Hearings
The Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide is conducting hearings in capital cities and some towns across Australia.
At public hearings, the Commissioners hear evidence for the purposes of their inquiry.
The following upcoming hearings have been announced:
Please note these are indicative dates and may be subject to change. Venue locations for each of the hearings will be provided closer to the date.
Further information will be provided about other hearing locations and dates when they become available. You can subscribe to our mailing list to receive email updates from the Royal Commission, including details about public hearings.
Attending a public hearing
These hearings are open to the public and will also be livestreamed on our homepage.
A registration link to attend our public hearings will be available on this page, and the individual hearing page, in the lead up to each hearing. It is not compulsory to register but it does help us to ensure the event is COVIDSafe and that there are enough support staff available.
The hearing room
Please be aware that Royal Commission hearings may contain material or images that are distressing for some people. The public nature of the hearings also means that there may be people in military uniform, as well as military service providers in attendance. You can get support or speak to a member of our Counselling team if you find the themes being discussed at the hearings are upsetting.
You can subscribe to our mailing list to receive email updates from the Royal Commission, including details about public hearings.
Submissions
Anyone wishing to make a submission to the Royal Commission can do so.
The Royal Commission will continue to accept submissions until 13 October 2023. Sharing your experiences will help the Royal Commission understand, among other issues:
- systemic issues among serving and ex-serving Defence member deaths by suicide
- risk factors and suicide behaviour
- the availability of support services
The Royal Commission cannot decide or resolve individual cases or award compensation.
Support when summoned to appear as a witness
There is compensation paid to witnesses who are summoned to appear at a hearing. If you are appearing at the Royal Commission as a witness, you will receive a Summons to Appear before your appearance date and you will be provided the details of the expenses you can claim for travelling and maintenance while away from home.
There is also financial assistance available under the Legal Financial Assistance Scheme to individuals and entities, to help meet the costs of legal representation and disbursements associated with engaging with the Royal Commission.
Find out more about counselling and other supports available to individuals who are witness at a hearing.
Previous hearings
- Ceremonial Hearing, Brisbane, 26 November 2021
- Hearing Block 1, Brisbane, 29 November – 10 December 2021
- Hearing Block 2, Sydney, 14 February – 18 February 2022
- Hearing Block 3, Sydney, 7 March – 17 March 2022
- Hearing Block 4, Canberra, 4 April – 14 April 2022
- Hearing Block 5, Townsville, 20 June – 30 June 2022
- Hearing Block 6, Hobart, 2 August – 10 August 2022
- Hearing Block 7, Darwin, 18 October – 27 October 2022
- Hearing Block 8, Wagga Wagga, 28 November – 1 December 2022
- Hearing Block 9, Perth, 16 May – 25 May 2023
- Hearing Block 10, Adelaide, 17 June – 26 July 2023
- Hearing Block 11, Melbourne, 28 August – 8 September 2023
Scheduled upcoming hearings
Please note these are indicative dates and may be subject to change. Venue locations for each of the hearings will be provided closer to the date.
Further information will be provided about other hearing locations and dates when they become available.
Leave to Appear
A person or organisation may seek Leave to Appear at a public hearing of the Royal Commission if they wish to actively participate in the public hearing in a capacity other than as a witness, or have a legal representative participate on their behalf. For example, someone with Leave to Appear at a hearing might instruct their legal representative to ask witnesses questions or make submissions on how the Commissioners should interpret the law and/or evidence.
Leave to Appear applications are typically made by people or organisations who are the subject of evidence before the Royal Commission. This may include individuals as well as service providers and government agencies.
Leave to Appear is different to other forms of engagement with the Royal Commission and will only be only granted in limited circumstances where the person or organisation has a direct and substantial interest in the subject matter of the hearing (see Practice Guideline 2). Importantly, it is not necessary to seek Leave to Appear to share your experience with the Royal Commission. That can be done in a number of other ways, including by making a submission.
Prior to each hearing, the Royal Commission will invite people and organisations who may have a direct and substantial interest in a particular hearing to make an application for Leave to Appear.
Everyone who makes an application for Leave to Appear will be notified of the outcome of their application.
For more information about Leave to Appear, please download our Leave to Appear Guidance Note.
Hearing Block 12, Sydney
The Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide will conduct its 12th Hearing Block at InterContinental Sydney, 117 Macquarie Street, from 20 November 2023.
Hearing Block 11, Melbourne
The Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide conducted its 11th Hearing Block at Novotel Melbourne on Collins from 28 August – 8 September 2023.
Hearing Block 10, Adelaide
The Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide conducted its 10th Hearing Block at Hotel Grand Chancellor Adelaide from 17 July – 26 July 2023.
Hearing Block 9, Perth
The Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide conducted its 9th public hearing block at Parmelia Hilton Perth from 16 May – 25 May 2023.
Hearing Block 8, Wagga Wagga
The Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide conducted its 8th hearing block at the Mercure Wagga Wagga from 28 November 2022 – 1 December 2022.
Hearing Block 7, Darwin
The Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide conducted its 7th hearing block at the Hilton Darwin from Tuesday 18 October – 27 October 2022.
Hearing Block 6, Hobart
The Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide conducted its 6th hearing block at the Wrest Point Hotel Hobart from Tuesday 2 August – Wednesday 10 August 2022.
Hearing Block 5, Townsville
The Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide conducted its 5th hearing block at the Mercure Hotel Townsville from Monday 20 June – Thursday 30 June 2022.
Hearing Block 4, Canberra
The Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide conducted its 4th hearing block at the Canberra Rex Hotel from Monday 4 April – Thursday 14 April 2022.
Hearing Block 3, Sydney
The Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide conducted its 3rd hearing block at the Pullman Sydney Hyde Park Hotel from Monday 7 March – Thursday 17 March 2022.