iscover
For many Australian Defence Force veterans, trust in government is built on a simple proposition: if the nation asks you to serve, it will stand by you when you return home.
This year there has been a marked increase in the take side of the “give-and-take” relationship between policymakers and the veterans community. It’s fair to say that trust in the system has been lost and it could take a very long time to recover.
Boundaries and consequences
Recent decisions and controversies have tested the service proposition. The government’s proposed veterans’ health cap and later the way it was handled, the Defence Estate Audit and the criminal prosecution of decorated former soldier Ben Roberts-Smith have all tested the boundaries this year.
The strongest immediate flashpoint has been the Department of Veterans’ Affairs planned introduction of a $5,000 yearly limit on allied health care, announced in the May 2026 federal budget.
The measure was reportedly intended to address what the government described as “overservicing” and was expected to save about $750 million over three years; however, it was seen as a penny-pinching move which would negatively impact veterans requiring treatment above the threshold. Crucially, it raised questions about what value the government placed on service to the nation.
Allegations of veterans being brushed off by Veterans’ Affairs Minister Matt Keogh during a meeting to discuss the matter did not help the situation and, ultimately, the measure was abandoned.
Former Australian Special Forces team leader Paul Cale served in the 1st Commando Regiment and 4RAR Commando before he became a founding member of the 2nd Commando Regiment (2CDO) in 2009. In addition, he oversaw the delivery of the Army Combatives Program and Individual Combat Behaviours training for the Australian Defence Force.
As a commando, Cale was deployed five times on combat tours to Afghanistan and Iraq and at home served as a team leader in the Tactical Assault Group, Australia’s elite anti-terror unit comprised of commandos (TAG-East) and SAS operators (TAG-West).
“At the same time the Labor government extends the veteran co-op period from five years to 10, it was proposing a $5,000 cap on some allied health services for veterans, while spending hundreds of millions prosecuting one of Australia’s most decorated soldiers,” he said in a public statement earlier this month.
“(In addition) We walked away from Australia’s longest war, and since then hundreds of millions in Australian aid has gone to Afghanistan under Taliban rule, the very enemy we fought for 20 years. And they wonder why much of the veteran community is cynical.
“I would defend Australia and Australians from an attack on our soil. Beyond that, I have no interest in fighting another war for politicians.
“(By the numbers) $320.5 million allocated to the Office of the Special Investigator for alleged Afghanistan war crimes investigations involving Australian personnel as per Australian government budget documents, as reported by AAP. The OSI says $231 million had actually been spent by March 2026 across 53 investigations.
“More than $310 million in Australian humanitarian and basic needs assistance provided or committed to Afghanistan since the Taliban returned to power, DFAT’s own figure.
“DFAT says that aid does not directly benefit the Taliban. But the Taliban control Afghanistan, regulate humanitarian access, and the UN itself reports Taliban restrictions and interference with aid delivery.”
The perfect storm in Canberra
The wider veteran’s community was already concerned about the federal government’s plans under the 2026 Defence Estate Audit to divest more than 67 Defence properties in a bid to lower maintenance costs and provide genuine financial benefit to Defence.
RSL national president Peter Tinley AM, speaking at a Senate Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade References Committee in May, drew concerns from RSL Australia’s 153,000 members and 1100 sub-branches that the nation’s largest ex-service organisation was not consulted on the audit.
“We haven’t had engagement with Defence in relation to these estates,” Tinley told the committee.
“The only formal interaction we had was when I was called to the minister’s office for a briefing after the announcement. I offered the full support of the RSL to facilitate community engagement, which was thankfully accepted.
“Once the Defence property and land is sold and redeveloped, it is gone forever … The veteran community has a direct and recognised connection to many of these sites, and a legitimate say in what happens to them.
“(In addition,) there are more than 40,000 cadets across Australia. They are the fundamental underpinning of recruitment for the ADF (and are impacted by the audit) … If we don’t have front of mind how we’re going to attract, retain and employ the Reserves, then we are actually hollowing out our Defence capability.
“Selling off bases and training areas sends exactly the wrong message to our military cadets, reservists and to community members who represent our future recruiting pipeline.
“The government must listen to the Defence and veteran community before proceeding with any sale. Anything less risks eroding trust and undermining the very foundations of our future defence capability.”
Public flogging in the town square
Perhaps most divisive was the arrest of former Australian soldier and Victoria Cross recipient Ben Roberts-Smith in front of his children while at Sydney Airport in April this year. The arrest by Australian Federal Police was public, televised by media (who were prior warned to the public arrest) and extremely damaging to both the public trust of law enforcement as well as the trust of veterans in their own government.
The Office of the Special Investigator charged Roberts-Smith with five counts of war-crime murder relating to alleged killings that occurred while he was deployed by the Australian Defence Force in Afghanistan between 2009 and 2012. The case remains before the courts.
That single arrest goes beyond the criminal case itself, for many veterans it highlights concerns that ADF personnel can be criminally pursued by Australian authorities at a later date for their alleged actions committed during battle in wartime. In addition, those same personnel may not receive support from their service institutions or command leadership to face such allegations.
Final thoughts
This year has done incredible damage to the trust relationship between Canberra policymakers and the veterans’ community. That damage will be difficult to repair in general and individually impossible for some in the veterans community to accept.
That trust in government is built on a simple proposition: if the nation asks you to serve, it will stand by you when you return home.
2026 has shown that it is now unclear if the Australian government can be relied upon to honour that agreement.
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