Numerous families recently shared their horror stories with The Standard, including Afghanistan veteran Paul Poduska.

Mr Poduska's family has been involved in the military for 150 years but he said wouldn't recommend joining the Australian Defence Force (ADF) to anyone.

He told of his challenging journey back into civilian life last month and was later approached by the office of the Minister of Veteran Affairs Shaun Leane.

Mr Poduska said he visited Mr Leane's office with his friend and fellow Afghanistan sniper Adam Kelly.

"We were allocated 45 minutes with the minister and we ended up being there for two-and-a-half hours," he said.

"He wanted to know stories from local veterans in and around our area and I do believe he was utterly shocked when he heard how poorly we've been treated and the disgusting things that have happened to us while in the ADF that shouldn't happen to anyone in the workplace."

Mr Poduska said he collated stories of south-west war veterans which Mr Leane said would now be repeated at a Royal Commission into Veteran Suicides.

Scott Morrison announced the royal commission after a long-running campaign by former soldiers and pressure from all sides of parliament.

The Prime Minister released draft terms of reference for consultation on April 19, with a tentative starting time of July.

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Mr Poduska said he was rapt with the minister's response.

"One of the biggest things that has came out of it was the minister, his advisors and the general public have no idea how poorly we have been treated and continually be treated," he said.

"It shows how much public awareness we need to create in order to amplify our voices and make a lot of noise.

"Veterans are getting louder in New South Wales and Queensland but I think here in Victoria at moment, it's still fairly quiet."

Mr Poduska said it was difficult telling his own story but it was necessary to "change the system".

"Veterans are too proud to ask for help or make a big noise but it's been too long now. Too many people have lost their lives and too many families have broken apart - something needs to change," he said.

"The minister even said himself that this is going to be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. If the system doesn't change through the royal commission, it never will.

"The more noise we make, hopefully someone will listen to us and we can get more funding and we can see the change that needs to occur."

Mr Leane said the personal accounts discussed with Mr Poduska and Mr Kelly would be a vital part of his letter to the federal government for input into the terms of reference and key themes of the royal commission.

"For far too long too many of our service men and women fight bravely for our country but have been denied the support they need when they return," he said.

"Hopefully this royal commission will help us not only face this silent crisis but address it. I'll continue to be vocal on this matter and will work to have vital issues, like the holes in the current welfare system, included in the terms of reference for the royal commission."

The federal government is seeking to finalise the terms of reference and key themes for the royal commission by the end of the week.

Victorian veterans and their families can have their say on how the royal commission should be run by contacting commonwealthroyalcommission.tor@dffh.vic.gov.au.

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