The report of the inquiry into recognition for members and families of members of the Australian Defence Force who are injured, wounded or killed in or as a result of service.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Conduct of the inquiry
1. On 20 January 2021 the Hon. Darren Chester MP, then Minister for Defence Personnel, gave a direction to the Tribunal to hold an inquiry into recognition for members and families of members of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) who are injured, wounded or killed in or as a result of service.
The terms of reference for the inquiry appear earlier in this report.
2. The inquiry was undertaken by the following Members of the Tribunal:
• Mr Stephen Skehill (Tribunal Chair),
• Mr David Ashley AM,
• Rear Admiral James Goldrick AO CSC RAN (Retd),
• Ms Josephine Lumb, and
• Ms Jane Schwager AO.
3. The complexity of our task became apparent to us in the early stages of our inquiry. In response to representations from the veteran community, the issue of recognition for death, wounding or injury in or as a result of ADF service has been considered on a number of occasions. While this has resulted in the creation of some new initiatives, such as the bereavement pins issued by each Service, other proposals for medallic or emblematic recognition have been put aside for a range of reasons, most particularly due to the difficulty of establishing eligibility criteria that allow identification of those who deserve some further form of recognition, without causing further harm to the veteran or to the family of the veteran whose death, injury or wound falls outside the scope of those criteria.
4. The Terms of Reference for this inquiry gave specific direction to us to consult broadly. Consistent with this direction, we engaged in an extensive programme of consultation with the veteran and broader community concerning whether such recognition should be adopted, and if so, what form that recognition should take.
5. This consultation included a nationwide call for submissions, which generated 260 submissions from 222 individuals and groups. We then directly engaged with veterans, their families, veterans’ organisations and other interested parties in a series of over 70 public hearings held over 11 sitting days. We also conducted research into past and present systems of ‘like’ recognition in Australia, the Commonwealth and other countries, and undertook a series of informal, private conversations with a wide range of individuals and organisations. This included fruitful engagement with the Department of Defence, the organisation which will ultimately have responsibility for implementing our recommendations if they are accepted by Government.
6. This consultation led us to the conclusion that none of the existing forms of recognition for death, wounding or injury in service provide an adequate personalised expression of the gratitude of the nation for the sacrifice that a veteran has made through their service, or that their family has endured as a result. Australia lacks but should have, an emblematic recognition of that sacrifice in a form that can be publicly worn in commemoration and with pride.
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