Defence Force Discipline Amendment (RCDVS Implementation and Related Measures No. 1) Bill 2026

Senator SHOEBRIDGE (New South Wales) (10:34): I indicate at the start that the Greens will be supporting the Defence Force Discipline Amendment (RCDVS Implementation and Related Measures No. 1) Bill 2026. The reason we are is that it's one of those occasions where a government has actually had a royal commission, looked at the royal commission, taken the recommendations seriously and then tried in good faith to actually implement those recommendations.

When you see that happen, it gives you a little bit of hope that, actually, politics can from time to time get it right. What are the key recommendations from the royal commission that are being implemented with this legislation? The first one is recommendation 18, 'Strengthen workplace protections during sexual misconduct investigations'.

Enormous credit is owed to the royal commission, Commissioner Kaldas and the team, for the way in which they created a safe space for veterans, serving and retired, to come and tell the truth about what was happening. I've got to tell you, my office has heard from so many veterans, overwhelmingly women, who had appalling treatment inside Defence, including appalling sexual misconduct, with—I think we should just say it like it is—a boys club coming in and protecting the senior officers.

That's the reality for far too many women inside Defence. Men behave badly and then an empowered boys club comes in and protects the perpetrators. The royal commission heard that, and they put it in nicer language than I did, but that's the truth of it.

Recommendation 18 set out a number of key elements to protect women, overwhelmingly, in those situations who are survivors of sexual misconduct and who deserve to be protected and supported through the process. This bill, the Greens believe, goes a significant way to implementing recommendation 18, and we support it. Recommendation 20 is 'Amend the legislation related to sentencing perpetrators of military sexual offences'.

I think the community would have been horrified to see the way in which people inside Defence who have been accused and then, indeed, found guilty of instances of sexual misconduct keep the uniform. Sexual abuse of, normally, junior members of Defence have been found to be true, and then they keep the uniform. That has to end.

There's got to be a position which says those two things don't coexist. You don't get to keep the uniform and the entitlements and the respect after you've been found guilty of sexual offences. It's got to end.

That's what recommendation 20 says, and that's where this legislation finally takes the law. Recommendation 23 is 'Record convictions of sexual offences in Australian Defence Force records and civilian criminal records'. It was remarkable—and again I credit the royal commission for doing the hard work—to find out that there could be records of convictions of sexual misconduct and other serious offences under the military defence system and those records are never matched and given to the state, territory or federal criminal justice systems.

So, if somebody who might have been found guilty of a sexual offence inside the military then continues offending outside of the military, when they appear the first time in the criminal courts in the non-military system, it's as though they have a clean record and have never offended before. That's got to end too, and this legislation allows the information to be shared to make that happen.

Recommendation 63 is 'Reduce stigma and remove structural and cultural barriers to help seeking'. It's probably worthwhile reading the text of that recommendation: The Australian Defence Force (ADF) should identify and remove cultural and structural barriers to help seeking and make a greater concerted effort to reduce stigma. This should include: (a) the Australian Government should remove reference to the word 'malingering' at Section 38 of the Defence Force Discipline Act 1982 (Cth) (b) Defence should review all its policies and procedures and amend or remove those that are stigmatising (c) the ADF should develop a dedicated training program and a communications campaign to reduce stigma and promote help seeking.

Of all the structural things that you see, the idea that those who have been the subject of appalling treatment inside Defence and have had to have some time off are then getting charged with malingering under the Defence Force Act because of what people in positions of authority have done to them is just so offensive. The word is weaponised inside the Defence Force against people who are seeking help and against people who have been the victims of appalling treatment.

It's about time that ended, and this legislation does end that. The Greens do support this legislation because it amends those recommendations. Credit to the veterans who had the courage and the ability and the strength to go and tell the truth to the royal commission.

Credit to the royal commission for listening, hearing and coming up with recommendations. And, in this case, I'm going to say credit to Minister Keogh for turning those words into legislative reforms. I hope we can pass this bill in a hurry.