Defence Force Discipline Amendment (RCDVS Implementation and Related Measures No. 1) Bill 2026

Summary

Amends the: Defence Force Discipline Act 1982 to: implement certain recommendations of the Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide in relation to suspension from duty while under investigation, sentencing procedures, disclosure of service offences, removing stigmatising language, and distinguishing between violent and non-violent commission of certain service offences; update superior tribunal procedures; establish the summary contravention scheme; and make a range of other amendments in relation to policing equipment, updates to prescribed quantities for drug offences, disclosure of investigative material, changes to service offences, changes to imprisonment terms for restricted courts martial and Defence Force magistrates, amendments to petition and for review processes, delegation of powers, functions of the Director of Military Prosecutions, harmonising termination grounds for judicial officers, application of territory rules of evidence, powers of investigating officers, and enabling removal orders for intimate images; Defence Force Discipline Act 1982 and Defence Force Discipline Appeals Act 1955 to: update powers for service tribunals when dealing with accused persons suffering from a mental impairment; and establish the Defence Mental Health Tribunal as a specialised decision-making body; Defence Act 1903 and Defence Force Discipline Act 1982 to update the title of ‘Director of Defence Counsel Services’ to ‘Director of Defence Legal Assistance’; and Administrative Decisions (Judicial Review) Act 1977 to extinguish convictions for historical homosexual service offences. Also makes consequential amendments to 5 Acts and a contingent amendment to the Defence and Veterans’ Service Commissioner Act 2026.