Defence and Veterans’ Service Commissioner (Consequential and Transitional Provisions)

“Having spoken about the independence of the commissioner and about families, I now want to go to ongoing reform. The commissioner is empowered to be an agent of change and improvement. Their functions would enable them, as an oversight body, to monitor, inquire into, report on and provide advice on systemic reforms, including the Commonwealth's implementation of the government's response to the recommendations of the royal commission. The government has listened to feedback from stakeholders and has taken action. These changes to the bill will ensure that the commissioner has the tools necessary to ensure that the Defence and Veterans' Service Commission is able to drive that systemic reform that will improve suicide prevention and wellbeing outcomes for both serving and ex-serving Australian Defence Force members. This will mean agencies are held accountable to consider and respond to the commissioner's recommendations. The enduring nature of the commission will ensure that the voices of our veterans continue to be heard and that systemic issues which contribute to suicide in our veteran community are continually reviewed and addressed.”

Australian Labor Party • MP • 11 Feb 2026

“This bill delivers on the full implementation of these things by enshrining the legislative establishment of the Defence and Veterans' Service Commissioner and the Defence and Veterans' Service commission into its own standalone legislation, as was always intended.”

Australian Labor Party • MP • 11 Feb 2026

“Most importantly, we are bringing the silent ranks—the families of those who serve—into the fold of our national policy. We're acknowledging that the ripples of service touch every partner, every parent and every child, and we're telling them: 'Your burden is seen, your role is recognised, and you'll not be left to carry it alone.' We stand on the shoulders of proud local legacy, but our duty is to the present and the future. We owe it to every person today who wears a uniform and to every veteran who has since laid it down to ensure that the promise of service is met with the promise of support. No veteran and no veteran's family should ever have to fight their hardest battle alone. With this bill, we are building a system that finally holds itself to the same high standard that they hold for themselves. I commend the bill to the House.”

Australian Labor Party • MP • 11 Feb 2026

“The changes before the House today ensure the commissioner has the tools necessary to drive system reform and improve suicide prevention and wellbeing outcomes for serving and former serving Australian Defence Force members. This legislation will ensure agencies are held accountable to consider and respond to the commissioner's recommendations, and the enduring nature of the commission will ensure that the voices of veterans and their families continue to be heard after the headlines fade. Systemic issues that contribute to suicide in our veteran community cannot be addressed through one-off responses or short-term commitments. They require sustained attention, independent oversight and the courage to confront uncomfortable truths. This bill delivers exactly that.”

Australian Labor Party • MP • 11 Feb 2026

“The changes in this bill will ensure that the commissioner has the tools necessary so that the Defence and Veterans' Service Commission is enabled to drive system reform, to improve suicide prevention and wellbeing outcomes for serving and ex-serving Australian Defence Force members. Accountability, transparency and prompt action are facilitated by this bill, and it is our duty in this House to do this. It's not set-and-forget. We must monitor and measure the effectiveness of these measures and continually adapt, make changes and make improvements to ensure that the commission and the commissioner can always be a powerful force for the systematic change that we need. I commend the bill to the House.”

Australian Labor Party • MP • 11 Feb 2026

“This Bill delivers on the full implementation of this by enshrining the legislative establishment of the Defence and Veterans' Service Commissioner and Commission into its own stand alone legislation as always intended.”

Australian Labor Party • Senator • 03 Mar 2026

“The commission has been up and running since September and has been overseeing the whole defence ecosystem; however, that's not enough. We need these bills to pass for our commitment to better the lives of ADF personnel and veterans. We need a commissioner to act in the best interest of veterans and those serving in an independent manner. We need to see proactive steps to prevent the ongoing trend of all the issues associated with veterans when they leave the Defence Force and whilst they're in the Defence Force as well as all the things that we heard during the royal commission.”

Australian Labor Party • MP • 11 Feb 2026

“By establishing the independent Defence and Veterans' Service Commission, we are taking a significant step toward a future where veterans and their families are supported by a system that is worthy of their service; a future where their wellbeing is protected, their voices are central and their experiences shape the policies that affect them; and a future where no veteran or serving defence personnel feel left behind. I commend the bills to the House.”

Australian Labor Party • MP • 11 Feb 2026

“These bills before us are a direct result of that engagement. We seek to demonstrate our commitment to working with the defence and veteran community. We want to get this right. The bills address the first recommendation of the Senate inquiry by establishing standalone legislation for the commission. The bills also add a specific reference to families as part of the commissioner's functions, strengthen the commissioner's independence and powers, improve witness protections and increase transparency.”

Australian Labor Party • Senator • 30 Mar 2026

“Parliament was asked to wade through a complex oversight body with very limited visibility and limited stakeholder engagement, and that is not how serious veterans policy should be made. It is not. So I would urge and encourage that we ensure we take the time with this commission and with this bill. I know it will pass this place; it's got the support of the coalition. But we also need to ensure that, if there are any fine-tuning legislative measures that may happen in the house of review, in the Senate, in the upper house, then there's the time taken to do that as well.”

National Party • MP • 11 Feb 2026

“The structure Labor is now implementing closely mirrors what the coalition proposed after having voted against it. It is fair to say that if the coalition's national commissioner model had been supported instead of opposed, independent oversight would already be mature and operating. The coalition will support this framework now because veterans and their families cannot afford further delay, but the history should be acknowledged. Labor put politics ahead of veteran wellbeing five years ago and is finally delivering on the commission. Later today, I'll be moving an amendment to this bill. I will speak to that later.”

Liberal National Party • MP • 11 Feb 2026

“However, it is important to put something on the record. This idea of an independent oversight body is not an invention of the Labor Party. In fact, the coalition introduced legislation to establish an independent national commissioner for defence and veteran suicide prevention back in 2020, five years ago. That bill proposed an independent statutory oversight body with basically the same features Labor is implementing today. And what did Labor do in 2020? They opposed that bill. Because of Labor's political games, the establishment of the body was delayed—and that delay matters. It matters because early independent oversight, working alongside the royal commission, could have accelerated system reform. It could have brought earlier accountability to Defence and the DVA. The structure Labor is now implementing closely mirrors what the coalition proposed at the very same time Labor voted against that bill. The coalition will support this framework because veterans and families cannot afford any further delay, but the history should be acknowledged: Labor put politics ahead of veterans' wellbeing five years ago.”

Liberal Party • MP • 11 Feb 2026

“The coalition's objective is simple—reforms recommended by the royal commission must be implemented quickly and assessed openly. The opposition's commitment to veterans will remain unwavering. When in government, our minister for veterans' affairs was given cabinet status. Disappointingly, in the current Labor government, the responsible minister has not been. That is a clear indication of how Labor views veterans and their families. The coalition's track record on veterans' affairs speaks for itself. We will continue to support and advocate for veterans and their families because that is what those who serve their country deserve the most. The coalition will support this bill with our amendment. I thank the House.”

Liberal Party • MP • 11 Feb 2026

“I also want to make the point here that this is not a new idea from Labor. The coalition introduced legislation to establish an independent National Commissioner for Defence and Veteran Suicide Prevention back in 2020, more than five years ago. That bill proposed an independent statutory oversight body with the same structural features now being implemented. I want to note in the House that Labor opposed that legislation at the time for political purposes, and, as a result, the establishment of an independent statutory oversight body was delayed. The structure that Labor is now implementing closely mirrors what we proposed back in government. If the coalition's national commissioner model had been supported instead of being opposed by Labor, independent oversight would already be underway. The coalition will support this framework now, because veterans and families cannot afford further delay, but I think it's important that that history should be acknowledged, particularly in the veteran community. Veteran care should not be a political issue. I think it's fair to say that where we land today is bipartisan, but it hasn't been perfect. But we're here, and I think we've come together for veterans and their families, and that's an important message they need to hear from this House.”

Liberal Party • MP • 11 Feb 2026

“This bill to me is a fundamental proposition about how we show, honour and respect our veterans and how there is nearly no end to the responsibility we share to invest in our veterans so they can live out the best of their healthy lives. For those people who make that sacrifice and are prepared to wear the uniform and defend our nation, what we should want at the end of their service is not just to provide them with the support they need to move on from their service. Of course, in many cases, we want them to continue to act as reservists continuing to support the ADF. But we should also want those who cease their service to go on and live healthy and productive lives. By 'healthy and productive lives' we don't mean just keeping them alive; we mean healthy and productive lives where they form families and live out what they deserve as a consequence of their service. It's what they fought or enlisted for. I'm very happy to be supporting the principles of this process and this legislation, because I think it goes right to the heart of the responsibility, particularly of those who have not worn a uniform, to those who are prepared to step up and do so.”

Liberal Party • MP • 11 Feb 2026

“What is now before the parliament, the Defence and Veterans' Service Commissioner Bill 2025 and the Defence and Veterans' Service Commissioner (Consequential and Transitional Provisions) Bill 2025, closely resembles the model the coalition proposed and the government opposed. If that earlier proposal had been supported, we would already have a mature, independent oversight body operating within the system today. The coalition will support this framework because veterans and their families cannot afford further delay; however, history should not be overlooked. It's a matter of record that Labor put political consideration ahead of early reform and is now delivering a model that it once rejected.”

National Party • Senator • 30 Mar 2026

“The last comment I want to make is on the importance, from my perspective, of this new commissioner's power to establish an inquiry on their own initiative into matters relating to suicide prevention or wellbeing outcomes for veterans. From my perspective, it is absolutely crucial that the commissioner not be hamstrung, not be limited and not have guardrails erected around their discretion with respect to embarking upon their own inquiry and examination into matters of concern with respect to suicide and suicidality among our veterans. That is incredibly important. When you dovetail that power with the commissioner's independence from the department and from the minister and consider the powers the commissioner will have with respect to witness protection and compelling access to evidence, I think this is a really good scheme. It's an effective scheme. As Senator McDonald has advocated, we should accelerate the reporting dates in relation to the work of the commissioner and the implementation of the royal commission's recommendations. I fully support that as well. Our veterans deserve nothing less than this legislation.”

Liberal Party • Senator • 30 Mar 2026

“But I'll leave this on a positive note. We have arrived at a place where we have a commissioner that will continue to shed light on how we treat veterans in the service, how we discharge them and how we give them care for the remainder of their days. Long gone are the days when we could hold the view that, once they're discharged, they are someone else's problem. We have a moral obligation to care for them, to watch over them and to meet their needs every single day for the rest of their lives. I thank the government for pursuing this legislation, I thank all my colleagues for their great work in committee and I look forward to these bills' passage through this house, their proclamation and their coming into life.”

Liberal Party • Senator • 30 Mar 2026

“I rise on behalf of the Greens to indicate that we'll be supporting the Defence and Veterans' Service Commissioner Bill 2025 and to deal briefly with the history of why we're here. We're here because the royal commission made a finding that veterans and people serving in the ADF are at significant risk, and at significant risk to their mental health. There have been appalling rates of suicide and self-harm in our defence forces and our veterans community. One of the core recommendations from the royal commission was that there needs to be an independent commissioner—independent of Defence, independent of the minister—to ensure that there is somewhere to go, for veterans, their families, members of the ADF, and that there would be that independent, ongoing oversight of any reforms that this parliament makes to try to change the structures in the ADF to make it a safer place, especially for women but not just women: for people serving in the ADF.”

Australian Greens • Senator • 30 Mar 2026

“I welcome these bills, and I hope the establishment of an independent commissioner will lead to tangible improvements in the health, wellbeing and lives of current and former ADF personnel and their families. They deserve a system that supports them with consistency, compassion and integrity.”

Independent • MP • 11 Feb 2026