Circular 28/21 RSL submission to the Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide

The RSL NSW Royal Commission Office requests input from sub-Branches to inform its submission to the Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide, via RSL Australia which is preparing a consolidated submission with input from members and sub-Branches across the country.

The submission will concentrate on Terms of Reference d), f) and g) as outlined by the Royal Commission’s Terms of Reference here. These terms are as follows:

d) The role of non-government organisations, including ex-service organisations, in providing relevant services and support for defence members, veterans, their families and others.

f) Any systemic issues in the current availability and effectiveness of support services for, and in the engagement with, families and others:

• Affected by a defence and veteran death by suicide; or
• Who have supported a defence member or veteran with lived experience of suicide behaviour or risk factors.

g) Any systemic issues in the nature of defence members’ and veterans’ engagement with the Department of Defence, the Department of Veterans’ Affairs or other Commonwealth, State or Territory government entities (including those acting on behalf of those entities) about support services, claims or entitlements relevant to defence and veteran deaths by suicide or relevant to defence members and veterans who have other lived experience of suicide behaviour or risk factors, including any systemic issues in engaging with multiple government entities.

Please follow this link to complete the survey on behalf of your sub-Branch. Your input will assist RSL NSW to make the strongest possible contribution to the Royal Commission by highlighting how RSL NSW supports veterans and their families.

To enable RSL NSW to meet the RSL Australia deadline for its submission, your input is required on or before Monday 27 September 2021.

Should any member of your sub-Branch wish to make an individual submission about a personal experience beyond how it relates to RSL NSW, please follow this link to the Royal Commission website. This site contains instructions for providing an individual submission, in both electronic and paper formats.

The Attorney-General’s Department has advised that as a part of the Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide two types of legal assistance arrangements will be available – a legal financial assistance scheme and a national legal advice service. Please follow this link for information about the assistance provided by the Australian Government.

If you require assistance to complete the survey, or if you would prefer to submit your input in paper form, please contact submissions@rslnsw.org.au or 0499 441 291.