The Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide handed down its interim report yesterday and the difficulties veterans face transitioning from a "warrior to a civilian" were laid bare.
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The commissioners made 13 urgent recommendations in the 348-page document, including clearing the backlog of Department of Veterans' Affairs claims - currently sitting at 42,000 - and simplifying and harmonising "complex and confusing veteran compensation and rehabilitation laws".
They also made a number of preliminary observations that hint at what is to come in the final report, among them the "challenging and traumatic time" veterans face when leaving the Defence Force, based on hours of testimony heard so far.
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One veteran said: "the military, Kapooka (in my case), they break you, then remake you ... but what they don't teach you is how to leave that life, leave behind that functioning skill set that is reserved for war.
"They don't tell you how to let go and commence living in ... our society's reality back home.
"For some of us the idea of death is more tempting than struggling alone."
The president of the Wagga RSL sub-branch, David Gardiner, said more needs to be done by Defence, and Kapooka, to prepare people for life after the Defence Force.
"[Kapooka] has a big role to play," he said.
"I think that's where the Defence Force and Kapooka ... it's where they break you down to military life and they then need to provide them with the skills they'll need in civilian life."
Mr Gardiner thinks that more needs to be done to alert veterans to the mental health support that is available to them in their post-military life, while also providing them with purpose as leaving the military can be "like retirement".
"If you haven't got a job, a plan to take you into retirement, that's why people often retire and then die because they haven't got a purpose," he said.
David Thorley, from the David Thorley Veterans Solicitor Law Practice, said he was "a little disappointed" with the interim report.
He said transitioning to civilian life would be made easier if some of the urgent recommendations went further, specifically regarding DVA claims.
"I would have thought a better recommendation, instead of saying [the backlog] has got to be eliminated by March 2024, for god's sake just accept all the claims like the tax office does with self-assessments," he said.
"Do audits on things that don't look right, so that you're not depriving people. The vast majority of claims are legitimate."
Mr Thorley said he would also like to have seen an urgent recommendation regarding the culture of the Defence Force.
"They have heard so much evidence about abuse, unacceptable behaviour, harassment, bullying and there are no interim recommendations being made to government about that," he said.
However, he said progress has been made in recent years, with the Joint Transition Authority working on helping veterans leave the force, but he worries about those people who returned to civilian life prior to its formation in 2020.
"They're the ones falling through the cracks," he said.
According to the 2021 census, there are almost 600,000 veterans in Australia, with 84,865 current serving ADF members and about 6000 personnel who leave the force each year.
A Defence spokesperson told The Daily Advertiser that the department welcomes the interim report.
"The government is considering all recommendations contained in the report," they said.
"The death by suicide of any Australian is a tragedy ... suicide, suicide attempts and self-harm behaviours are serious, complex and confronting issues that impact all Australians."
The commission was established on July 8, 2021 and so far it has received 1912 submissions and heard from 194 witnesses at six hearings held across the country.
The commission will be holding its Wagga hearing block from November 28 this year, with a final report due on June 17, 2024.
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