Abuses in the Australian Defence Force are more rampant and serious than what authorities had earlier perceived.

To date, there are already 2,410 abuse complaints being investigated by the Defence Abuse Response Taskforce, and some are fresh allegations. Many of these complaints are directed toward two Defence institutions - the Australian Defence Force Academy (ADFA) and the Navy's HMAS Leeuwin training base located in Fremantle.

This was reported by Defence Minister Stephen Smith at a Federal Parliament session on Thursday, June 20. The announcement came in the wake of Defence's confirmation that it will file cases against a number of Townsville soldiers who allegedly made degrading comments about women on Facebook.

He requested the Defence abuse taskforce to give particular priority to the 24 rape charges filed by 19 complainants at the ADFA during the 1990s. These cases, known as the ADFA 24, were earlier tackled in the 1998 Grey review.

The taskforce, according to Mr. Smith, is currently reviewing new complaints that include 48 cases at ADFA reporting instances of "physical abuse, sexual abuse, harassment or bullying."

Mr. Smith said that the taskforce is now discovering that abuse allegations involving the ADFA and HMAS Leeuwin are actually more rooted and rampant than what was discussed in the past years through the Rapke Report and Grey Review.

No Royal Commission Yet

As to the question whether there is a need for a royal commission, Mr. Smith said the taskforce cases at the moment do not require such move yet. He said the issues afflicting the ADFA and HMAS Leeuwin are not necessarily exclusive to them. Other ADF draft schools and training institutions can also be suffering from similar predicament.

"The taskforce is currently of the view that it is by no means clear that a royal commission is the necessary or the most appropriate mechanism to do that," he said.

Mr. Smith said what is important is to ensure that they have the victims' consent to investigate the cases. He said that of the 24 ADFA cases, only four of the 19 complainants have agreed to have their charges investigated by the taskforce.

"If a victim from the ADFA 24 cases told DLA Piper about their abuse but did not consent to that information coming to the taskforce, they are still able to provide consent should they decide to do so."

The investigation on all Defence abuse complaints will run for a year.

Meanwhile, the probe into the Townsville soldiers' case is still ongoing. If accused soldiers are proven guilty of expressing degrading comments about the city's female population, they will be meted out punishment according to the Discipline Act of the ADF.