Defence and Veterans' Service Commissioner Bill 2025, Defence and Veterans' Service Commissioner (Consequential and Transitional Provisions) Bill 2025

Summary

The Defence and Veterans' Service Commissioner moves from being buried in Part VIIIE of the Defence Act into its own standalone legislation, creating an independent statutory office with real powers to investigate and publicly report on systemic issues affecting veteran suicide and wellbeing. The Commissioner will have the authority to compel information from government agencies, conduct inquiries on their own initiative or when asked by the Minister, and force the government to respond publicly to their findings within three months. This matters because it establishes a genuinely independent watchdog — not answering to the Defence Department — to hold the entire defence and veteran support system accountable for preventing suicide and improving outcomes for serving and former ADF members, a key recommendation from the 2024 Royal Commission.