Government response to the report on the National Commissioner for Defence and Veteran Suicide Prevention Bill 2020 [provisions] and the National Commissioner for Defence and Veteran Suicide Prevention (Consequential Amendments) Bill 2020

[Extract from response letter to President of the Senate]

Dear President

I am writing to convey the Government’s response to the Senate Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Legislation Committee’s report on the National Commissioner for Defence and Veteran Suicide Prevention Bill 2020 [provisions] and the National Commissioner for Defence and Veteran Suicide Prevention (Consequential Amendments) Bill 2020 [provisions], which predates the 47^th Parliament.

The Government notes each recommendation of the report. However, given the passage of time since the report was tabled, a substantive Government response is no longer appropriate. 

I would also like to take this opportunity to outline some developments relevant to the Committee’s report and recommendations. The interim Office of the National Commissioner was established in 2020 while legislation was developed to provide legal basis for the National Commissioner (the National Commissioner for Defence and Veteran Suicide Prevention Bill 2020). The Office was formally decommissioned in October 2021 in response to the establishment of the Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide (the Royal Commission), and the legislation lapsed with the dissolution of the Senate ahead of the 
2022 federal election. 

Following the conclusion of the Royal Commission’s inquiry, the Government tabled the Australian Government Response to the Final Report of the Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide (the Government Response) on 9 December 2024, which is available. As part of the Government Response, the Defence and Veterans’ Service Commission has been established to oversee and drive ongoing suicide prevention reform across the Defence ecosystem.

Please accept this letter as the Government’s response to the Committee’s report. A copy of this letter has also been provided to Senator Raff Ciccone, Chair of the Senate Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Legislation Committee.

Yours sincerely

[signature redacted]

Michelle Rowland MP