Revision History

Ben Roberts-Smith, Australia's most-decorated living soldier and Victoria Cross recipient, was arrested on April 7, 2026 and charged with five counts of war crime murder for alleged unlawful killings in Afghanistan between 2009 and 2012. The charges, brought after a $318 million investigation spanning six years, represent the highest-profile prosecution yet from the Brereton Report's findings of 39 alleged unlawful killings by Australian special forces — though the vast majority of those cases have been closed without charges.