Episode 122 – The Brereton Report: How Australia Grappled with War Crimes Allegations

From top left clockwise: Professor Emily Crawford; Australia’s former Chief of the Defence Force, General Angus Campbell; & Australia’s former Special Operations Commander, Major General Jeff Sengelman. Other images credit Australia’s Department of Defence.

This week we have the first instalment in our series exploring how Australia has confronted allegations of war crimes by its elite forces in Afghanistan. Today our producer Susannah Palk begins with an in-depth examination of Australia’s landmark Brereton Report.

Released in 2020, this groundbreaking report detailed allegations of unlawful killings and torture by some of Australia’s soldiers. The report detailed credible evidence of 23 incidents of alleged unlawful killing of 39 Afghans by 25 Australian Special Forces personnel, predominantly from the Special Air Service Regiment – that’s Australia’s equivalent to the SAS.

Professor Emily Crawford with our producer Susannah Palk

When it was released, the findings made headlines around the world, with the then Chief of the Australian Defence Force, General Angus Campbell, describing the events as “disgraceful” and “deeply disturbing”.

Officially titled The Inspector-General of the Australian Defence Force Afghanistan Inquiry, the report was led by New South Wales Supreme Court Judge and Army Reserve Officer Paul Brereton.

The report has led to the first-ever Australian war crimes arrest of a soldier, Oliver Shultz, who was charged with one count of the war crime of murder in March 2023. It also triggered media investigations that contributed to the downfall of one of Australia’s most venerated war heroes, Ben Roberts-Smith.

So how did the report come about? What rumours and stories was it seeking to uncover? What led some of Australia’s most elite SASR troopers to allegedly commit these war crimes? And did Brereton come to the right conclusions?

Former Major General Jeff Sengelman

In this episode, we delve into archived news stories, government reports, public press conferences, and speak with Australian academic Emily Crawford, Professor at the University of Sydney Law School, to piece together the story behind the Brereton Report.

Tune in next week for our continuation of this series and our exclusive interview with Major General Jeff Sengelman. The former Head of Australia’s Special Operations Command – that’s the command of all Australia’s Special Forces. He’s widely attributed with bringing these war crimes allegations to light within the military. It’s the first time he has spoken about this subject in detail.

And in a later episode we’ll speak to Afghans and those seeking accountability about what justice they want to see and if accountability for victims of war crimes is really within reach.