Roberts-Smith was held at the Metropolitan Remand and Reception Centre at Silverwater Correctional Centre after his arrest, multiple reports indicate. He appeared in court via audio-visual link for a bail hearing on Friday, wearing prison-issued clothing. The prosecutor opposed bail, arguing Roberts-Smith was a flight risk due to advanced plans to move overseas and could interfere with witnesses. Roberts-Smith's lawyer argued he was not a flight risk, had no criminal record, and that keeping him in custody would delay the trial due to difficulties accessing classified defence materials.
Judge Greg Grogin granted Roberts-Smith bail on Friday, citing that he would likely spend 'years and years' in custody if bail was refused, and set conditions including a $250,000 surety, surrender of passport, and reporting to police three times a week. Roberts-Smith was released from custody on Friday and returned to his home on the Gold Coast, according to multiple reports.
This criminal case follows a civil defamation ruling that found Roberts-Smith committed four murders in Afghanistan. In 2023, a Federal Court judge found that allegations Roberts-Smith committed four murders in Afghanistan were substantially true on the balance of probabilities in a civil defamation case. In June 2023, Justice Anthony Besanko dismissed the defamation case, ruling that the media outlets had established that Roberts-Smith murdered four unarmed Afghans and had broken the rules of military engagement.
Roberts-Smith appealed that judgment, but an appeal to the Full Court of the Federal Court was unanimously dismissed on 16 May 2025. The Federal Court upheld the original judgment that media reports published by Nine Newspapers alleging Roberts-Smith was involved in the murder of four unarmed civilians were substantially true. The High Court of Australia refused an application by Roberts-Smith for special leave to appeal on 4 September 2025 and ordered him to pay the defendants' costs. A panel of three justices dismissed both his appeal and a last-minute attempt to reopen the case over a secret recording, and the court found no wrongdoing in how the original trial was conducted.
The allegations are 'egregious' and driven by spiteful and jealous peers.
Specific allegations from media reports include a particularly gruesome incident involving a prosthetic leg. The Age, The Sydney Morning Herald and The Canberra Times alleged that Roberts-Smith kicked an unarmed Afghan civilian off a cliff and ordered subordinates to shoot him. Roberts-Smith was said to have taken part in the machine-gunning of a man with a prosthetic leg, later bringing the leg back to Australia and using it as a drinking vessel with comrades, according to the papers. Allegations that Roberts-Smith dragged a prisoner with a prosthetic leg outside an Afghan compound before machine-gunning him were backed up by numerous witnesses, a court has heard. A barrister representing the newspapers said allegations about the murder of a prisoner with a prosthetic leg outside a compound called Whiskey 108 had been corroborated by four soldiers.
Barrister Nicholas Owens SC said three witnesses gave 'strikingly coherent accounts' of Roberts-Smith manhandling the man before throwing him to the ground and machine-gunning him in 2009. A fourth witness said he had seen the body on the ground and recognised the man as a prisoner who had been brought out of a tunnel discovered in the Whiskey 108 compound.
Additional war crime allegations include a cliff kick and a rookie initiation. The media reports alleged that Roberts-Smith ordered a junior member of the SAS to kill another unarmed prisoner found in the Whiskey 108 tunnel to 'blood the rookie.' Owens said there was a 'powerful inference' the junior soldier had stopped to put a suppressor on his M4 rifle before shooting the man in the head, implying premeditation. Roberts-Smith was also alleged to have kicked a handcuffed prisoner off a cliff before ordering his execution near Darwan in September 2012 and separately ordering the execution of a prisoner after a weapons cache was found in Chinartu in October that same year.
These allegations against Roberts-Smith exist within a broader context of military misconduct in Afghanistan. A 2020 military investigation found special forces personnel 'unlawfully killed' 39 Afghan civilians and prisoners.
He was a 'squirter' – a Taliban insurgent fleeing the compound.
The defamation case that preceded the criminal charges was a lengthy and costly affair. Roberts-Smith sued three newspapers for 2018 reports that alleged he was involved in the murders of unarmed prisoners in Afghanistan. Roberts-Smith denied the allegations and launched a multi-million-dollar defamation case in response. The case was one of Australia's longest-running defamation trials, with legal costs estimated at about US$16 million, according to local media. Roberts-Smith's defence was partially bankrolled by the boss of Seven West Media, research indicates. Roberts-Smith now faced the prospect of paying tens of millions in legal costs, with the total bill likely to exceed $25 million (NZ$27m).
Personal and family dynamics were stark during the defamation trial. Roberts-Smith's ex-wife and former mistress testified against him in the defamation trial, while his current girlfriend and mother supported him, multiple reports indicate. Roberts-Smith was photographed holidaying in Bali ahead of the ruling and did not attend court.
The Australian War Memorial has become a focal point of controversy. The Australian War Memorial has stated that Roberts-Smith's uniform and medals will remain in the Hall of Valour, but it will review the interpretive panel, according to a spokesperson. Some historians, including Michael McKernan and Peter Stanley, have called for Roberts-Smith's displays to be removed from the Hall of Valour or relocated.
Veteran and public reactions have been mixed and emotional. An Australian military veteran gave his medals to MP Bob Katter to return to Canberra, expressing betrayal over Roberts-Smith's arrest, multiple reports indicate.
The man was shot lawfully.
The criminal case is unprecedented as Roberts-Smith is believed to be the first Victoria Cross recipient charged with a war crime, according to multiple reports. Roberts-Smith won the Victoria Cross for 'conspicuous gallantry' in Afghanistan while on the hunt for a senior Taliban commander.
Roberts-Smith was accused of domestic violence against a woman in a Canberra hotel, but the justice said this allegation had not been proven. The judge in the defamation case did not find the alleged 2018 domestic violence claim substantiated but ruled it had 'contextual truth', multiple reports indicate.
Key unknowns persist as the case moves forward. What specific evidence or witnesses support the five murder charges against Ben Roberts-Smith has not been publicly detailed. When his criminal trial will begin, and what the expected timeline is, also remains undetermined.
Future implications are significant. This ruling could now clear the way for a criminal investigation by the Australian Federal Police, research suggests.