Burnout from Battling Reforms

Veterans and their families have lived through too many “reforms” in the past four years that promise everything and gave little. Now the key recommendation by the Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide, Recommendation 122, to establish a new independent veteran services oversight commission is being set up to fail by the Commonwealth.

The Royal Commission stated that the new entity must not only be independent but also seen to be independent. This is crucial for maintaining community confidence and support from serving and ex-serving ADF members. It went on to say “Establishing it correctly would demonstrate that the lives of those who serve this country are valued and that Australia is committed to protecting the lives of those who protect us.”

Yet in February 2025 the legislation for the Independent Commission was stuffed in the tail end of the new Veteran Healthcare Legislation as Schedule 9 of the Veterans’ Entitlements, Treatment and Support (Simplification and Harmonisation) Bill 2025 with no consultation with any stakeholders.  Now in June 2025 after the Senate demanded that it be reviewed, the Commonwealth has shuffled it across and inserted it into the Defence Act 1903.  We are not supposed to notice that it cannot be independent.

Reason 1.  Independence vanishes inside the Defence Act

Embedding the new “Independent” Commissioner within the Defence Act automatically subjects every decision, budget line and inquiry to ministerial and departmental direction.  See:

• Defence Act s 8 allows the Minister to issue binding directions on any function performed under the Act.
• Defence Act s 9A gives the Secretary power to control officials.

Then there’s the gem in fine print.   Section 110ZFB allows the Minister to start, reshape or cancel any investigation at will. It can be said that a watchdog that answers to the kennel master cannot keep government accountable.  Look below where the reference to 110ZFB is written.

If you would like to read 110ZFB click here and you will find it right at the top of page 341.

Reason 2 Still in the Defence Chain

• Budget, staffing and annual reports will still flow up the standard Defence chain.
• Schedule 9 contains no clause guaranteeing that reports will bypass departmental clearance and go straight to Parliament.
• Past comparisons show that entities without independent reporting lines lose funding leverage within two budget cycles. A key example is the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC). OAIC established as a stand-alone agency under the Freedom of Information Amendment (Reform) Act 2010.  By 2012 machinery-of-Government shift places OAIC’s finances inside the Attorney-General’s portfolio; reports now cleared by that Department.

Reason 3.  There is something not quite right and I can’t put my finger on it. Can you?

Let’s look at the chronological sequence of events:

• November 2024. The Veterans’ Entitlements, Treatment and Support (Simplification and Harmonisation) Bill 2025 was introduced and considered in the lower house.  The document did not have a Schedule 9.  The explanatory memorandum did not mention Schedule 9. doesn’t mention it, and if you look at the first mention of it, the Supplementary explanatory memorandum, its document properties tell us it was first drafted on 5 February 2025.  
• 10 February 2025. A number of veteran leaders like myself received calls from senate staff members and the staff of the shadow minister, asking “what is Schedule 9? Have we seen it, what impact will it have?”  Schedule 9 had been bolted on to the new veteran health care bill and we all got out first look at it when it reached the Senate.
• 12 February 2025. The Senate agreed to pass the new veteran health care bill, but put review condition on Schedule 9 because, amongst other reasons, no one had been consulted on it.
• 30 June 2025. Now, as part of the Senate Review, Schedule 9 has been shuffled across to the Defence Act and we are all supposed to NOT notice it remains anything but independent.  

What the Senate Committee must be Convinced to do

To give the Commissioner and the new Commission a stable, long-term footing, Schedule 9 must be withdrawn from the Defence Act and the commission established under its own act.  

The Commissioner must be appointed by the Governor General and this does not have to be done by the planned implementation date of 29 September 2025. 

Rushing legislation through without external consultation and then full and open debate denies veterans, their families, and others with lived experience the chance to surface blind spots that only they can see, increasing the risk of unintended harm. Robust consultation also strengthens legitimacy, laws shaped by those affected are more likely to achieve their aims and withstand future challenges.

Conclusion

The Royal Commission and Veterans asked for an independnat Commission to keep all governments accountable. 

Unless Schedule 9 is rewritten as a stand alone bill to hard-wire real autonomy and transparent reporting, the proposed Defence and Veteran Services Commission will become just another branch office of the Departments it is meant to oversee. The Senate must make this standalone legislation or this “independent” body will prove powerless to protect those who have served.