Defence Legislation Amendment (RCDVS Implementation and Related Measures No. 2) Bill 2026
Ms AMBIHAIPAHAR (Barton) (16:23): I rise today to speak in support of the Defence Legislation Amendment (RCDVS Implementation and Related Measures No. 2) Bill 2026. Before I turn to the details of this bill, I want to take a moment to share something with the chamber that speaks directly to why this legislation matters. This is very much in the lived experience of the community I proudly represent in the southern part of Sydney.
A few weeks ago I held the inaugural meeting of the Barton Defence Community Council. It's an initiative that I've started, and it was established in my electorate to bring together a lot of the veterans, ex-servicepeople, serving defence personnel and families in one room on a regular basis to be heard. We had representation from local RSL sub-branches and RSL LifeCare.
We had people from LifeUnleashed by Integra Service Dogs Australia and Soldier On Australia. We had veterans who served decades ago sitting alongside families navigating the realities of defence life today. What struck me very importantly was not only the single stories that were brought up but the simple fact that people stayed back after the formal proceedings.
For many of them, it was the first time in a long time that someone had organised an actual space and a form of engagement specifically to listen to them. I want to thank the special guests at the event. They generously gave a lot of their time and expertise.
Both the member for Hunter, Daniel Repacholi, the Special Envoy for Men's Health, and Sergeant Kirsty Claymore, a local CSS, brought much insight, candour and warmth to the conversation, and their presence reminded everyone— A division having been called in the House of Representatives— Sitting suspended from 16:25 to 16:46 Ms AMBIHAIPAHAR: Sergeant Kirsti Claymore CSC brought insight, candour and warmth to the conversation that day.
Their presence reminded everyone in that room that the issue really transcends electorate boundaries and political divisions. It is a national responsibility. I established the Barton Defence Community Council because I believe that good policy starts with listening.
God gave us two ears and one mouth for a reason. The people best placed to tell us what is and isn't working are the veterans, the serving members and their families living it every day. The council gives Barton's defence community a standing forum to raise concerns, to connect with the services and organisations that support them and to know that their member of parliament is not simply present for ceremonial occasions but genuinely engaged in their wellbeing all year round.
It is in that spirit of listening, acting and taking seriously the responsibility we owe to those who serve that I rise to support the Defence Legislation Amendment (RCDVS Implementation and Related Measures No. 2) Bill 2026. At its core, this bill is about information sharing. That might sound like a dry, technical phrase to some, but, for the families of those lost to suicide and for those currently serving who are silently struggling, it is anything but dry.
It's about whether the right people in Defence and in the Department of Veterans' Affairs can see the full picture of a person's circumstances in time to intervene before a crisis becomes a tragedy. This bill creates the legislative authority for that information to move where it needs to move—between Defence and the DVA—underpinned by strong safeguards so that proactive support, early intervention and meaningful research and evaluation become possible rather than merely aspirational.
This reform does not exist in isolation. It is part of the Albanese Labor government's ongoing, deliberate work to implement the findings of the Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide—a royal commission this government called for while it was in opposition, because we understood that the scale of veteran suicide in this country demanded more than sympathy.
On 2 December 2024, the government handed down its formal response to the royal commission's findings. Of the 122 recommendations made, the government agreed or agreed in principle to 104 of them, with a further 17 noted for continued consideration. By the end of the year, 32 of those recommendations had already been implemented.
By the end of this year, we expect close to two-thirds of all recommendations to be in place. These are not just numbers that I read into the Hansard for the record. Behind every recommendation is very much a story that the royal commission had heard from a veteran, a serving member or a parent or partner who lost someone they loved.
I want to acknowledge, as I know many in this place have, the extraordinary courage of those who came forward to share their experiences with the royal commission. They did so knowing it would be painful, and they did so because they wanted to spare other families the grief they have carried. We owe them more than gratitude; we owe them a follow-through.
The royal commission found, in unambiguous terms, that the absence of effective information-sharing between Defence and DVA was a fundamental barrier to protecting the health and wellbeing of our Defence community. Interim measures have helped bridge that gap while this legislative reform has been developed, but interim measures are not where this work should end.
This bill is that next necessary step. The bill implements 35 of the royal commission's recommendations, spanning health and wellbeing outcomes, suicide prevention, family support, transition arrangements and the modernisation of governance and accountability structures across Defence and DVA. At its core, the bill amends the Defence Act and the Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Act to provide clear legislative authority for Defence, DVA and other Commonwealth agencies to collect, use and disclose information—including personal and sensitive information—for the purposes of research, analysis, evaluation, prevention and early intervention.
These are significant powers, and they are rightly matched by significant safeguards. Compliance with ministerial guidelines and an alignment with the Privacy Act framework ensures that this is not information-sharing for its own sake but information-sharing in the service of saving lives. The bill also establishes, for the first time, a dedicated legislative basis for defence health services, covering clinical governance, health monitoring, quality assurance and continuous improvement.
This means the data we collect can be used lawfully and proportionately to improve the quality of care our defence personnel receive and strengthen suicide prevention efforts across the system. Importantly, this bill also turns its attention to defence families. It improves how information is shared and communicated between Defence and families and critically ensures that benefits and supports can continue for a former spouse or partner in the immediate aftermath of separation where family and domestic violence is present.
This is about ensuring that no-one falls through the cracks at the exact moment they are most vulnerable. The bill also strengthens integrity and safety around who serves in our Australian Defence Force. It prohibits people convicted and sentenced to imprisonment for serious, violent or sexual offences from joining the ADF.
It introduces mandatory discharge for members sentenced by an Australian court to imprisonment. It consolidates the 'fit and proper person' requirements that underpin service, and it aligns substance-related separation processes with existing medical separation arrangements—recognising that these matters are often, at their root, health issues that deserve a health-informed response.
Finally, the bill makes minor and consequential amendments to support the effective operation of the newly established Defence and Veterans Service Commission, ensuring that the broader architecture of reform coming out of the royal commission can function as intended. Together, these reforms support a far more integrated approach across Defence, DVA, the new veteran and family wellbeing agency, and the Defence and Veterans Service Commission.
They enable earlier, more effective information-sharing to support continuity of care, proactive outreach and smoother transition arrangements, including the earlier transfer of relevant information from Defence to DVA so that claims are processed faster, compensation reaches people sooner and individuals identified as being at increased risk receive tailored, timely support.
This is what the royal commission asked of us: not piecemeal fixes, but a system-wide change that recognises that Defence and DVA must work as one continuous system of care, not two agencies operating in parallel with a gap between them where people can fall. The bill directly implements 15 of the royal commission's recommendations and supports further focus on the health and wellbeing of our Defence and veteran community.
That is meaningful, measurable progress. But I want to highlight to this House that progress is not the same as completion, and the work does not end with the passage of this legislation. The health and wellbeing of our defence personnel, our veterans and their families must remain a standing priority of this parliament, not fleeting.
It must be reflected not only in the bills we pass but also in the community councils we establish, the conversations we have at RSL gatherings and the willingness of every member in this place to keep listening long after the cameras and formalities have gone. To the veterans and families of Barton who showed up to that first council meeting and to every defence family across this country still waiting to see whether reform translates into real changes in their lives, I say this: we support you and we have not finished.
I commend this bill to the House, and I call on every member of this parliament to treat the implementation of the royal commission's recommendations not as a tick-and-flick exercise but as a debt to be honoured to those we have lost and to the families we still have the duty to protect.