The Defence and Veterans’ Service Commissioner has released the DVSC’s first report following the Access to Information Inquiry.
Commissioner McKay found that while progress has been made, more needs to be done to improve the experiences of Defence members, veterans and families. The Access to Information Inquiry looked at whether the Government is making it easier for Defence members, veterans and their families to access their personal information from the Department of Defence and the Department of Veterans’ Affairs (DVA).
The Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide identified access to information as an urgent issue and made 5 recommendations in their interim report. Four years ago, the government agreed to these recommendations. This is why Commissioner McKay prioritised access to information as our first inquiry. Both Defence and DVA reported the 5 interim recommendations (numbers 9-13) as implemented – Defence in August 2024 and DVA in June 2023.
Of the 5 recommendations made to improve access to information, we found 2 were fully implemented and 3 were partially implemented.
Commissioner McKay welcomed Defence and DVA’s creation of dedicated Information Access Units within their departments. She also welcomed Defence and DVA making administrative release of information the primary way for people to access information – without the need to go through a legal process.
These measures are aimed at making it simpler, easier and faster for people to access information. Having a coordinated ‘no wrong door’ approach that is trauma-informed is key to improving outcomes.
However, Commissioner McKay found more could be done to provide easy-to-understand, publicly available information to those trying to navigate the access process. Commissioner McKay also found ADF members need more opportunities to provide or update their consent to release information.
Commissioner McKay also determined that Defence and DVA need a plan to assess the effectiveness of the improvements they make, from the outset. There is not enough evidence to know whether the Government’s actions on most of the recommendations are improving outcomes for Defence members, veterans and their families.
The report makes one recommendation:
- That Defence and DVA each:
- establish a framework for assessing the effectiveness of implemented recommendations, incorporating feedback from the member and veteran community and relevant data.
- undertake an immediate review of the effectiveness of the measures implemented to date in response to these Royal Commission recommendations and address areas in which the measures are not effective.
The Access to Information Inquiry Report was tabled in Parliament on 27 October 2026. The Government must table a response to the Access to Information Inquiry Report within 15 sitting days or 3 months of this date (whichever is later).
You can read the Access to Information Inquiry Report now.
The DVSC is independently evaluating how the Government is putting the Royal Commission’s recommendations into action.
Improving outcomes for current and ex-serving ADF members and their families remains our central focus.
This Inquiry will contribute to DVSC’s broader work examining the Government’s response to all the Royal Commission’s recommendations. The DVSC will report these findings to Government by 5 February 2027.
Story courtesy of the Defence and Veterans’ Service Commissioner