Another critical day in life of Ben Roberts-Smith VC

KEY MOMENTS IN BEN ROBERTS-SMITH'S ACTION-PACKED LIFE

1978

* Born in Perth, the son of Sue and Len Roberts-Smith, who became a Supreme Court judge, Army Reserve major general, judge advocate general of the Australian Defence Force and chair of an independent task force that examined abuse in the ADF

1994-1995

* Completes secondary education at Perth's private Hale School for boys

1996

* Joins the Australian Army, taking part in two tours of East Timor

2003

* Posted to the Special Air Service Regiment

* Marries Emma Groom

2006

* On his first tour of Afghanistan, the then-lance corporal awarded the Medal for Gallantry for actions as a patrol scout and sniper

2009

* During SAS mission in Uruzgan province it's later alleged he made a "rookie" soldier execute one of two unarmed Afghans taken prisoner from a tunnel and executed the other, who had a prosthetic leg

2010

* For his "most conspicuous gallantry" and "valour" during his fifth tour of Afghanistan in the battle of Tizak on June 11, he's later awarded the Victoria Cross

* The Roberts-Smiths' twin daughters Eve and Elizabeth are born

2012

* His leadership and courage as a patrol commander on more than 50 high-risk operations is later recognised with a Commendation for Distinguished Service

* In Uruzgan, he's alleged to have kicked a handcuffed and innocent farmer off a cliff, before that man was dragged across a creek bed into a cornfield and shot dead

* He allegedly shot a terrified adolescent prisoner in the head, with an AK-47 planted on his body to give the impression he was armed

2013

* Retires as a full-time soldier and forms consultancy, RS Group Australia

* Named Australian father of the year

2014

* Appointed chair of the National Australia Day Council (until 2017).

2015

* Appointed deputy general manager of regional television network Seven Queensland

* Promoted to general manager

2016

* Army Reserve major general Justice Paul Brereton leads inquiry for the ADF inspector-general to determine the substance to rumours of Australian breaches of armed conflict rules in Afghanistan since 2005

* Roberts-Smith graduates with an MBA from the University of Queensland

2018

* He's alleged to have punched his mistress in the temple causing her to stagger and fall onto a bed in a Canberra hotel room

* Sues the publishers of The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age and The Canberra Times and two journalists for defamation over allegations of war crimes, bullying and domestic violence published weeks earlier.

2020

* Separates from Emma Roberts

* Brereton report finds credible evidence of 23 incidents in which a total of 39 Afghan nationals were unlawfully killed and identifies 25 current or former ADF personnel accused of perpetrating war crimes

2021

* Special investigator Justice Mark Weinberg begins follow-up of the Brereton report to determine potential prosecutions

* Defamation trial between Roberts-Smith and media outlets begins in the Federal Court, Sydney, in June

2022

* Trial finishes in July

2023, June

* Justice Anthony Besanko dismisses Roberts-Smith's case against the media outlets, finding most of the war crimes and bullying allegations against him substantially true, with a defence of contextual truth accepted in the domestic violence allegation involving his mistress

2024, February

* Roberts-Smith appeals Justice Besanko's findings before the Full Court of the Federal Court over 10 days

2025, March-April

* The veteran returns to court in a bid to reopen his appeal, claiming a miscarriage of justice after a leaked recording emerged in which journalist Nick McKenzie says he'd been briefed on Robert-Smith's legal strategy by his ex-wife and her friend during the initial trial

2025, May 16

* The full court is due to release decisions on Roberts-Smith's application to reopen his appeal and on the appeal itself.

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