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Thank you for sharing your story

 

To those affected by suicide, and on behalf of the Royal Commission, I make this promise: we will listen with empathy, we will act with compassion – and without fear or favour – and we will learn from your stories in order to make a real difference to the lives of serving and former personnel, and their families

Commissioner Nick Kaldas APM (Chair)

To understand the common themes, systemic issues and risk factors that contribute to suicide and suicide behaviours, the Royal Commission has heard from serving members, veterans, families, support organisations, stakeholders and experts in the field. The Commission has used submissions and private sessions to better understand Defence and veteran suicide – thank you for sharing your story with us.

Submissions

A submission is a statement to the Royal Commission which assists the Commission in its collection of information that is relevant to the inquiry as set out in the terms of reference.

Submissions opened on 8 July 2021, and closed on 13 October 2023. In that time, the Commission received over 5000 submissions that covered a range of issues related to the Royal Commission’s terms of reference.

It is not possible for the Royal Commission to follow up every submission it received. However, every submission was recorded and reviewed. We thank everybody who shared their story with us. Every submission is valuable and has helped inform our inquiry.

The Royal Commission will continue to publish submissions on our website into 2024.

If you have questions about submissions please see our FAQs or contact us.

Private sessions

Private sessions are confidential meetings. These sessions are conducted in private with one or more of the Commissioners where you tell them about your personal experience.

Requests for private sessions closed on 28 April 2023. The Royal Commission will continue to hold private sessions throughout 2023 and into 2024. If you have questions about your private session request, please see our FAQs or contact us.

The information you share in a private session is confidential and helps to inform the work of the Commission. Any information you share with the Commissioners would only ever be included in a Commission report if it was deidentified.

If you would like to learn more about private session you can read our A guide to your private session factsheet.

Contact us with any questions about private sessions.

Contribute in other ways

If you're interested in the Royal Commission, there are other ways you can get involved:

You can also subscribe to our mailing list to get updates from the Royal Commission, including details about public hearings.

Support for engaging with the Royal Commission

An independent legal service has been established for people who want to engage with the Royal Commission.

A legal financial assistance scheme is available to some individuals engaging with the Royal Commission.

To find out more about the supports available see our Counselling & support page.

Protections for people engaging with the Royal Commission

Under the Royal Commission Act there are protections available to people wishing to engage with a Royal Commission under its coercive powers.