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 will prevent their re-occurrence.

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 crisis.

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 report has been redacted for national security, privacy and...

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 groups from Department of Defence personnel systems. The report outlines...