Australian War Hero in Legal Limbo Gets Rare Permission to Attend Memorial Event

Ben Roberts-Smith, a decorated Australian soldier, received special permission to attend the opening of a new entrance at the Australian War Memorial. The problem: the event had already happened two months earlier, on February 3, 2025.

Roberts-Smith won Australia's highest military award, the Victoria Cross, for his actions in Afghanistan. But his reputation took a hit in 2023 when he lost a defamation case against media company Nine Entertainment. In that case, a judge found he had committed war crimes — killing unarmed prisoners. That legal loss came with a major catch: it wasn't a criminal conviction. It was a civil ruling, which is a different (and lower) legal bar.

Now Roberts-Smith is also facing criminal charges of his own. In June 2026, a court agreed to loosen his bail conditions so he could attend the War Memorial opening. The court variation shows his case is still ongoing.

Why This Matters

Roberts-Smith sits at the awkward center of a problem Australia hasn't solved yet. The War Memorial's job is to honor people who served. But what do you do when that person is accused of doing terrible things during their service?

Right now, the War Memorial is keeping his name and medal in its collection. The organization says it's staying neutral until the criminal case is decided — a reasonable legal position, since the presumption of innocence still applies in that forum. But it's a decision that satisfies almost nobody. Victims' families feel the honor is undeserved. Supporters of Roberts-Smith see it as presuming guilt before trial.

The two legal cases also need to be kept separate in people's minds. The civil defamation loss means a judge found, more likely than not, that he committed war crimes. But that's not the same as being convicted in criminal court, which has a higher standard of proof and heavier consequences.

The Bigger Redevelopment Project

The War Memorial opening was part of a much larger renovation. Australia is spending over $500 million updating the Treloar Crescent precinct in Canberra, where the memorial sits. The project includes a new entrance and a geothermal energy system — a piece of infrastructure that uses heat from the ground to warm or cool buildings. If it works as planned, it will cut the memorial's carbon emissions and operating costs over decades.

That practical achievement got lost in the noise. Many historians and former military leaders argued the money should have gone to the official war history program and support services for veterans instead. The new entrance was meant to be a celebration, but Roberts-Smith's shadow hung over it.

What Comes Next

The court's decision to let Roberts-Smith attend the event signals that his criminal process is still moving. His freedom has conditions attached, and those conditions are strict enough that he needs court permission for public appearances. What happens in that criminal case — and whether he faces conviction — remains an open question.

For now, the War Memorial sits with an uncomfortable set of facts: a man who did genuine service, who earned a nation's highest honor, and who a court has found committed serious crimes while wearing that uniform. How institutions handle that tension will shape how Australia remembers its wars and who it chooses to honor.