An Australian Army veteran says she was asked why she had not locked her door when she reported being sexually assaulted and was offered no psychological support from the Defence Department.
The Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide began its first public hearing in Perth on Tuesday.
Jane Inglis, who served from 1991 until 2005, will give evidence in private before the commission, and attended the hearing Tuesday.
Ms Inglis, who rose to the rank of sergeant, said she experienced two sexual assaults during her service.
The first was at the hands of a medic at a regimental aid post in Darwin, and again by a physical training instructor in her military-owned house.
"The first thing the military police said to me was 'why didn't you lock your door?'" she told ABC Radio Perth.
"Which, straight away was blaming me, the onus was on me."
An investigation was launched into the second assault, which acknowledged there was an incident, but found it was not a military offence "because it did not occur on military land".
"I've always felt that it was covered up," Ms Inglis said.
Ms Inglis, who lives with complex post traumatic stress disorder, said the response was "poor".
"I was never offered any assistance with psychology," she said.
"It was a laughing joke around the barracks because everybody knew about this guy that was trying to help himself."
'It's a nightmare'
Ms Inglis said she hopes to see cultural changes from the head of department as a result of the royal commission's final report, which will be handed down in June next year.
"I feel that I'm here to and the other people that are testifying, we're here for everybody that can't talk," she said.
"There needs to be a lot more assistance available and a lot less complexity in accessing that assistance, because it's a nightmare."
Ms Inglis' lawyer from the Defence and Veterans Legal Service, Mitch Caubo, said it takes a lot to get veterans to access legal services for their experiences, let alone speak with the royal commission.
"It's quite confronting, particularly when you think about someone who devotes their life to service to their country, and then their service and their trust they place in an organisation isn't returned," he told ABC Radio Perth.
"Sadly, it's not an uncommon experience.
"Unfortunately, it's just one set of circumstances that people are talking about.
"You also have issues with Department of Veterans Affairs, problems with ADF culture, and other systemic issues in the defence force that are part of the stories that have been told."
'Failure to act has cost lives'
The commission heard the Australian Defence Force is yet to fully accept its contributing role in the mental suffering and suicide deaths of members.
Nick Kaldas, who is chairing the inquiry, flagged the commission's concern over the ADF's accountability during his opening address on Tuesday.
Mr Kaldas added that evidence heard so far has cast major doubt on defence's capacity to protect the mental health and well-being of serving members, which may hamper the Defence Strategic Review aims.
"The new strategic posture is underpinned by plans to grow ADF's ranks by approximately 30 per cent," he told the inquiry.
"This will be a significant challenge given that the ADF is already operating below strength.
"The stark reality is that failure to act by successive governments, defence and other agencies – for whatever reason – has cost lives."
Navy divers set up own support group
The Navy Clearance Diver Trust made a submission to the royal commission in 2021, shortly after it began in Brisbane, after three members of its community died by suicide within 18 months.
Trustee Chair Denise Goldsworthy was the first witness to give evidence at Tuesday's hearing.
She said the clearance diving community set up a WhatsApp group to check in on each other and stop any further deaths.
"They used the skills they were comfortable with and conducted risk assessments on their mates, and worked out who they thought were at risk," she said.
An internal survey conducted by the trust found 93 per cent of all navy clearance divers had suffered an injury at work, and 40 per cent had thought about suicide.
More than half had experienced bullying and harassment and had experienced mental health issues.
'Nothing has changed'
Julie-Ann Finney, whose son David took his life in 2019 after serving in the Navy for 20 years, flew to Perth from Adelaide to attend the hearing.
"Defence at the moment is in a disaster," she said.
"Where recruitments are concerned – don't enlist, just don't enlist. The consequences of enlisting are often fatal. And if not fatal, then your well-being is absolutely destroyed."
Along with a photo of her son, Ms Finney carried a newspaper article from 1983, urging the government to probe a cluster of Vietnam veteran suicides.
"Nothing has changed [since that article]," she said.
"We are listening to the same voices. We are listening to the same things."
Interim report released last year
The Royal Commission – established to address staggeringly high suicide rates and the prevalence of mental health concerns within the military – began in November 2021.
The inquiry has received more than 3,000 submissions so far and heard harrowing accounts from more than 200 witnesses around Australia.
The commissioners, Nick Kaldas, James Douglas and Peggy Brown, released an interim report in August last year which made 13 recommendations.
These included urgent elimination of the backlog of nearly 42,000 compensation claims.
It also included making legislative reform to provide stronger protections for serving members wishing to engage with the commission.
These laws passed federal parliament last month, and will ensure personal, sensitive, and confidential information disclosed during the inquiry is protected.
Defence acknowledges 'previous failures'
A spokesperson said defence was cooperating fully with the royal commission and responding to all requests for information.
"There is no place for sexual misconduct in defence.
"All allegations are taken very seriously. Incidents of sexual misconduct do not align with defence values.
"Defence acknowledges our previous failures to adequately handle sexual misconduct incidents. Defence is committed to doing better.
"Since 2012, defence has established several pathways to address both current and historic sexual misconduct complaints in the Australian Defence Force."
People can contact the Defence and Veterans Legal Service on 1800 331 800 if they would like to know more about coming forward to tell their story and share their views with the Royal Commission.
