According to Australian Department of Defence documents, two years after the establishment of a compensation scheme for Afghan victims, no money has been paid out to any applicants. The scheme was created following the release of the shocking ereton Report on war crimes by Australian special forces in Afghanistan.
As reported by The Saturday Paper, the scheme, which launched in November 2024, has received 105 applications to date. Of these, 45 have been rejected, and not a single application has resulted in a compensation payment.
The ereton Report, released in 2020, presented credible evidence of the unlawful killing of 39 Afghan civilians and prisoners by Australian special forces in 23 separate incidents. The report led to pressure for accountability and reparations for the victims' families.
However, the application review process has been described as extremely slow and non-transparent. According to the report, at least six applications have been under assessment since August 2025 but have yet to reach a conclusion.
One victim, Ghulam Jilani, who lost an eye during an Australian military raid in Uruzgan in 2006, exemplifies the problems with the process. His compensation claim was rejected because his incident was not documented in the ereton Report, even though the Australian government has not disputed his account.
Lawyers for the victims' families say the lengthy and opaque process is causing further frustration and suffering for families who have been waiting for justice for years. They are calling for transparency and an acceleration of the compensation process.
Source: The Saturday Paper
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