Access to Information Inquiry

Read the Access to Information Report

This inquiry looked at how an ADF member or veteran can access their personal information, which might be held by the Department of Defence or the Department of Veterans’ Affairs (DVA). It also considered how people can give consent for their personal information to be shared.

For example, ADF members and veterans may need to access their own information to support DVA claims or other legal or health-related processes. A person might want to allow their family member or advocate to access their information.

Accessing information can include making a Freedom of Information request, administrative release processes, and requests under the Privacy Act 1988.

In August 2022 the Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide made 5 urgent interim Recommendations to Government to improve access to information for Defence members, veterans and their families.

They identified a sense of confusion and lack of transparency regarding how Defence and DVA shared, stored, and released personal information. These concerns were not limited to the difficulties encountered by serving and ex-serving members seeking access to their own information. The concerns also involved families of deceased members seeking to access information about their loved one from Defence and/or DVA.

Access to personal information affects people’s ability to understand their service history, access support and seek answers about their loved ones.

The Government agreed to implement all 5 Recommendations in 2022. Both Defence and DVA reported the Recommendations as implemented – Defence in August 2024 and DVA in June 2023. Given the urgency identified by the Royal Commission, the DVSC Commissioner prioritised access to information as DVSC’s first inquiry. The Inquiry has assessed the meaningful implementation of the Royal Commission’s recommendations and the impact on veterans and their families.

Commissioner McKay welcomed Defence and DVA’s creation of Information Access Units within their departments. She also welcomed Defence and DVA making administrative release of information the primary way for people to access information, without the need to go through a legal process. These measures are aimed at making it simpler, easier and faster for people to access information. Having a coordinated ‘no wrong door’ approach that is trauma-informed is key to improving outcomes.

The Commissioner found more could be done to provide easy-to-understand, publicly available information to those trying to access information. The Commissioner also found that ADF members need more opportunities to provide or update their consent to release information.

Commissioner McKay also determined that Defence and DVA need a plan to assess the effectiveness of the improvements they make, from the outset. The Commissioner found there is not enough evidence to know whether the Government's actions on most of the recommendations are improving outcomes for Defence members, veterans and their families.

The Inquiry made the following findings in relation to whether the recommendations of the Royal Commission had been implemented:

More detail on the findings is available in the Inquiry Report.

The Commissioner made the following recommendation:

1. That Defence and DVA each:
   
   a. establish a framework for assessing the effectiveness of implemented recommendations, incorporating feedback from the member and veteran community and relevant data 

   b. undertake an immediate review of the effectiveness of the measures implemented to date against the Recommendations, and address areas in which the measures have not been effective.

The Commissioner received public submissions from 27 individuals and organisations.  

The Commissioner also received information from: 

• Defence
• DVA
• The Commonwealth Ombudsman, and
• The Office of the Australian Information Commissioner.

The Commissioner would like to thank all those who contributed to this Inquiry, particularly those who provided submissions.

Consultation with agencies

In line with section 23 of the Defence and Veterans’ Service Commission Act 2026 the Commissioner provided Defence and DVA with her critical findings and recommendation on 13 July 2026. Both agencies provided comments and additional evidence, which the Commissioner considered. DVSC has provided comments on these responses to assist readers to understand where this additional evidence was incorporated into the report. The responses and the DVSC's commentary on them are available in the Appendices of the Inquiry Report.

On 7 September 2026, the Commissioner provided both agencies with the draft report for comment under section 22 of the Act.

The Commissioner considered these comments. However, the Commissioner’s findings and recommendations were made independently and based solely upon the evidence provided.

A copy of the report was provided to the Minister for Veterans’ Affairs and Defence Personnel on 29 September 2026. The Minister then tabled the report on Tuesday 27 October 2026, as required by the DVSC Act. The DVSC Act requires the Government must provide a response in Parliament to the Commissioner’s recommendations within 3 months or 15 Parliamentary sitting days.