When Shaun Spain took his life last month on the Gold Coast, he wanted everyone to know why.
The former soldier spent 15 years in the army and completed five tours in East Timor, Afghanistan and Iraq.
Before he died, Mr Spain left a note, which his family decided to share with the ABC.
In it, he singled out the Department of Veterans' Affairs (DVA).
"I have taken my own life for many reasons, and DVA are mostly to blame," Mr Spain's note reads.
"DVA continue to make life difficult for many soldiers and to get any entitlements approved can take from one month to three months.
"November 2021, I had to fight even DVA transport to get to Gold Coast hospital for major neck fusion, and this started me thinking: 'Why go on?'"
Mr Spain was medically discharged as a result of physical injuries and struggled with the transition from military to civilian life.
His brother Brandon said he wanted to share Mr Spain's last words to change the way veterans were supported and acknowledged after discharge.
"What was going through my brother's mind when he wrote that letter?" Brandon said.
"He said the DVA were mostly to blame, and it's tough."
Mr Spain had spent years trying to get more structured support from himself and other members of the veteran community.
Brandon said he wanted to take up that fight now.
"My brother was my hero. He was the protector. He had the courage, wisdom and the ability to just change people's lives," Brandon said.
"He was always there, not only for myself but all of his mates."
Need to clear claims backlog
The Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide received more than 3,000 submissions and heard from 243 witnesses in public.
A final report is being prepared for the federal government.
In August last year, royal commissioners Nick Kaldas, James Douglas and Peggy Brown gave thirteen urgent recommendations.
A key recommendation included eliminating a backlog of 41,799 claims by March of next year.
They recommended the government provide the resources to ensure the deadline was met.
"We know that the long wait to receive entitlements can have a terrible effect on veterans' mental health and in some cases leads to suicide and suicidality," Commissioner Kaldas said in August last year.
"Behind each claim is a veteran who needs support, and it is gravely important that this assistance is provided as quickly as possible — lives and livelihoods depend on it."
Department urges veterans to reach out
The Department of Veterans' Affairs said it was "deeply saddened with the news of Mr Spain's death, and our condolences go out to his family".
"We acknowledge the service he provided to our nation," it said.
"Every suicide is a tragedy, and the loss of a current or former Australian Defence Force member is deeply felt by the entire defence and veteran community.
"We urge any veteran who may be struggling to reach out for help. There is support available."
The department said improving the mental health and wellbeing of veterans and their families was a key priority for the Australian government.
"Every year, the government invests more than $11.5 billion to support veterans and their family members across Australia," the department said.
"This includes providing funding for free mental health care for life for all veterans, without the need to link the condition to their service."
Following his brother's death, Brandon was granted a private session with the royal commissioners.
"It was a struggle for Shaun. He wanted the DVA to step up and take some accountability," Brandon said.
"And then set up a structure where all veterans, when they leave [the military], there is a procedure in place where there is a transition, like, hey, we're going to spend the next six months, and we're going to train you to get into civilian life.'"
In a video recorded in 2021, Mr Spain spoke of his mental health struggles after discharge.
"I had no purpose in life anymore, so I just stayed at home in amongst my four walls and was completely and utterly depressed," Mr Spain said in the video.
He applied for more than 50 jobs without success.
"The way I felt after serving five tours in East Timor, Afghanistan and Iraq — no-one wanted to give me a go," Mr Spain said.
Push for better transition strategies
A friend of Mr Spain's and fellow veteran, Daniel Smith, received mentoring support from a local businessman to establish a coffee shop on the Gold Coast after he left the Army.
He said there was some help available from the Department of Veterans' Affairs to aspiring business owners, but it was not easy to access.
"It is often very confusing, and it often seems like they're guarded about what they're actually telling you," Mr Smith said.
"So you have to be fishing for information, and you don't actually know what you're entitled to."
Mr Smith said he was not optimistic that the Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran suicide would make any difference to veterans struggling to back into civilian life.
"I'm not holding hopes that this is actually going to change anything because history would show that it hasn't," he said.
"It doesn't seem like that's actually a mechanism for change.
"It doesn't really seem like it's actually going to provide real value to veterans on the ground now who are struggling".
Mr Smith said one of the most urgent issues that needed to be addressed was the entering and exiting process from the military.
"So, when I arrived at the battalion, there is a huge rewiring that occurs there. You are kind of broken down and then built back up and shaped into being a soldier, which is completely necessary," he said.
"But then, on the way out, there was very little transitioning back into society."
Mr Smith said they had a stepping-out programme offered through a charity.
"But why isn't the defence doing that?" he said.
"If they're changing us into something, why are they not changing us back out in order to be able to re-enter society and to be effective in what we're doing?
"I think that's really important."
Veterans need 'practical support'
With the support of business mentor, Ian Grace, Mr Spain started a real estate business on the Gold Coast in 2015.
Mr Grace said Mr Spain re-discovered his sense of purpose.
"After 50-plus rejections, he was so depressed," Mr Grace said.
"He probably would have taken his own life back then, but starting his own business saved him back then."
Mr Grace believes veterans need to be given greater practical support as they integrate into civilian life and the tools to start their own businesses.
"But stop trying to pigeonhole them saying the ones we think are suitable, [because] everyone is," Mr Grace said.
"I personally work with 250-plus people who hadn't thought of starting their own business but did it out of desperation with 91.5 per cent successful outcomes."
