Soldier dies during parachute training course

Updated May 12, 2026 — 11:58am,

An Australian soldier has died during an Army parachute training course.

A second soldier was injured but did not require hospitalisation in the incident at the Jervis Bay Airfield on Monday.

“We request that the privacy of Defence members and families is respected at this time,” the department said in a statement confirming the death on Tuesday.

“Defence will provide further updates when possible.”

The identities and ages of the soldiers have not been released.

The Department of Defence said it will provide further updates when possible after a soldier died in a training exercise.Peter Rae

Australian Army Special Operations Commander Major General Garth Gould will address the media on Tuesday afternoon. Defence Minister Richard Marles is also expected to hold a press conference.

Former defence minister Joel Fitzgibbon’s son, Lance Corporal Jack Fitzgibbon, 33, died in a parachute training incident at RAAF Base Richmond in Sydney’s north-west in March 2024.

It sparked multiple investigations and a two-month halt on all parachute training.

A NSW coronial inquest is ongoing but has not yet scheduled dates for a hearing.

Lance Corporal Jack Fitzgibbon died in a parachuting accident in March 2024.Department of Defence

The ABC reported in May 2024 six soldiers serving at the Richmond RAAF base, including five members of a unit that packs parachutes for military exercises, were facing expulsion after failing drug screening tests in the days before Fitzgibbon’s death.

But Defence insisted to the ABC “all personnel who were involved in packing and checking Lance Corporal Jack Fitzgibbon’s parachute tested negative for prohibited substances”.

Monday’s incident is the latest Defence training death after a soldier was killed in an exercise near Townsville in October when an armoured personnel carrier rolled.