FairGo Policy
Commissioner for Veteransand Families
The Problem
Across Australia, a number of independent commissioners already perform oversight, advocacy, and service improvement functions for communities that experience complex systems and critical life events. In South Australia, the Commissioner for Victims Rights is appointed as an independent statutory officer to help victims of crime deal with government agencies, obtain information, and navigate support. That office combines individual assistance with systemic advocacy and reports on patterns that need reform. This model has shown that a single trusted front door with independence from day-to-day decision makers can both resolve cases and change practice over time.
South Australia also established the Commissioner for Children and Young People to promote and advocate for the rights and wellbeing of children through research, engagement, and public reporting under its own Act. That role has the standing to speak for a community, to inquire into systemic issues that affect outcomes, and to publish independent findings. It demonstrates how a commissioner can work with government while remaining separate enough to call out barriers and propose concrete reforms.
In New South Wales, the Ageing and Disability Commissioner provides an adult safeguarding function with statutory powers under dedicated legislation. The Commission receives reports of abuse, neglect, and exploitation, coordinates with police and services, and undertakes education and systemic recommendations. The important lesson for our purposes is that real-world problem solving for individuals can sit alongside data-informed oversight in one independent office, supported by clear referral pathways and memoranda of understanding with agencies.
Victoria’s Mental Health and Wellbeing Commission is an independent statutory authority that monitors performance and safety, holds government to account, and publishes analysis to drive service improvement under the Mental Health and Wellbeing Act. It illustrates how an independent body can champion consumer and family perspectives, use evidence from complaints and data, and escalate concerns through Parliament and public reporting where necessary.
At the national level, the creation of the National Commissioner for Defence and Veteran Suicide Prevention, and more recently the establishment of a new Defence and Veterans Service Commission with an explicit mandate to provide independent oversight and advice on suicide prevention and wellbeing, underline a policy shift toward permanent, independent scrutiny paired with system-wide reform capability. These developments also recognise the profound role of families in identifying risks and solutions. The take-away for South Australia is that durable results come when a commissioner has independence, the ability to obtain information across agencies, and a duty to listen directly to families and report publicly on progress.
The problem section of this policy will present a clear account of the obstacles faced by veterans and their families when they try to access services. It will draw together the lived experience of South Australian families, service data from state agencies and Commonwealth partners, and the evidence gathered by prior reviews. It will cover issues such as delays and duplication across programs, uncertainty about eligibility, difficulty navigating between state health and housing services and Commonwealth departments, gaps for partners and children, limited rural access, and the lack of a single trusted escalation path when cases stall. This section will be populated following targeted consultation, case file sampling, and a scan of current outcomes and wait times. It is intentionally reserved so that the analysis reflects local evidence and does not pre-judge findings.
The Solution
The solution we propose is the creation of a Commissioner for Veterans and Families as an independent body. The office will be a clear channel between South Australian departments and veterans and their families, with the specific purpose of helping people to navigate services, identifying systemic problems early, and advocating for reforms that prevent harm and improve outcomes. Independence means the Commissioner will be appointed by the Governor for a fixed term, will report to Parliament, and will set an annual work plan after consulting veterans, partners, children, and service providers. The office will have its own budget and staff and will publish an annual report on performance and recommendations. It will operate as a complement to Veterans SA and the Veterans Advisory Council, which advise the Minister and support the veteran community, by providing an avenue for independent case escalation and systemic review that sits outside day-to-day service delivery.
How the Commissioner Will Function and Its Purpose
The Commissioner will function in two connected streams of work. The first stream is assistance and navigation. Families and veterans will be able to contact the office directly. A triage team will provide information, warm referrals, and case coordination. Where a case is complex or has stalled, case officers will facilitate meetings between agencies, broker interim solutions, and ensure that the voice of the family is heard. The office will maintain a small emergency response capacity for urgent matters that present significant risk, working with police, health, and other services. In doing so, it will respect existing complaint bodies, the Ombudsman, and internal review processes, and will focus on unblocking pathways and coordinating multi-agency action, rather than duplicating functions of other entities.
The second stream is oversight and system improvement. The Commissioner will be empowered to conduct own-motion inquiries into issues that appear across many cases, to require relevant documents from state agencies, to request data in de-identified form for analysis, and to publish reports with findings and recommendations. The office will track themes such as access to mental health care for families, transitions from service to civilian life, housing and homelessness risks, support in regional areas, and the adequacy of information sharing between state and Commonwealth bodies. It will be expected to form advisory groups drawn from families with lived experience, service providers, and academic experts, and to run targeted consultations with First Nations veterans and families. These tasks reflect the proven practices of other commissioners that combine direct engagement with transparent reporting to drive improvement.
The purpose of the Commissioner is to improve outcomes for veterans and their families by providing a trusted pathway for help and an independent voice for reform. The office will make the system easier to navigate by offering practical help, by mapping the steps that people must take, and by removing duplication. It will strengthen accountability by monitoring the performance of programs that affect families, by publishing data on key measures such as time to service, successful referrals, and repeat contacts, and by reporting publicly on progress against recommendations. It will build confidence between families and the state by being transparent about what can and cannot be done, by giving clear explanations for decisions, and by maintaining strict protections for privacy and confidentiality except where risk requires disclosure.
Why This Works
This approach will fix the problem in several ways. First, it introduces a single point of contact that reduces the burden on families who currently must repeat their story to multiple bodies. A dedicated navigator can coordinate within and across agencies and can resolve bottlenecks that sit between service silos. Second, it creates a feedback loop in which patterns found in individual cases are transformed into system fixes. If a repeated barrier is identified, the Commissioner can bring agencies together to agree on a solution, document it, and monitor its effect over time. Third, independence provides credibility. Families will know that the office does not manage programs it reviews. Agencies will know that the office will be fair, evidence-based, and transparent. Parliament and the public will see regular reporting that focuses on outcomes rather than process.
The Commissioner will operate on principles that have worked in other oversight bodies. Work with families will be trauma-informed, culturally safe, and practical. Analysis will be evidence-based and solutions-focused. Engagement will be broad and respectful, including partners, children, and carers who are often overlooked in existing frameworks. The office will value the knowledge of ex-service organisations, community groups, and clinicians, and will formalise cooperative arrangements with Commonwealth bodies so that families are not pushed back and forth between jurisdictions. This includes establishing memoranda of understanding with Veterans SA, SA Health, SA Housing Authority, the Department for Education, the South Australian Police, and relevant Commonwealth agencies on information sharing and coordinated case management.
Governance settings will safeguard independence while ensuring cooperation. The Commissioner will have a duty to table an annual report in Parliament that sets out performance measures, systemic findings, and the response of agencies. The office will publish a quarterly summary of de-identified data that shows trends and progress on recommendations. A modest advisory board drawn from families and the veteran community will meet regularly with the Commissioner to test priorities. Where recommendations are made to ministers or chief executives, the default expectation will be a public response within a reasonable timeframe setting out what will be done and when. Where an issue raises serious risk or reveals a failure to act, the Commissioner will have discretion to brief the Parliament directly.
Implementation will proceed in a way that builds capability quickly while preparing for legislation. An interim administrative office can begin navigation and liaison functions at once, establish referral pathways, and collect baseline data. Legislation will then entrench the role, define investigative and information-gathering powers, and set clear limits and safeguards to protect privacy and procedural fairness. Training and information-sharing protocols will be developed with agencies, with an emphasis on awareness of the new pathway among front-line staff. The office will be visible to the community through a plain-language website, outreach in regional areas, and regular communication through ex-service organisations, schools, and health providers.
Success will be measured by outcomes that matter to families. Over time, we should see faster resolution of cases, fewer repeat contacts for the same issue, better coordination between state and Commonwealth programs, and a sustained reduction in preventable harms associated with service transitions, family stress, and access barriers. We should also see a more confident and collaborative culture among agencies that work with veterans and families. The role is not to replace existing services or to assume the functions of Commonwealth departments. It is to stand alongside families and state agencies as a trusted navigator and an independent reformer, to join up the system from the point of view of the people it serves, and to ensure that practical solutions are found and sustained.
The policy set out here builds directly on proven commissioner models in South Australia and other jurisdictions and aligns with national developments in independent oversight for defence and veteran wellbeing. It recognises the importance of a permanent, independent presence that listens to families, uses evidence to drive change, and works constructively with government while being prepared to speak plainly when the system is not delivering. Establishing a Commissioner for Veterans and Families will make the system simpler to navigate today and more accountable tomorrow, and it will do so by placing families at the centre of design and improvement.