Benjamin Roberts-Smith (born 1 November 1978) is an Australian former soldier in the Special Air Service Regiment (SASR). He is one of Australia's most highly decorated soldiers, having received the Medal for Gallantry (2006), the Victoria Cross for Australia (2011)—the highest award for gallantry in battle that can be awarded to a member of the Australian Defence Force (ADF)—and a Commendation for Distinguished Service (2012). He was widely considered a national hero, but his reputation deteriorated following a 2023 Federal Court ruling in which a judge found that there was enough evidence, according to the standard required in Australian defamation law, to establish that he had murdered four unarmed Afghans and broken the rules of military engagement.
After his discharge in 2013, Roberts-Smith was named Australian Father of the Year, was awarded a scholarship to study business at the University of Queensland and received many other honours. He was appointed by media mogul Kerry Stokes to top executive positions at Seven Queensland and ultimately Seven Brisbane, from which he stepped down in 2021 to focus on his defamation action against Nine Entertainment.
In October 2017, Roberts-Smith's conduct in Afghanistan came under scrutiny after reports emerged that he had killed an unarmed teenager and bullied other soldiers. He commenced defamation proceedings in 2018; however, in June 2023, Justice Anthony Besanko dismissed the case, writing that he had "disgraced his country". In 2025, appeals to the Federal Court of Australia and the High Court of Australia were dismissed and refused in full.
In April 2026, Roberts-Smith was arrested and charged with five counts of the war crime of murder. He was released on bail later that month.
Early life, family and education Roberts-Smith was born on 1 November 1978 in Perth, Western Australia. He is the elder son of Sue (nee Holloway) and Len Roberts-Smith. His father is a former justice of the Supreme Court of Western Australia, Army Reserve major general and Judge Advocate General of the Australian Defence Force. His brother, Sam, is an opera singer.
In his biography of Roberts-Smith, Crossing the Line, journalist Nick McKenzie alleges that Roberts-Smith developed a reputation for intimidating smaller students at school. He struggled academically, achieving average grades at Perth's Hale School. During his time at Hale , he played both rugby and basketball for the school. In 1995, his final year, the school's first XV rugby team recognised him as its best and fairest player.
Military career and honours Early career Roberts-Smith enlisted in the Australian Army in 1996 at age eighteen. After completing basic training at the Army Recruit Training Centre at Blamey Barracks in Kapooka, he underwent initial employment training at the School of Infantry at Lone Pine Barracks in Singleton; and from there, Roberts-Smith was posted to the 3rd Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment (3 RAR) in Holsworthy, all in New South Wales. Initially part of a rifle company, he subsequently became a section commander in the Direct Fire Support Weapons Platoon. With 3 RAR and as a part of Rifle Company Butterworth, Roberts-Smith was deployed twice in Malaysia and participated in two operations in East Timor in 1999, including as part of the International Force East Timor. By 2001, following his service in Malaysia and East Timor, he held the rank of corporal.
After completing the Special Air Service Regiment (SASR) selection course in 2003 and the SASR reinforcement cycle, Roberts-Smith was posted to 3 Squadron, SASR at Campbell Barracks in Perth. Joining SASR meant surrendering his rank of corporal and starting at the base rank of trooper. While in 3 Squadron, he was a member of training and assistance teams throughout Southeast Asia. He also took part in preparations to evacuate Australian citizens from Fiji in 2004 and was part of personnel security detachments in Iraq throughout 2005 and 2006.
Afghanistan
Roberts-Smith was deployed to Afghanistan on six occasions, in 2006, 2007, 2009, 2010 and 2012, as part of Australia's contribution to the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021). His deployments were with the SASR, which conducted long-range covert intelligence, reconnaissance and strike operations, often behind enemy lines. The regiment's operations have been characterised as secretive.
Medal for Gallantry On 31 May 2006, Roberts-Smith was a scout and sniper in a patrol deployed during the 2006 Dutch/Australian Offensive. The patrol was commanded by Sergeant Matthew Locke. The patrol's objective was to establish an observation post on the mountain Koran Ghar, overlooking the Chora Pass in Uruzgan Province. Besides Roberts-Smith and Locke, members of the patrol comprised two junior soldiers, a British sergeant from the Special Boat Service and an American special forces radio operator. The patrol's aim was to monitor and report on Anti-Coalition Militia movements in the pass below and to maintain concealment.
On 2 June, a lone Afghan teenager approached the patrol observation post and left the area shortly thereafter. The American had seen the teenager and communicated what he saw to the rest of the team. After hearing of the teen's exit, Roberts-Smith and Locke arrived at the observation post and enquired why the teen had not been engaged. The other soldiers replied that their orders were to observe and not attract attention. Although the other soldiers had decided it was not necessary to engage the Afghan, Roberts-Smith and Locke "decided to hunt down and shoot dead the two 'enemy' after concluding they had spotted the patrol". The patrol report had identified only a single Afghan unarmed "spotter", but Roberts-Smith said in an oral account provided to the Australian War Memorial that two armed insurgents had approached the position. Roberts-Smith later wrote to the War Memorial writing "Without the benefit of the patrol report to guide me it would appear I have confused my many engagements and identified two insurgents initially locating our observation post as opposed to one".
Following the shooting of the teen, the post became the focus of the Anti-Coalition Militia's attempts to identify and surround it. In one instance, the militia attempted to outflank the position, and Roberts-Smith was one of two members of the patrol who moved out of their secure position to kill the enemy combatants. Two members of the militia attempted to attack the post from a different position, and Roberts-Smith killed them. Seeing that the post was vulnerable, Roberts-Smith made the decision to divide the team and take a position advantageous for his sniper rifle. While separated, he identified 16 Taliban advancing towards the post. While under fire, Roberts-Smith used his rifle to stop their advance. After being joined by another member of the patrol, he was able to hold off the militia until air support arrived.
During the battle, a junior soldier's gun had jammed and he was unable to assist for a period of time. It was later alleged that, following the patrol's return to base, Roberts-Smith had threatened to shoot the junior soldier in the back of the head. In 2006, Roberts-Smith and Locke were awarded the Medal for Gallantry in recognition of their actions on 2 June. His Medal for Gallantry citation states that Roberts-Smith's actions while under "fire and in a precarious position, threatened by a numerically superior force, are testament to his courage, tenacity and sense of duty to his patrol".
Victoria Cross After completing junior leadership training in 2009, Roberts-Smith was posted to 2 Squadron, SASR as a patrol second-in-command (2IC). On 11 June 2010, at Tizak in the Kandahar Province, he and other SASR soldiers were on a mission searching for a Taliban commander during the Shah Wali Kot Offensive. Immediately upon helicopter insertion, the soldiers became pinned down by machine gun and rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) fire from multiple positions. With air support, Roberts-Smith and his patrol manoeuvred to within 70 metres of their opponents' positions to launch an assault. When the assault began, the patrol drew sustained fire and was unable to advance closer than 40 metres from their objective. Roberts-Smith then identified a structure from which he would be able to get cover from fire. He approached the position and killed an enemy soldier armed with an RPG. The rest of his patrol was still pinned down by machine gun fire from three positions. He exposed his location to the enemy to draw fire away from the rest of his patrol. This was successful, and Roberts-Smith's commander was able to throw a grenade, which neutralised one of the positions. Disregarding his own safety, Roberts-Smith then stormed the remaining two positions.
For his actions at Tizak he was presented with the Victoria Cross for Australia (VC) by the governor-general of Australia, Quentin Bryce, at a ceremony held at Campbell Barracks on 23 January 2011. After being awarded the VC, he became "Australia's most highly decorated combat soldier from the conflict". During defamation proceedings in 2022, Person 41, a serving SASR member, testified that fellow soldiers Person 7 and Person 42 believed the events leading to Roberts-Smith's VC may have been falsified and that he was undeserving of the award. Person 7 and Person 42, who were given pseudonyms for national security reasons, were senior soldiers who appeared in court as witnesses against Roberts-Smith in defamation proceedings.
Patrol commander Roberts-Smith's final deployment to Afghanistan was in 2012, by which time he had been promoted to corporal and served as a patrol commander. He left the full-time army in 2013 at age thirty-five, then joining the Army Reserve. Roberts-Smith was awarded the Commendation for Distinguished Service as part of the 2014 Australia Day Honours on 26 January 2014. The award arose from the 2012 tour of Afghanistan, in which he "distinguished himself as an outstanding junior leader on more than 50 high risk" operations. Roberts-Smith left the Army Reserve in 2015.
Post service career and war crime allegations
The University of Queensland (UQ) offered Roberts-Smith a scholarship to study a Master of Business Administration (MBA) in October 2013, after he announced that he was leaving the full-time army. At this time the university was looking to establish a program to support soldiers to enter corporate roles.
Samantha Crompvoets, an expert on organisational culture, was hired by the Department of Defence to investigate cultural problems in the Australian Special Forces in 2015. Crompvoets reported serious allegations concerning conduct in Afghanistan between 2009 and 2013. It was alleged to her that during this period, the SASR unlawfully killed thirty-nine Afghan nationals, in incidents characterised as "competition killing" and driven by blood lust.
In April 2015, Roberts-Smith was appointed by Seven West Media's owner Kerry Stokes to be deputy general manager of regional television for Seven Queensland, based in Maroochydore. Two months later, he was promoted to general manager. When he was first promoted to general manager, some staff joked "that it would have been difficult to find a less qualified person than Roberts-Smith". He also admitted that he was "shocked" at being offered the position.