Over the past 12 months,the commission received more than 1900 submissions,held 178 private sessions and heard 194 witness testimonies.
Royal Commission chair Nick Kaldas (right) delivers an interim report on Defence and veteran suicide to Governor-General David Hurley (left) with fellow commissioners Peggy Brown and James Douglas.AAP/Mick Tsikas
No one can deny that the commission has made substantial inroads in giving a voice to so many in the Defence community. Yesterday,it released its with 13 recommendations. It was an opportunity to drive meaningful change. Instead,it chose to focus on process and administration rather than on supporting the families at the heart of the system.
The 12-month backlog of claims is only one part of the problem of Defence and veteran suicides. The veterans’ system is outdated and in need of urgent reform. Hundreds of lives are at risk and the need for immediate action is now. Policymakers cannot afford to delay in helping this vulnerable community access the support and services it critically needs.
Families need to be at the heart of this reform because they are the heart of the community. They are very much the front line of mental and physical injuries and illnesses in the veteran community. The family support network is there for our veterans no matter what,yet this support network is not meaningfully engaged nor supported within the system.
The system is outdated ... it is simply ill-equipped to meet the needs of this generation of veterans and families.
Instead,families are generally left alone to navigate incredibly complex systems and processes,to access support,entitlements,and treatment for their loved ones. Often,facing bureaucratic brick walls,they simply give up.
The current support system is geared around and modelled on support for adults. Open Arms,Australia’s veteran and family counselling service,is currently unable to provide assistance to children under the age of 15 who are suffering from mental illness. The Department of Veteran Affairs gold card,issued to children who have lost a parent due to service,is also of limited benefit with very few providers specialising in child psychiatry and psychology willing to accept it.
The system is outdated. We need to bring it into the 21st century and ensure it is supported correctly. Right now,it is simply ill-equipped to meet the needs of this generation of veterans and families.
One in five households are connected to the Australian Defence Force. But Defence is broader than just this number. For every person connected to the services,there can be a spouse,a family,brothers,sisters,children,parents or carers linked to them,supporting them. This is a matter in urgent need of attention.
On behalf of a community which has given so much to this country,we call on the government to firstly,enhance and provide access to psychiatry,psychology,and trauma recovery treatments to and for children of veterans under the age of 15,especially children of veterans who have died by suicide. We also call on the government to immediately invest in the development of programs and services which mitigate the impacts of intergenerational trauma and allow the children of veterans to thrive. Because veterans do not exist in a vacuum.
Veterans’ families are at the heart of the solution,we need to support them to intervene earlier,support our veterans and work towards preventing suicide.
This interim report is the first step and there is still a long way to go. We must equip Defence families,caregivers and support networks with the tools,information,knowledge and support they need to care for themselves and their loved ones.
Why? Because no child should be left to carry the weight of their parent’s death.
Renee Wilson is CEO of War Widows Australia NSW.