'Life-saving' Australian-first veterans court to launch in SA

Veterans Court to launch in Adelaide next week in Australian-first pilot Fri 31 Jul 2026 at 6:20am In short: The South Australian Veterans Court Pilot Program is an Australian-first therapeutic sentencing court for veterans. The court will connect veterans with support services to address the underlying factors which led to their offending prior to sentencing. What's next? The court will sit for the first time on August 3, and advocates hope the model could be established across the country. A dedicated court for veterans which advocates hope will be a "life-saving" initiative will sit for the first time in Australia next week. The South Australian Veterans Court (SAVC) Pilot Program will act as a specialist therapeutic court to connect eligible veterans with rehabilitation and support services prior to sentencing. Advocates said the establishment of the court was in response to a recommendation from the Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide. The pilot is intended to run for 12 months and sit for half a day each month at the Elizabeth Magistrates Court in Adelaide's northern suburbs, a court spokesperson told the ABC. The spokesperson said the program would "recognise the unique nature of military service and its impacts on veterans and their families". "It will also enable the court to approach sentencing decisions informed by a participant's rehabilitation progress and the circumstances associated with their military service,"the spokesperson said. The spokesperson said a veteran facing summary or indictable charges in any of Adelaide's magistrates courts could seek a referral to the Veterans Court, but only after entering guilty pleas to the most serious and majority of charges. At their first SAVC hearing, the spokesperson said a "preliminary triage" would be conducted to assess the offender's veteran status, the connection between their service and offending, as well as their willingness to engage in rehabilitation. A Griffiths remand would then be granted, meaning the veteran would participate in treatment and rehabilitation before sentencing, and would have regular court reviews to monitor progress. The court spokesperson said all of the state's magistrates could preside over the SAVC and that some magistrates who had previously served in the ADF had expressed interest. Addressing needs from the Royal Commission The program was developed through an initial collaboration between the SA Department for Correctional Services (DCS) and Defence Kidz, which supports the children of defence families. Chris Tilley is the senior advisor for Veterans Services at DCS, and a veteran who served for eight years in the Australian Defence Force (ADF) as an infantry soldier, including at Afghanistan and East Timor. Mr Tilley said recommendation 88 of the royal commission recognised a specific need to "support veterans who are incarcerated, both during and after their incarceration". "We're in a really unique position here in South Australia in that we have a population that is both large and small enough to be able to facilitate some really interesting initiatives," Mr Tilley said. "It's not about treating veterans special, it's about community outcomes." Mr Tilley, along with a representative from Defence Kidz, Open Arms and the Department of Veterans Affairs, will be sitting in the court. Defence Kidz chief executive Hayley Boswell said the idea for a specialist court came from "grassroot" origins. "Chris Tilley and I were literally sitting in parliament having a chat about veterans incarceration and we're just brainstorming about how can we better support our veteran community," she said. Ms Boswell, who is also a lawyer, said the program would link veterans to tailored mental health and behavioural support they may not have ordinarily accessed. "There's a lot of veterans who are not signed up with DVA that just don't know these services exist … I think it's going to save lives, genuinely," she said. "As a solicitor, we were always told don't disclose if your client is a veteran and so they would not be afforded support because people wouldn't know that they were veterans. "There's a perception in the community through lawyers that when they were sentenced that the veteran should know better." Breaking a 'revolving cycle' Senior criminal defence lawyer and Law Society of South Australia member James Caldicott said major indictable offences, such as drug, violence or sexual offences, would not be able to be diverted to the Veterans Court. But the court would hear other serious offences which are usually dealt with by magistrates courts. "There can be very serious or significant domestic violence related matters that could potentially be triaged through the South Australian Veterans Court program," Mr Caldicott said. "That shouldn't be seen as diminishing the serious nature of the offending generally, and there will still be sentencing penalties representable of the offending conduct to an individual." Mr Caldicott said the pilot program would be regularly reviewed and hoped it could also be established in other states and territories. A 'positive step forward' Veteran Ricky Skiathitis served as an infantryman in the ADF, including touring Afghanistan and East Timor, and knows the challenges of re-adjusting to civilian life after service As the project manager for Andrew Russell Veteran Living, he has used his experience to provide emergency accommodation for veterans who are at-risk or experiencing homelessness. He welcomed the establishment of the court and has described it as a "positive step forward". "I think the biggest one would be breaking the cycle, we don't want to keep repeating or [seeing] repeat offenders,"he said. "Wraparound support for the right person at the right time is only going to provide a positive housing outcome or a better outcome overall." The SACV will sit for the first time on August 3.