The National Commissioner for Defence and Veteran Suicide Prevention (National Commissioner) has been established to inquire into suicides of serving and former Australian Defence Force members.

The Australian Government is funding legal financial assistance to individuals and entities to assist with meeting the costs of legal representation and disbursements associated with engaging with the National Commissioner.

Legal financial assistance may be provided to an entity for their reasonable legal representation and disbursement costs resulting from:

• being called, or granted leave to appear, as a witness at a public or private hearing of the National Commissioner, or
• being requested to attend or attending an interview of the National Commissioner, or
• being requested to provide a written statement that will be used as evidence of the National Commissioner, and/or
• complying with a notice to produce issued by the National Commissioner, and
• where the entity, excluding an individual, would not able to meet these costs without incurring serious financial hardship.

Legal financial assistance may also be provided to an entity for their reasonable legal representation and disbursement costs resulting from:

• being requested to attend or attending an individual or group interview with the National Commissioner, during the course of the Independent Review of Past Australian Defence Force and Veteran Suicides, and/or
• being formally requested by the National Commissioner to provide a written statement during the course of the Independent Review of Past Australian Defence Force and Veteran Suicides, and
• where the entity, excluding an individual, would not able to meet these costs without incurring serious financial hardship.

If your organisation has been called by the National Commissioner, the organisation will be subject to an assessment of whether it can meet the cost of its legal representation without incurring serious financial difficulty. If you have been called in your personal capacity, you will be exempt from an assessment of financial circumstances.