This report is the fifth annual update monitoring deaths by suicide among serving and ex-serving Australian Defence Force (ADF) members. The population considered are ADF members who served between 1985 and 2020.

This paper addresses how Defence can not only save money when purchasing a new cadre of weaponry, but do so in a way that benefits the economy. Both issues relate to affordability which may ultimately determine the impact of the Defence Strategic Review.

Australia faces increasing pressures on the global supply chains connecting national industries to the global economy. This report investigates the current state of play in Australia’s defence supply chains, and strategies that can be used to address emerging risks.

Stephen Smith and Angus Houston have an enormous amount to do and almost no time to do it. Prime Minister Albanese and Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles have chosen them to be the independent heads of the Defence Strategic Review. This paper sets out the...

This inquiry is focused on the identification of systemic problems and solutions to suicide and suicidality among serving and ex-serving Australian Defence Force (ADF) members. The report provides commentary on the summary of work undertaken, the Commission's preliminary observations, and recommendations about urgent and immediate...

This report argues that Australia should focus on force multipliers for the Australian Defence Force and areas that build foundations for sovereign capability. This will allow Australia to cement itself as a valuable contributor to an integrated trilateral AUKUS defence industrial base and allied supply...

This annual poll reveals that in 2022, Australians report feeling unsafe, and as the potential for conflict in our region feels more possible. Support for Australia’s alliance with the United States has returned to a record high, with the majority of Australians now supporting increased...

The rapid and long-term shifts occurring in the global energy system are due to technological advances and the availability of cheaper renewable fuels. The author of this paper argues that Australia’s dependence on imports for liquid-fuel security places the ADF at risk.

Confusion reigns in discussions about the cost of the Department of Defence’s equipment projects. This report attempts to be a guide for the perplexed. It’s not a technical manual, but a plain-English discussion that unpacks the cost of Australian defence equipment projects.

The authors of this paper propose that the Australian Defence organisation should enact a wider set of supporting measures—particularly in data and reporting to track professional development—that’s more likely to create more sustainable success that delivers organisational improvements and outcomes for Indigenous staff recruitment and...

This report confirms the long-term impact of Vietnam War service on family members. The study confirms that veteran partners should continue to be considered in the design of early intervention supports to help reduce the long-term impact of military service on families.

This report is the fourth annual update into suicides among permanent, reserve and ex-serving Australian Defence Force (ADF) members and the first to include the population of ADF members who served in the ADF between 1985 and 2019 by using data from historical ADF personnel...

The Department of Defence and the Australian Defence Force, collectively known as Defence, have prepared this document as an introductory briefing paper to the Royal Commissioners. The paper provides background into the employment arrangements for the Australian Defence Force (ADF), including the composition of the...

This background paper was prepared by the Department of Veterans' Affairs, and has been published by the Royal Commission for the purpose of informing the public.

More than at any time since World War II, science and technology (S&T) breakthroughs are dramatically redesigning the global security outlook. In this paper, the authors propose establishing a formal partnership between the Defence Department, defence industry and Australian universities.

To explore how to achieve ethical artificial intelligence (AI) in Defence, a workshop was held in Canberra from 30 July to 1 August 2019 with 104 people from 45 organisations in attendance. The workshop was designed to elicit evidence-based hypotheses regarding ethical AI from a...

This discussion paper asserts that to rebuild the trust that is at the heart of the Australian democratic enterprise, Australia needs a Royal Commission if we are to discover how and why war crimes were committed in Afghanistan, and put in place fail-safe procedures that...

This discussion paper examines the 2020 Defence Strategic Update and the accompanying Force Structure Plan and Defence Science and Technology Strategy 2030. The context for their discussion and recommendations is the strategic transition that Australia is undergoing and in the unfolding impact of the COVID...

Governments and policy-makers have long recognised the strategic importance of Australia’s north to national defence, regional engagement and power projection. This report highlights the vast economic opportunities in northern Australia and how they can contribute to our national security.

This inquiry was commissioned by the Department of Defence in 2016, after rumours and allegations emerged relating to possible breaches of the Law of Armed Conflict by members of the Special Operations Task Group in Afghanistan over the period 2005 to 2016. This version of...

The information in this report is based on fact of death information from the National Death Index (NDI), cause of death information from the National Mortality Database (NMD) and Defence Suicide Database (DSD), as well as information on personnel in the three ADF service status...

As Victoria grapples with surging COVID-19 cases, sparked essentially by breaches linked to hotel quarantine, divisions have emerged between the Federal and Victorian governments over whether the Australian Defence Force offered assistance to help secure quarantine hotels in Victoria.

In this multi-author edition, four leading thinkers explore issues and opportunities of mobilisation in Australia.

This 2020 Force structure plan details the Australian government’s intentions for new and adjusted Australian Defence Force (ADF) capability investments to implement the new strategic objectives in the 2020 Defence strategic update.

This strategic update sets out the challenges in Australia’s strategic environment and their implications for defence planning. It provides a new, strategic policy framework to ensure Australia is able to deploy military power to shape our environment, deter actions against our interests and, when required...