How The Flannel Project is Answering the Call of the Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide
Australia has been deeply shaken by the findings of the Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide. After years of inquiries, testimonies, and investigations, the Commission has painted a heartbreaking picture: too many veterans are lost to suicide each year, and the devastation doesn't stop there. Every suicide leaves behind families, friends, and witnesses carrying invisible scars – often unsupported, unheard, and unacknowledged.
The Commission made 122 recommendations aimed at reshaping how our nation responds to this crisis. While many recommendations focus on prevention, service delivery, and systemic reform, there is one area that remains critically under-addressed: postvention support – the care provided to those left behind after suicide. This is where The Flannel Project steps in.
What the Royal Commission Found
The Commission specifically highlighted that for every veteran suicide, approximately 135 people are directly affected. That's 216,000+ Australians carrying this grief since 1997 – and until now, most have carried it alone.
Some of the Commission's key findings include:
Postvention support is inconsistent, underfunded, and overlooked. Survivors of veteran suicide are often left to navigate grief and trauma without adequate help.
Families and witnesses are key stakeholders in suicide prevention but are rarely involved in decision-making or supported appropriately.
There is a lack of data and research about the long-term impact of suicide on survivors, leaving policymakers blind to their needs.
Awareness and education around postvention is minimal, even among veteran service organisations and mental health providers.
Lived experience voices must be included in shaping future services and reforms.
How The Flannel Project Helps Deliver on These Recommendations
The Flannel Project was founded after personal loss – a veteran's life taken by suicide, leaving loved ones to pick up the pieces alone. Everything we do is built on lived experience, and it directly answers the calls made by the Royal Commission.
1. Filling the Postvention Support Gap
Through our SOS Flannel Card, we provide immediate, practical, and tailored assistance for survivors. This includes therapy sessions, daily living support (e.g., grocery vouchers, meal services), and other essentials that help people cope in the immediate aftermath of tragedy.
2. Giving Families and Witnesses a Voice
Our advocacy for Flannel Flower Day (21 June) aims to create a national day of recognition for survivors of veteran suicide. This is about ensuring families and witnesses are no longer invisible, giving them a moment of remembrance and a platform for change.
3. Bridging the Gap Between Need and Support
Through our SOS Card app and resources, we serve as the crucial connection point between survivors who don't know what help exists and the organisations ready to provide it. We've built a network that includes mental health professionals, practical support services, and community resources – ensuring survivors can access the right help at the right time, without having to navigate complex systems while grieving.
4. Building Data and Insight
Through our case management system and SOS Card, we are collecting lived-experience data (ethically and respectfully) to help inform future reforms and ensure survivors' needs are never overlooked again.
5. Lived-Experience Leadership
The Flannel Project is survivor-founded and survivor-led. We understand the pain, the gaps, and the barriers firsthand. Our programs are designed by survivors, for survivors, answering the Royal Commission's call for lived-experience leadership in postvention and suicide prevention efforts.
Why This Matters
The Royal Commission has laid out the roadmap for change – but real change takes action. The Flannel Project is building solutions now. By supporting us, you're helping to:
Ensure no survivor grieves in silence.
Bring national recognition and compassion to those left behind.
Drive the postvention reforms Australia desperately needs.
Together, we can make sure that the recommendations of the Royal Commission do not gather dust on a shelf – but instead create a future where survivors of veteran suicide are seen, supported, and honoured.
