Commissioner Nick Kaldas said veterans were still being driven to suicide because of deep-rooted flaws in the Department of Veterans’ Affairs.
The chair of the royal commission into veteran suicides has blasted the Defence establishment for failing to move urgently to prevent former service members from taking their lives, saying it appeared to be going through the motions rather than taking meaningful action.
Kaldas, a former deputy commissioner of the NSW Police Force, told the press club that at least 1600 veterans died by suicide between 1997 and 2020, more than 20 times the number killed in active duty over the same period. “All of this raises serious questions as to whether Defence is committed to making change in the best interests of its members or whether they’re just going through the motions.”
Kaldas said the Defence Force had failed to take a damning 2016 report into abuse, bullying and harassment as a wake-up call to lift its game.“What is even more alarming is that an employer could neglect or mishandle a complaint of misconduct or target the complainant, leaving them re-traumatised.
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