Colleen Pillen brushed away tears as she described how the army "wiped its hands" of her son after repeated victimisation and bullying left him suffering from depression and anxiety.
Giving evidence to the Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide, she said her son, Michael Powers, took his own life at the age of 29 after he was discharged from the Australian Defence Force (ADF) without financial or psychological support.
The grieving mother was instrumental in petitioning Prime Minister Scott Morrison to call a royal commission.
On Wednesday, she told her story.
Giving evidence, Ms Pillen said it had been her son's lifelong dream to join the army.
"He was so proud of his achievement," she said.
"That was the making of him — that was where he wanted to be."
She said Michael initially thrived after being enlisted in the army in 2014.
But within two years, she told the hearing, he had "completely changed" after joining a new team where he was subjected to bullying.
"He told me he was feeling depressed and severely anxious where he couldn't sleep and [couldn't] stop intrusive thoughts," she said.
"He told me [about] the abuses he'd been undergoing in the army, him being victimised and bullied and he just wanted to stop it all from happening."
Hospital treatment led to discharge
Ms Pillen encouraged her son to seek help, unaware it would lead to him being discharged.
Michael did seek treatment but after being hospitalised with depression, he was told he would need to leave the army.
Ms Pillen said he was given an "administrative" discharge, not a "medical" one, which left him unable to access ongoing financial support after leaving the ADF.
In the months that followed, she told the inquiry, Michael was unable to hold down a steady job due to his deteriorating mental health and struggled to make money.
Ms Pillen described being left on her own to seek help for her son, sending him to various psychiatrists, some with links to the Department of Veterans' Affairs.
She told the inquiry that he felt he had been "dismissed" by multiple experts in the lead-up to his death.
"He was astounded by how he was treated by (one) doctor, he felt she looked at him with contempt, (as if) he was just trying to work a claim."
The 29-year-old died by suicide several days after that appointment.
Commissioner Peggy Brown asked Ms Pillen if her son had been aware that seeking hospital treatment for depression would lead to him being discharged, to which she replied: "No".
"There was no counselling, no pharmaceutical support (for anti-depressants) no ongoing support for him," Ms Pillen said.
Five executives from the Department of Veterans' Affairs, including Chief Operating Officer Mark Harrigan, were due to give evidence to the Royal Commission, where they will be questioned about delays in processing veterans' claims.
