Committee: Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Legislation Committee
Date referred: 20 February 2025
Submissions closed: 30 June 2025
Reporting date: 29 August 2025.

Schedule 9 of the Veterans’ Entitlements, Treatment and Support (Simplification and Harmonisation) Act 2025 (the Act) establishes the Defence and Veterans’ Services Commission to inquire and report on issues relating to systemic reform to improve suicide prevention and wellbeing outcomes for current and former Australian Defence Force members.

Schedule 9 inserts Part VIIIE – Defence and Veterans' Services Commission into the Defence Act 1903. Schedule 9 of the Act is due to commence on 29 September 2025.

Pursuant to section 5 of the Act, the committee will review the amendments in Schedule 9 and report its findings to the Senate by 29 August 2025.

The committee intends to refer to the evidence received during the 47th Parliament. This means that submissions already provided to the committee for this inquiry do no need to be re-submitted.