not known by their comrades that they have committed suicide. This was evidence that was tendered during the committee inquiry.

The suicide rate among veterans who have seen operational service does not seem to be significantly higher than the rate among other veterans, and this would suggest that the common stereotype of veteran suicide resulting from the trauma of combat needs to be treated with caution. Post-traumatic stress is obviously a factor in some suicides amongst former ADF members, but it is far from being the sole cause. The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare study found that the group most at risk were young veterans involuntarily discharged due to physical or mental injury. This group exhibited suicide rates double that of the comparable national population and this suggests that our attention needs to be focused on the transition from service to civilian life, particularly among young men who have been involuntarily discharged for whatever reason. These men may suffer from a variety of psychological factors that may well then dispose them to suicide. We must never forget of course that behind every statistic there is a human story, and often a tragic and heartbreaking one. Of course, this is not only a tragedy that affects veterans and the Defence community but also their families and friends. Indeed, we are all affected.

For our veterans and ex-service personnel who are frequently required to spend an extremely long and difficult time on deployment, it is clear that the return to civilian life is not a simple proposition. The experiences of active duty can leave an indelible mark on some of our veterans. But I think that it's important that we not see our ADF veterans as victims. The vast majority of former ADF members, all of whom are volunteers, are justly proud of their military service and we are proud of them. They have made successful transitions to productive roles in Australian society and rightly believe that military service has contributed to their growth as humans and to their postservice roles.

It would be a mistake to accept the common stereotype that the trauma of operational service always leads to psychological difficulties, let alone to suicide. In fact, a senator from another place, US Senator John McCain, says in his memoir, Faith of My Fathers, that he often feels that he's most comfortable amongst those men with whom he served; those friendships that were formed and the support that they gave to each other while he was on service in the US Navy—particularly those he spent 'time' with, if I can put it that way, in the 'Hanoi Hilton'.

The key finding of this report is not that a disproportionate number of ADF veterans are at risk of suicide; it is that we currently have an inadequate infrastructure of support for those who are at risk. An accurate assessment of the impact of military service on the mental health of our veterans and the provision of appropriate services for them is a pressing issue. It is something that we need to address, and now. The report shows that we can do a much better job of fulfilling our responsibilities to our veterans. Every suicide among former ADF members, whatever its cause, is a reminder of our obligation to protect those who have protected us.

The committee heard about the sense of futility that faces some veterans upon being discharged. We heard about the trauma that can arise from living and working in a war zone. Perhaps most tellingly, we heard about the sense of abandonment felt by some veterans and their families upon their return. We heard veterans characterise their postservice life as being the most difficult and challenging period of their lives. We heard from Jason Burgess, who spent a combined total of 14 years in the ADF and was deployed twice to Timor and once to Iraq. Upon his return from Iraq, he attempted twice to take his life. He said to the committee:

To be told that you will never be able to work again due to your physical or mental illness, and then to have your pay cut, and so to not be able to afford to support yourself or your family, is enough to break people, and will lead them to suicide.

We also heard from a widow, Bonny Perry, whose husband took his own life, and we heard of her sense of frustration as she spoke of her husband's seven previous suicide attempts.

Mental health treatment is now available free of charge to all veterans and ex-service personnel, unlimited by budget. The Commonwealth has allocated $192 million over the next four years in addition to the $187 million DVA spends each year providing mental health support to veterans and their families. The committee's report presents a number of recommendations which we hope will go some way to addressing the current shortfalls in the system.

In the short term, we recommend that the government continue to support and fund the Veteran Centric Reform program in DVA. Much of the evidence that we heard over the course of the inquiry was related to veterans' experiences with DVA. We were saddened to hear veterans say that they would rather fight the Taliban than DVA. Our recommendations concern the streamlining of administration in the DVA, reducing the backlog of clients, and increasing the capability and training of staff at DVA to deal with mental health conditions and complex health concerns. Our recommendations also address the need to improve engagement with younger veterans.

Other short-term recommendations include targeted programs addressing issues in the transition of veterans to civilian life, and more appropriate interactions with both mental health service providers and alternative therapies for veterans with mental health conditions, including some very compelling reasoning around the benefit that therapy animals bring. I would like to pay tribute to the organisation Ruff Love Assistance Dogs, who came to the Brisbane hearings earlier this year with their very beautiful dogs and whom it is impossible to forget. We also recommend that all transitioning ADF members should be provided with a DVA white card to facilitate access to non-liability health care, to provide identification as a veteran and to aid in data collection.

In the medium term, we recommend that a national veteran suicide register be established and that the government commission an independent study into the mental health impact of the claims process. We also make some recommendations about the transition to civilian life, and we recommend supporting the Veterans and Veterans Families Counselling Service to create and maintain a public database of support services. In the longer term, we believe and recommended that a review by the Productivity Commission, which may look at simplifying the system, would be advisable.

The committee has also recognised the substantial support that the Australian government has shown for the reform of the DVA and legislative frameworks to improve the experience of veterans. But it's evident that there are significant improvements that must be made to the system before we can really aspire to address the problem of suicide among our ex-service personnel.

I am reminded once again of how fortunate we are to have the Australian Defence Force, and I am reminded especially in this week, when I am participating in the ADF Parliamentary Program and am hosting an intern. I would like to thank him and the organisers of that program. It's a privilege afforded to parliamentarians to have these opportunities. So I would like to say thank you, and I commend this report to the Senate.

Jacqui Lambie (Tasmania, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

After almost a year of consideration by the Senate Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade References Committee with five public hearings across the nation and over 450 submissions, the report on veterans suicide named, The constant battle: suicide by veterans, has been tabled. It is 191 pages in total and comprehensive. Part of this report addresses short-term problems which include streamlining, administration, staff training at the Department of Veterans' Affairs and improving engagement. It calls on targeted programs based on new research, increasing the understanding of the mental health community and addresses support issues of transition from military life into civilian life and the need for access to alternative therapies.

In the medium term, the committee found that there was clear evidence for a national suicide register. It noted concerns about negative interactions with the Department of Veterans' Affairs and that the claims process is the key stressor and contributing factor to suicide by some veterans. It noted issues with medico-legal firms retained by the Department of Veterans' Affairs to assess veterans. The committee has recommended the Department of Veterans' Affairs reassess medico-legal firms.

It has recommended that the carer assistance scheme include an option for veterans to undertake a period of work experience with an outside employer, and that the Australian Public Service Commission conduct a review to support veterans employment into the APS. Noting the complex range of services available to veterans, the committee recommended funding support of the veterans and veterans' families counselling services to create and maintain a public database of services which would provide an information service to assist veterans and their families.

The committee also recommends a review of the practice which prohibits lawyers appearing for veterans before the Veterans' Review Board. Longer term, it noted that addressing the legal and administrative complexities of veterans entitlements is long overdue. It has recommended a Productivity Commission review into the legislative and administrative processes, including an examination of the utilisation of the statements of principles with the objective of simplifying the entitlements system. It has recommended that this review be completed within 18 months, and the establishment of a bureau of veterans advocates. This bureau of advocates would be modelled from the Canadian system—that being the Bureau of Pensions Advocates—which has proven to be a success. I suggest that we have bipartisan support and that we do not wait 18 months to set that up. I will probably look at that tomorrow.

The Department of Veterans' Affairs can no longer hold on to the status quo nor justify incremental changes done in the past. Previous reviews of military compensation and the piecemeal approach of reforms have contributed to the overall complexities of veterans' entitlements in our country. It is now time for a complete overhaul of the compensation and rehabilitation system in this country.

Earlier this year, the Auditor-General, through the Australian National Audit Office, indicated it would conduct a potential performance audit into the efficiency of veterans' service delivery by the Department of Veterans' Affairs in its annual audit work program for 2017-18. As such, the committee recommends the audit be conducted as a matter of urgency. This audit will serve to complement and reinforce the work of administrative review by the Productivity Commission.

Given the context of this report and its recommendations, I am now calling on all veterans—young, middle-aged, old, enlisted and officers—to unite and put pressure on the Turnbull government to adopt and implement these recommendations as soon as possible. Over the last several years, the ex-service organisations of our nation and the veterans' community have been greatly divided on a host of issues. It is now time for healing. Veterans need to stop bashing veterans who are helping veterans. Stopping veteran suicides and attempted suicides is paramount. To be able to achieve this, we will all need to work together.

Where there are areas that veterans disagree on, we need to be able to agree to disagree. Where we find common ground, we all need to stand together as one. I'm calling on all retired Australian Defence Force senior non-commissioned and retired commissioned officers to take the lead and be the leaders that they once were when they served in uniform. Your nation needs you, once again, now more than ever as role models in the veteran community. Be the leaders who are healers where veterans are fighting and backstabbing other veterans. You need to call that out as leaders and show others a more constructive way of addressing issues and moving forward.

The time of a divided veterans' community needs to cease immediately if we are going to achieve tangible action on the recommendations of the committee's report. United we stand to demand the government takes action; divided we will continue to fall, with the status quo remaining. The veterans' community as a whole bears some responsibility here, because it has been so divided. All ex-service organisations, veterans and their families must band together to demand that the government of today implement these recommendations. Where the government decides to disagree with a committee recommendation, it should not be able to disagree without having a workable alternative to that recommendation.

We need a united front and sustained pressure to deny the government the space to wriggle out of its responsibilities to veterans once and for all. It is only with a united veteran community that we will be able to hold the government of the day, as well as future governments, accountable and ensure that the recommendations are adopted and implemented as quickly as possible. It is for this reason that all veterans and their families must stand together as one. I seek leave to continue my remarks later.

Leave granted.

Ian Macdonald (Queensland, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

This is a very useful report with a number of very useful recommendations, and the government will, no doubt, look at them and respond in due course. I congratulate the chairman, Senator Gallacher, and deputy chairman, Senator McKenzie. I also pay tribute to former senator Chris Back, who played a very big part in this inquiry and the report.

While the report does have a lot of useful information, the government has already worked very significantly on addressing the welfare of veterans. This has been going on for quite some time now under the Turnbull government. Indeed, in the last budget there were a significant number of new initiatives to address many of the matters that were raised before this committee.

I remind the Senate that the Department of Veterans' Affairs currently supports about 291,000 Australians. Just over half of these people are veterans or currently serving members of the ADF. Around 48 per cent of them are women. Around 82,000 are widows or widowers, and I'm aware of that because my sister is one of those who receives wonderful treatment from the Department of Veterans' Affairs. There are around 2,500 children of veterans who are also supported. Interestingly, about $6.2 billion, or 54 per cent of the department's budget, will be spent on providing for veterans and their families with income support and compensation. About $5 billion, or 44 per cent of the department's budget, will be spent on meeting the healthcare needs of veterans and their families. And around 0.8 per cent of the department's budget is spent on commemorations and maintaining memorials and headstones. So it's a significant contribution by the Australian taxpayers, through the Australian government, to support people who have done so much for this country over years past.

We all know that one suicide in Australia is one too many. Suicide affects all areas of our community. Eight Australians a day take their own life, sadly and regrettably, and it remains the greatest cause of death for men between the ages of 14 and 44. Sadly, our veterans and members of the ADF are not immune from those statistics. The government's determined to address suicide in our community, and we all have a role to play. We're committed to serving all Defence personnel, veterans and their families. We have introduced free and immediate treatment for all mental health conditions for any veteran with one day's full-time service. The government has held the first Female Veterans and Families Forum. We're committed to the Prime Minister's veterans' employment initiative to find out how we can ensure that employers know the benefits of hiring a veteran. We've committed the largest investment in the Department of Veterans' Affairs systems and processes to cut the wait times and make their services more focused on veterans. I know this figured prominently in the committee's report. As a government, we have initiated and hosted the first meeting of state and territory veterans' ministers to provide input on how we can work together across all levels of government on issues such as veterans' homelessness.

Just a few days ago, the minister provided in a statement a confirmation of the government's commitment to a standalone Department of Veterans' Affairs—a department that focuses on needs of veterans first and a stronger voice for the veterans' community. The first one I mentioned is the standalone Department of Veterans' Affairs. Unfortunately, with social media there are a lot of furphies and mistruths and a lot of misinformation that go around, particularly amongst the veterans' community. This is unfortunate because they upset, needlessly, many veterans who naturally believe some of the rubbish that goes around on social media because they are sourced in a way that looks valid. But any early inquiry will show that they are completely fake, so to say. One going around last week was that the Department of Veterans' Affairs was going to be abolished and that the Department of Human Services was going to take over the role. I know that a lot of constituents of mine were concerned when they read this rubbish, and I was only too pleased to be able to confirm that it was nothing more than fake news. But it is unfortunate that that does permeate the social media because it does worry, needlessly, a lot of our veterans.

I just want to briefly mention again some of the support the government is giving. A lot of this has been referred to in the committee's report and a lot of it is already happening. Senators will know that the Turnbull government invested an additional $350 million in this year's budget to support veterans. There were focuses on two strong issues: mental health support, which we've been discussing; and reform of the department's processes and systems, which we've also been discussing in this debate and which the committee made reference to.

We are expanding the program of free and immediate—I stress 'immediate'—mental health support to current and former ADF members. This treatment is currently available for five specified mental health conditions. The government is expanding our Non-Liability Health Care Program so that it will be available for any mental health condition, including phobias, adjustment disorders and bipolar disorders. Just 12 months ago, anyone who had served one day as a full time Australian Defence Force member had to prove that any mental health condition was linked to their service. After suffering these conditions, they would have to wait to have their eligibility and claim approved by the department. The wait times would see their mental health deteriorate or they would not receive the support that they desperately needed. So last year, the government provided a new approach of free and immediate treatment for depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, alcohol abuse and substance abuse without the need to prove the condition was service related. In this budget, the government has gone further. We now commit to provide this for all mental health conditions. It will mean that from now on veterans and defence personnel can get free and immediate treatment without a burden of proof and without the need for a bureaucratic barrier. Most importantly, this policy is completely uncapped, so whatever the demand it will be funded from somewhere in government. The government is also expanding eligibility for the Veterans and Veterans Families Counselling Service, which we think is a very important service that does, in fact, save lives. I return to what I was speaking about before: that suicide prevention is a complex issue and, as reports have shown, there's no simple solution. It requires a multifaceted response, and we have provided about $10 million to pilot new approaches to suicide prevention and to improve the care and support available to veterans. This is a useful report, and I have no doubt that the government will appreciate the recommendations and the thought and effort put into it. I do want to emphasise that the government is well aware of them, and that many of the issues that were spoken about in the inquiry are already being dealt with by the government with considerable extra funding and rearrangements in the department taking place.

Rachel Siewert (WA, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I won't detain the Senate much longer on this particular report, because I know that there are other matters to come, but I would like to contribute a few remarks. I commend this report to the chamber.

We heard from a large number of veterans and a large number of experts in this area who gave us, at times, shocking evidence. Some of the numbers and facts were very confronting for a number of people. I would very, very strongly suggest and beg the government to look at these recommendations. I've just listened to the contribution from Senator Macdonald, and, yes, the committee is aware of the announcements that the government has made, but there are still significant things that need to be done. I think we made 19 recommendations—we added a few at the end, so I must admit I lost count of the final number but I think I'm right in saying 19. They cover a wide range of issues that urgently need to be addressed. We have a significant problem in this country, and the recommendations, I believe—and I'm sure those on the committee do to—will address it. It is absolutely imperative that the issues that were brought up in our report, in full knowledge of all of the other work that's going on, need to be addressed. If anybody doubts that we have a problem, I urge them to read the report or, better still—because we can't put everything into the report—read the hundreds of submissions that we received and also look at the transcripts from the hearings. Then people will understand why it's so important that we look at these recommendations.

I strongly support this report. It was, I've got to say, quite harrowing sometimes listening to the evidence. If we feel that, imagine what veterans are feeling right now living on a day-to-day basis without adequate supports and still with problems in the way that things are handled, including with the department. I think we owe it to our veterans to make sure that every one of these recommendations is given very close attention. I commend the report to the chamber, and I seek leave to continue my remarks later.

Leave granted; debate adjourned.