Funding for Military Sexual Violence Inquiry Announced
$16.6 million for the DVSC to deliver independent Inquiry into Military Sexual Violence in the Australian Defence Force.
The Australian Government has announced $16.6 million in funding for the Defence and Veterans’ Service Commission (DVSC) to deliver an independent Inquiry into Military Sexual Violence in the Australian Defence Force.
The DVSC welcomes the additional funding to support the conduct of this Ministerially directed inquiry.
Sexual violence in the ADF, as identified by the Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide, is completely unacceptable. It has profound impacts on serving and ex-serving members, particularly women and their families, and is directly linked to suicide and suicidal distress.
This Inquiry will deliver on a critical recommendation from the Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide to conduct an independent, expert inquiry into military sexual violence which makes public recommendations.
The Terms of Reference for the inquiry were widely consulted by the Australian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) and, once finalised, will be provided to the DVSC by the Minister. The DVSC will then commence scoping the Inquiry and provide recommendations to the Minister to identify a Deputy Commissioner to lead the independent Inquiry.
The DVSC is funded to commence the inquiry in early 2027 so the findings of the AHRC’s prevalence study currently underway can inform the Inquiry.
