The Federal Parliament has been told by successive governments that they have failed veterans and their families in addressing soaring suicide rates in Australia.
Veterans' Affairs Minister Matt Keogh delivered the Albanese government's initial response to early findings from the Royal Commission on Defence and Veteran Suicide by outlining measures to help deal with the crisis.
An interim report from the royal commission found urgent action needed to be taken to address the unacceptable backlog of veterans' compensation claims, with more than 42,000 waiting for processing at the end of May.
More than the total number of Australians killed during operations in Afghanistan and Iraq, more serving personnel and veterans have died by suicide.
The tragedy is that successive Australian governments have failed those who have served our nation, Mr Keogh told parliament in a ministerial statement.
Governments have also failed the families of those who have suffered a heavy burden through the pain and suffering they have experienced. In his statement to parliament, the veterans' affairs minister detailed funding allocated for additional departmental staff and more emergency housing, and pledged to provide a formal response to the findings as soon as possible.
Labor has pledged to remove department staffing caps and recruit more than 500 staff to help clear claims backlog, build better support and roll out more than 10 hubs for veterans and families.
Our government is committed to the task of saving lives and ensuring a better future for our defence and veteran communities, according to Keogh.
Public submissions to the royal commission will be open until October 13, 2023.