After witnessing Australian service personnel and veterans suffering years of mismanagement, trust in the government's promises doesn't come easy to Julie-Ann Finney.
Her son, Royal Australian Navy petty officer David Finney, died by suicide in 2019.
After successfully lobbying for a royal commission Ms Finney urged families to keep fighting for reforms to prevent more deaths.
The Albanese government on Monday released its response to the Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide, agreeing to the overwhelming majority of the 122 recommendations.
Royal Australian Navy petty officer David Finney died by suicide in 2019. (Mick Tsikas/AAP PHOTOS)
Reacting to the government's inquiry response, Ms Finney said she felt a small sense of comfort but was still on edge.
"I have never seen a headline that has truly given veterans and serving members what they need and what they want," she said.
"The headlines are one thing, but then the actions behind it are not the same."
Ms Finney said the system had to start saving lives before she would stop telling people not to enlist.
"Don't just trust yet, but don't give up yet," she said in a message to veterans and their families.
"You have fought so hard for this, you have fought for what we are getting.
"We may have to keep fighting for some other parts, but let's take the good parts for now. Let's take them as a win and keep fighting."
The royal commission found 1677 serving and former serving defence personnel had died by suicide between 1997 and 2021 - more than 20 times the number killed in active duty over the same period.
One of the key recommendations was for an independent body to oversee progress on reforms being made, with the government to set one up immediately.
Ms Finney is among those who believe the body should scrutinise the government's plan to streamline compensation legislation before it becomes law.
Frequent travel from Adelaide to Canberra to attend Senate estimates hearings and meetings with politicians has left Ms Finney "financially devastated".
"The emotional toll is just all over the place," she added.
"So many times, I've had to fight for what's right for veterans, and the next minute, I find myself fighting for myself, because I have all these trolls who think I have an ulterior motive.
"I don't. I am not eligible for any compensation or any sort of reward. All I want is to be able to say to you, 'if my son was alive, he would live'. I am not yet able to say that."
The royal commission found sexual misconduct was a systemic issue in the defence force, with the government agreeing to conduct a separate inquiry into sexual violence.
Defence chief David Johnston is prepared to boot out members convicted of sexual offences. (Lukas Coch/AAP PHOTOS)
Chief of the Defence Force Admiral David Johnston said he was prepared to boot out members after the report recommended a "presumption" of discharge for sexual offence convictions.
"There is no place for sexual misconduct in the force," he told ABC radio.
"We do have processes that can lead to a discharge but the current legal basis for them provides administrative fairness and other measures that we have to take into account.
"So this will change the framework around that mandatory outcome but we are prepared to implement it."
Admiral Johnston said an oversight body would hold the force to account and make sure it implemented the changes quickly.
"This needs to be done promptly and thoroughly, and I'm confident that it will be."
Veterans' Affairs Minister Matt Keogh expects legislation enabling some of the reforms to be introduced to parliament in its next sitting in February.
It was important the person overseeing the implementation of the reforms was independent of the Defence Force but would have an understanding of the impact of service life on veterans and their families, he said.
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