Ahead of the one year anniversary of the Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide (RCDVS) Final Report to government, the Minister for Defence Personnel gave an update to parliament on recommendation implementation progress across the whole of the Australian government.

Defence is responsible for 54 recommendations and has a shared responsibility for a further 23 recommendations. Defence has commenced implementation of 69 of these recommendations. Work is also well progressed for the remaining 8 recommendations.

Defence is prioritising the implementation of recommendations to address sexual violence in the Australian Defence Force (ADF) and the safety of Defence personnel. This includes:

• The development of a sexual violence prevention strategy, in partnership with the Australian Human Rights Commission and Our Watch.
• The Chief of the Defence Force issued a directive regarding suspension from duty and involuntary separation of ADF personnel alleged to have engaged in serious misconduct. This is an immediate measure that precedes further steps to implement the Royal Commission’s recommendations in relation to sexual violence that require legislative change.
• Defence has significantly enhanced its Suicide Prevention Program. This has seen the adoption of a system-wide approach to suicide prevention; providing education and training to promote wellbeing, mental health awareness, and encourage help-seeking behaviours.
• Programs are being piloted across ADF training establishments to better support mental health, resilience and leadership development.
• A specialised and centralised complaints unit will be up and running in early 2026. This unit will provide an avenue for complaints of unacceptable behaviour to be made outside chain of command/reporting line and anonymously.
• From the Royal Commission, Defence has learnt that input from those with lived experience is critical to informing change. Defence has developed and endorsed the Lived Experience Framework to ensure safe inclusion of lived experience perspectives in the development and review of Defence’s policies, programs and initiatives.
• Together with the Department of Veterans’ Affairs, Defence has released the Defence and Veteran Mental Health and Wellbeing Strategy 2025–2030. The released Strategy, along with earlier actions, aims to empower and support optimal mental health and wellbeing for ADF personnel during service or employment, during transition to civilian life and beyond.
• From December 2025, ADF personnel who have been convicted of a serious offence since 2015 will have those details recorded with the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission and uploaded to the National Police Reference System.

Reform activities are aligned with 6 themes, as per the Royal Commission’s Final Report.