Now lawDefence & Security Introduced in the House of Representatives, 27 Nov 2025

Veterans' suicide watchdog gets its own law and new powers

The Defence and Veterans' Service Commissioner checks if the government is fixing the problems behind veteran suicide. This law moves the job out of the Defence Act, the main law for the armed forces. It makes the job more independent. It gives new ways to get evidence.

Official name: Defence and Veterans’ Service Commissioner Bill 2025

Who it affects

• Veterans and serving members: An independent watchdog checks if the government is fixing the causes of suicide among them.
• Veterans' families: The watchdog's job now names the families of veterans.
• Government agencies like Defence and Veterans' Affairs: They can be made to hand over papers, let officials in, and report on what they did.
• Witnesses: It is a crime to punish or threaten anyone for helping the watchdog.

High suicide rates among veterans

Veterans and Defence Force members die by suicide at high rates. A Royal Commission looked at why. A Royal Commission is the most powerful kind of public investigation in Australia. This one was the Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide. Its final report came out on 9 September 2024.

Its last idea, number 122, asked for a new body that would last. That body would watch over the changes. It would give advice that stands apart from the government and rests on evidence. The aim is fewer suicides and better wellbeing.

Parliament first set up the Defence and Veterans' Service Commission in February 2025. It added a new part to the Defence Act 1903 to do this. That part sat inside a larger veterans' law. The Commission started work on 29 September 2025.

A group of senators then looked at that setup. They reported in August 2025. They said the Commission should have its own law. Michael Manthorpe was its acting head. He used to run the federal complaints office. He said its own law would show the body truly stands apart from Defence.

This law does that. A second law takes the old part out of the Defence Act. It also carries over any work already going.

What the Commissioner does

The head of the Commission is called the Commissioner. The Commissioner looks for problems across the whole system. That covers suicide figures and trends. It also covers ways government programs may add to the risk.

The Commissioner also tracks how well the government is carrying out the Royal Commission's ideas. Two big reviews of this are due. The first is due by 2 December 2027. The second is due by 2 December 2030.

The law uses 'veteran' to mean anyone who is or was in the Defence Force. So serving members are covered. Families of veterans are now named in the job, as the senators asked.

There are limits. The head cannot find someone guilty of a crime. They cannot say someone must pay for harm. They cannot rule on how a person died or if a death was suicide. They do not handle single complaints. Those go to other agencies.

More independence

Nobody can tell the head how to run an investigation. That includes what it covers, when it happens and what comes first.

The Minister can still ask for an investigation. First, the Minister must think about the head's other work. The Minister must also think about whether there is enough money and staff.

The Governor-General now picks the head, on the Minister's advice. The Governor-General stands in for the King. The job must be advertised in public. A panel must then recommend the best person. The person cannot have served in the Defence Force in the past 5 years. The term is 5 years and can be renewed.

The head can pick deputies and assistants to help.

How inquiries work

The head must tell the Minister when an investigation starts. They usually post a notice online too. It can stay private in some cases, such as when it deals with national security.

Anyone can be asked to send in a written comment. A member of the public who asks to stay private must be allowed to. Published comments must not name private people. They must not hold secret spy or military facts.

Before a final report, people who are criticised get a fair chance to reply. Their replies go into the report.

Some reports must go to Parliament within 15 days that Parliament sits. These are reports the Minister asked for, and reports on the Royal Commission changes. The government then has to reply. If an agency does not act on an idea, the head can tell the Prime Minister and Parliament.

Special inquiry powers

Most work is meant to be done in good faith with agencies. But the Royal Commission warned this might not always happen. So the head can call a 'special inquiry' and use stronger powers.

In a special inquiry, the head can order people to come in. They can make them swear an oath and demand papers. People cannot refuse just because the answer might show they did a crime. But what they say mostly cannot be used against them in a criminal case.

An approved official can now enter government offices, or those of firms that work for the government. They can copy or take papers. The head can also look at an agency's computer records from afar. If entry might harm national security, a Minister must approve it.

A search warrant from a judge is also possible. It is meant only for rare cases where evidence might be hidden or destroyed.

Hearings must be held in private if military or spy secrets might come up. They can also be private to protect grieving families. They can protect a veteran's own story of suicide risk too.

New crimes and protections

Some acts can bring up to 2 years in jail. These include failing to turn up, refusing to answer, or refusing to hand over papers. They also include giving false facts or destroying papers. The old law had no crime for those last two.

Leaking a draft report, or secret facts the Commission holds, can also bring up to 2 years in jail.

Witnesses get stronger protection. It is a crime to harm or threaten anyone because they helped, or might help, the head. The penalty is up to 1 year in jail.

Say a corporal, a junior military leader, tells the head about bullying in her unit. Her boss then blocks her promotion as payback. The boss could face criminal charges.

Blocking the head's work can bring up to 3 months in jail. So can acting in a way that would be contempt of court. That means disrespecting or defying a court.

Each year the head must report how often these strong powers were used. An outside review of the whole law must start soon after it has run for 3 years.

Start date

The government brought the bill into the House of Representatives, the lower house of Parliament, on 27 November 2025. The House passed it on 11 February 2026.

The Senate, the upper house, passed it on 30 March 2026 with one change. The Liberal and National parties asked for that change. The House agreed to it on 31 March 2026. The Governor-General signed it into law on 1 April 2026. It became Act No. 27 of 2026.

It starts on a date the government sets. If no date is set within 6 months, it starts by itself on 1 October 2026.

How they voted

Its journey through Parliament

Official sources

• Bill page on aph.gov.au
• Text of the bill
• Explanatory memorandum
• Bills Digest

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