Observers are yet to be convinced that the refreshed approach being taken by the Australian Defence Force (ADF), the Department of Defence, and the Department of Veterans’ Affairs (DVA) to improve how members and former members are supported will be fit for purpose.
Dr Karen Bird, whose son died by suicide in 2017, appeared before the royal commission for its second last day of public hearings on Tuesday.
Bird told the commissioners that there was a “clear and present danger” the large number of former ADF service men and women in the community would need increasing support.
“We have thousands of poorly transitioned veterans in the Australian community living with their families — if they are still with them — because historically the statistics suggest that family breakdown is a symptom of a veteran who has been poorly assisted in his recovery from his service,” Dr Bird said.
“The question must be whether the new legislation that is … out for public discussion is fit for purpose: are there adequate provisions in that legislation to make sure that people like Jesse, who put their hand up tomorrow, next week, next year or in five years’ time, will get better assistance than what my Jesse got?”
Jesse Bird served with the 1st Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment (1RAR), and was deployed to Afghanistan in 2009 and 2010. He was also an uncle and a brother.
In a submission to a committee inquiry in 2017, the infantry soldier was described as a humble, friendly guy with a willingness to lend a hand to anyone who needed it.
But after returning home from his second deployment to Afghanistan in 2010, Bird’s family noticed a heaviness and residual stress they say changed him.
The death of friend Benjamin Ranaudo, who was killed by an anti-personnel explosive device the previous year, had a lasting impact. And a shoulder injury Bird sustained while overseas affected his ability to train for the Commandos as he had hoped.
Jesse Bird left the military, choosing not to accept a medical discharge as it would prevent him from serving again. He was later unsuccessful in his attempts to re-enlist as a clearance diver with the navy and the army reserve.
Subsequent years of battling DVA bureaucracy for help and assistance, worsening PTSD and depression, Bird died by suicide on June 27, 2017, aged 32.
Speaking of her son’s battle with bureaucracy, Karen Bird expressed cynicism and dismay about a call for assistance from her son that went unaddressed because he reached out to a DVA public servant close to clock-off time on a Friday afternoon.
“There was no reach-out or red flags identified [by the DVA]. What sort of quality of staff were operating in the middle of 2017 that didn’t red-flag ‘this [situation] doesn’t sound very good’,” his mother told a public hearing in Sydney.
“His friends realised they hadn’t heard from him for 24-36 hours and they went knocking on his door.
“When I say there does need to be some face-to-face engagement with veterans, they need to be treated as more than just a file, I’m deadly serious about that,” Dr Bird said.
The young man’s body was found amongst years’ worth of department applications, medical evidence, doctor’s reports and a rejection letter regarding a permanent impairment claim. His family was devastated.
A coroner’s inquiry revealed that four days before Jesse Bird’s death, he had made a “desperate call for help” by lodging a formal complaint to DVA about the delays on his claim.
At his wit’s end, Jesse Bird’s complaint described a department liaison officer assigned to manage his case as disinterested and dismissive. That person was based in Perth, and he was based in Melbourne.
“I don’t understand how two government departments, [DVA and Defence], with so much in common cannot communicate. I need real help, I have submitted all required paperwork to receive incapacity payments, yet you fail to be able to speak to each other on my rank and pay grade on leaving the army,” Bird’s lodgement read.
“The person who has been assigned to my case just doesn’t care and cannot wait to get off the phone to me. By the sound of her tone and attitude towards me, [she] is someone who clearly finds no joy in her job.
“If I didn’t have the support of the RSL and my friends I would have come close to becoming another suicide statistic. I’ve done my time and now I need your help, please.”
DVA escalated Bird’s claim to ‘high priority due to financial hardship’ just a day before he died. There was a measly $5.20 left in his bank account.
Karen Bird told the royal commission that proposed reforms to harmonise and simplify three separate instruments covering veterans’ entitlements legislation in Australia (MRCA, DRCA and VEA) may be undermined by grafted-on DVA bureaucrats who would continue the bad legacy of the department.
“The new secretary [Alison Frame], I think, is making a solid effort but there are people in the senior administrative team across the department that have been there for a long time and have been part of the problem from what I can see,” Dr Bird said.
“Because of the lack of accountability across that department … I can’t see that too many people have ever been called to account for what occurred to Jesse.
“Still to this day, I’ve got no idea because individuals [who] were actually supervising Jesse’s assistance, I don’t know what happened to any of them.
“Maybe I don’t need to know, but it fits into this whole conversation as to whether the department is fit for purpose going forward.”
The government has called for submissions on the draft legislation. If the proposed model becomes law, a revamped compensation scheme will come into effect from July 1, 2026.
As well as being the mother of a veteran who died by suicide, Dr Bird is also the Open Arms’ national advisory committee deputy chair.
The advocate told the commissioners that any boasting from DVA about improved claims processing was a matter for interpretation. This was because moving a matter ‘from A to B’ was not the same as resolving a matter or reducing the number of days veterans needed to wait for an outcome.
“At the moment, there is no pressing need or any time limitations put on settling claims. Jesse was into nearly 400 days of waiting for claims,” Dr Bird said.
“I’d be really happy to be enlightened that a claim needed to be processed in ideally 90 days. I’d like to think that if people were in urgent need of help, that they would get their incapacity payments a lot quicker than Jesse did.
“There is great fanfare out there in the space talking about the new legislation but I’m looking forward to being convinced that it is fit for purpose going forward,” she said.
If you or a loved one needs support please contact:
Defence All-hours Support Line (1800 628 036)
Open Arms (1800 011 046)
SafeZone (1800 142 072)
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