The Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide concluded with the delivery of its Final Report on 9 September 2024. All enquiries should now be directed to the Attorney-General's Department. See the contact page for more information.

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Final Report – Volume 2: Serving the nation, and Defence culture and leadership

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Volume 2 contains five chapters on the theme ‘Serving the nation’ in which we look in detail at life in the Australian Defence Force (ADF).

Chapter 3, Recruitment and initial training, looks at the process of recruitment for the ADF and training in one of seven live-in initial training institutions. We look at the ADF’s increasing ‘risk appetite’ in recruitment, including reduced entry standards and increased use of medical waivers to accept candidates who do not initially meet the threshold for entry. We look at the risk and protective factors associated with initial training institutions and the need for enhanced screening and support for members in the early stages of service life.

Chapter 4, Postings and deployments, examines the ‘posting cycle’ by which members are allocated to roles in different locations to fill vacancies. This is an essential feature of Defence workforce management; however, regular relocation places strain on members’ families, creates instability in social networks and introduces financial strain. It also discusses deployment, where members are assigned for duty away from their posted location, for example, to a conflict zone, on a peacekeeping mission, or for disaster relief. Deployments can be challenging and rewarding. Our research found that those who served in combat and security roles in the permanent forces and were deployed where there was direct or indirect risk of harm have an increased risk of suicide.

Chapter 5, The military employment classification system and medical separation, looks at the system by which members are assigned a classification that reflects their fitness to serve and deploy. A reduced classification can limit career prospects within the ADF and lead to medical separation – a form of involuntary discharge. Medical separation is associated with veteran suicide and suicidality.

Chapter 6, Retention issues and voluntary separation, discusses the effects of workplace shortages across the ADF, which contribute to chronic fatigue, stress and burnout. It looks at ADF strategies to increase retention and the drivers for members choosing to leave service voluntarily.

Chapter 7, Culture and leadership, explores the organisational culture of the ADF, including the behaviours and norms that are fundamental to building and sustaining a high-capability military organisation. Some aspects of culture, such as extreme loyalty to the group, and high self-reliance, can become maladaptive after separation, contributing to poor outcomes, including suicide and suicidality. We look at the link between military norms and hyper-masculinity, and their role in perpetuating certain aspects of ADF culture. We also look at the types of behaviours ADF leaders must demonstrate to create and sustain a positive workplace culture.

This volume also contains the public report of an in-depth inquiry we conducted and a case study into Navy Clearance Divers. 

Recommendations from Volume 2

Recommendation 2: Improve outcomes and access to support for recruits in ab initio training

Defence should improve support for all recruits in ab initio training to build resilience and embed help-seeking behaviours. Developed in partnership with people with lived experience of service, the model of support should:

  1. utilise mental health screening conducted during ab initio training (Recommendation 65) to identify and provide support to proactively meet recruits' needs
  2. reduce barriers to accessing timely and appropriate care, including physical health, mental health, spiritual health, pastoral care and peer supports
  3. ensure that changes to 'recruitment risk appetite' do not jeopardise members' mental and physical health, including for those who enter under reduced physical fitness standards, as waiver recipients or with higher psychological risk, including by:
    1. longitudinal tracking of health, wellbeing and safety outcomes for members from initial training and throughout their Australian Defence Force career
    2. with members' consent, sharing insights about recruits' support needs obtained through recruitment processes to enable ab initio training institutions to offer relevant supports proactively
  4. prioritise and promote postings at ab initio training institutions and ensure that instructors have the resourcing, capabilities and personal attributes necessary to lead and educate young people, including vulnerable individuals.

Recommendation 3: Build the capability of career managers

Defence should build the capability of career managers to engage with and respond to member needs and preferences when making posting decisions, including by:

  1. improving the ratio of career managers to members
  2. upskilling career managers to engage with vulnerable individuals through training in trauma-informed approaches
  3. providing the training, resourcing, data and guidance for career managers to identify and mitigate cumulative stressors experienced by members, including psychosocial risk such as exposure to unacceptable behaviour, when making posting decisions.

Recommendation 4: Mitigate the adverse impacts of the posting cycle

Defence should take steps to mitigate the adverse impacts of the posting cycle on members and their families, including:

  1. measures to reduce the frequency of relocation
  2. improved supports for members and their families moving to a new location that target known stressors, such as housing, childcare and children's education, partner/spouse employment and community ties
  3. measures to implement greater mobility across the Australian Defence Force and flexible working options
  4. working with state and territory governments to ensure that children of Defence personnel can enrol in educational institutions without having a fixed address as a result of Defence-required relocations of the family.

Recommendation 5: Support all serving members to decompress, rest and reintegrate, especially after high-risk experiences

Defence should:

  1. implement a clear and consistent framework for post-deployment supports for members and their families that addresses the psychosocial aspects of reintegration. This should include:
    1. an evidence-based approach to decompression and reintegration that allows for individual needs, informed by experience in comparable industries such as emergency services
    2. training that addresses common issues that arise on entering and exiting operational activities, which may include grief, hypervigilance, sleep issues, excess alcohol use and aggression
    3. with members' consent, a handover from their commanding officer on deployment to their commanding officer at home that identifies stressors experienced by the member on deployment
  2. implement a structured and comprehensive approach to respite across the Australian Defence Force (ADF) that is not limited to 'arduous deployments' and that addresses fatigue across the workforce
  3. analyse data collected on high-risk experiences, including deployments, to derive lessons for improved risk and fatigue management across the organisation and build a better understanding of the future physical and mental health needs of ADF members and veterans.

Recommendation 6: Improve the procedural fairness of the military employment classification system

Defence should ensure members are treated fairly when making decisions about their fitness to be employed or deployed by the Australian Defence Force. To achieve this, Defence should:

  1. publish a guidance direction for decision-makers in the military employment classification system on the requirements of procedural fairness
  2. ensure members may review all relevant documents before a decision is made about their military employment classification and have an opportunity to make direct representations to the decision-maker, including at Military Employment Classification Review Board meetings.

Recommendation 7: Increase employment opportunities within the Australian Defence Force for members who cannot be deployed

Defence should implement measures to increase employment opportunities within the Australian Defence Force (ADF) for members who are no longer able to be deployed due to illness or injury. Measures should include:

  1. systematic identification, within Defence workforce planning and other policies, of roles that may be suitable and should be considered for members who cannot deploy
  2. a commitment to maximising opportunities for continuing employment of ADF members who are no longer able to be deployed due to illness or injury, including by minimising reliance on external service providers and contractors
  3. processes to measure and monitor the number of members who can and cannot be deployed, and how changes in this ratio impact on, and are illustrative of, the wellbeing of members.

Recommendation 8: Maximise workforce retention by addressing factors that contribute to voluntary separation

In the next iteration of the Defence Strategic Workforce Plan (or its equivalent), Defence should specifically focus on outcomes-based retention initiatives. The plan should:

  1. draw on service-specific workforce experience data, monthly workforce reporting and analysis of factors driving voluntary separation
  2. address contributors to voluntary separation, including burnout, fatigue and psychosocial stress
  3. establish targets, with accompanying performance measures, to enable evaluation of the effectiveness of retention initiatives.

The plan should inform the evolution of Defence's Employee Value Proposition and be implemented in alignment with the Defence Work Health and Safety Strategy.

Recommendation 9: Improve organisational culture and leadership accountability to increase member wellbeing and safety

The Chief of the Defence Force, Australian Defence Force (ADF) service chiefs and the Chief of Personnel should agree on a suite of ADF culture targets, supported by data-driven metrics. Targets should be outcomes-based and time-bound. At a minimum, targets should be developed for the following cultural priorities:

  1. safety, health and wellbeing, with a focus on psychosocial safety
  2. unacceptable behaviour and sexual misconduct, with a focus on removing barriers to reporting and improving complaints management
  3. senior leadership accountability.

The annual culture report should be publicly available and report on each service's progress against culture targets, as well as ADF-wide results.

Recommendation 10: Develop service-specific action plans to implement the Defence Respect@Work Framework

The Australian Human Rights Commission should undertake an independent assessment of the extent to which underlying drivers, risk and protective factors in the Defence Respect@Work Framework are present in each service, and recommend actions to address gaps and known risks.

Following these recommendations, Navy, Army and Air Force should develop service-specific action plans for the Defence Respect@Work Framework, including implementation timeframes, to be approved by the Minister for Defence and the Minister for Defence Personnel.

Recommendation 11: Assess Australian Defence Force leaders based on upward feedback and performance against culture, health and wellbeing targets

Defence should amend the annual performance appraisals of Australian Defence Force (ADF) leaders (from the rank of Colonel to the rank of General, and equivalents) to include upward feedback from their direct reports, and assessment against outcomes-based targets related to culture, health and wellbeing.

At a minimum, Defence should develop outcomes-based targets for leaders for the following domains and metrics:

  1. safety, health and wellbeing
    1. psychological safety climate, based on the new Values and Behaviours Survey metrics related to managers and commanders
  2. gender equality
    1. difference in cultural reporting between men and women (KPI 11 metrics, Women in the ADF Report)
    2. women feel equally included (KPI 13 Metrics, Women in the ADF Report)
  3. reporting and management of unacceptable behaviour
    1. level of under-reporting of unacceptable behaviour and sexual misconduct (reported separately and disaggregated by gender)
    2. satisfaction with management of unacceptable behaviour and sexual misconduct (reported separately and disaggregated by gender).

Recommendation 12: Consider emotional intelligence and performance against wellbeing targets in selecting leaders to promote

The Australian Defence Force should strengthen its leadership selection and promotion process by:

  1. assessing a candidate's performance against culture, health and wellbeing targets (see Recommendation 11) as part of the 'fit and proper person' check for leadership and command selection and promotion
  2. including psychometric testing, particularly emotional intelligence measurement, as part of the command selection framework, based on command-assessment programs in the United Kingdom and the United States.

Recommendation 13: Co-design a new doctrine recognising that operational readiness depends on a healthy workforce

Defence should convene a select panel to co-design a new doctrine on 'people, capability and service' with Australian Defence Force (ADF) members.

The doctrine should make it clear that Australia's military capability and operational readiness depend on having a physically and mentally healthy workforce, where prevention, early intervention and recovery are not in opposition to values of service and sacrifice, but are essential for these values to be expressed in a sustainable way that serves our nation's interest.

The select panel should:

  1. consist of ex-serving members and represent experience at both the commissioned and non-commissioned officer ranks, across Navy, Army and Air Force
  2. undertake a co-design process including representation from a broad range of age groups, ranks, bases and services, and maximise involvement of members who have experienced physical and mental health issues
  3. present the new doctrine on 'people, capability and service' to the Chief of Personnel and the Chief of the Defence Force for endorsement by no later than December 2026
  4. identify any other single-service or ADF cultural norms, symbols, systems, policies or processes identified by members or commanding officers as barriers to the prioritisation of member health and wellbeing, and suggest changes in a report to the Minister for Defence and the Minister for Defence Personnel.

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