Roberts-Smith was held at the Metropolitan Remand and Reception Centre at Silverwater Correctional Centre in Sydney, according to multiple reports. The former soldier, who stands 202cm tall, was described as 'cool, calm and collected' upon arrival at prison, sources said. He appeared in court via audio-visual link from custody for a bail hearing on Friday, with the prosecution opposing his release.
The charges allege he killed unarmed Afghan detainees or civilians who were not taking part in hostilities, multiple reports indicate. The alleged war crimes include five murders of unarmed prisoners, with media reports detailing specific incidents. According to media reports, Roberts-Smith kicked an unarmed Afghan civilian off a cliff and ordered subordinates to shoot him near Darwan in 2012.
Media reports also alleged Roberts-Smith took part in machine-gunning a man with a prosthetic leg and used the leg as a drinking vessel, though other accounts describe him dragging a prisoner with a prosthetic leg before machine-gunning him without mentioning the drinking vessel. Additional allegations from media reports claim Roberts-Smith ordered a junior SAS member to kill an unarmed prisoner to 'blood the rookie' and ordered the execution of a prisoner after a weapons cache was found in Chinartu in 2012. During the bail hearing, the prosecution argued Roberts-Smith was a flight risk with advanced plans to move overseas and could interfere with witnesses, according to the prosecutor.
The allegations are egregious and driven by spiteful peers.
Roberts-Smith's lawyer argued bail should be granted as the case would take years and keeping him in custody would delay access to classified defence materials, lawyer Slade Howell stated. The lawyer also noted Roberts-Smith has no criminal record and has strong community ties. Judge Greg Grogin granted Roberts-Smith bail, citing that he would likely spend years in custody if bail was refused, multiple reports indicate.
Bail conditions include restrictions on travel outside Queensland, surrender of passport, reporting to police three times a week, and a $250,000 surety, according to sources. The decision came despite prosecution concerns about witness interference and flight risk. Roberts-Smith is an Australian former soldier who served in the Australian Army, research shows.
He is a recipient of the Victoria Cross for Australia, the highest award for gallantry in battle for the Australian Defence Force, and before the trial had been Australia's most famous and distinguished living soldier. Roberts-Smith joined the Australian Army in 1996 at age eighteen and was deployed to East Timor in 1999, to Fiji in 2004, to Iraq in 2005-2006, and to Afghanistan on six occasions between 2006 and 2012. He was awarded a Medal for Gallantry in 2006 and a Commendation for Distinguished Service in 2012, and he met Queen Elizabeth II with his image hanging in the Australian War Memorial.
He shot the man because he was a 'squirter' (a Taliban insurgent fleeing).
In 2018, he commenced defamation proceedings against media outlets over allegations of war crimes and bullying, research indicates. Roberts-Smith sued three newspapers for 2018 reports alleging he was involved in murders of unarmed prisoners in Afghanistan. In June 2023, Justice Anthony Besanko dismissed the defamation case, ruling the media outlets had proven Roberts-Smith murdered four unarmed Afghans and broke military engagement rules, according to research.
The judge did not find the alleged 2018 domestic violence claim substantiated but ruled it had 'contextual truth', and Roberts-Smith was accused of domestic violence against a woman in a Canberra hotel, though the justice said this allegation was not proven, media reports stated. An appeal to the Full Court of the Federal Court was dismissed on 16 May 2025, research shows. The High Court of Australia refused an application for special leave to appeal on 4 September 2025.
The court dismissed Roberts-Smith's appeal and a last-minute attempt to reopen the case over a secret recording, according to research. The Office of the Special Investigator and Australian Federal Police conducted the investigation leading to charges, multiple reports indicate. Oliver Schulz is another Australian veteran charged with a war crime murder in Afghanistan, sources said.
He does not dispute the killing occurred but claims it was lawful.
A 2020 military report found evidence that elite Australian troops unlawfully killed 39 Afghan noncombatants, and Australia deployed 39,000 troops to Afghanistan over two decades, research shows. Historians have called for removal of Roberts-Smith's displays from the Hall of Valour at the Australian War Memorial, but the Memorial stated they will remain with updated wording, according to multiple reports. A veteran gave his medals to MP Bob Katter to return to Canberra, expressing betrayal over Roberts-Smith's arrest, sources said.
After discharge in 2013, he studied business at the University of Queensland and worked for Seven West Media, research indicates. The defamation trial was one of Australia's longest-running and costliest, with legal costs estimated at about US$16 million. Roberts-Smith's defence was partially bankrolled by the boss of Seven West Media, and he was photographed holidaying in Bali ahead of the ruling and did not attend court, according to research.
He faces legal costs likely to exceed $25 million. This ruling could clear the way for a criminal investigation by the Australian Federal Police, research suggests. Roberts-Smith had not been criminally charged and continued to deny all allegations prior to the recent arrest, according to research.
Roberts-Smith is the first Victoria Cross recipient charged with a war crime, according to experts cited in multiple reports. The specific evidence that led to the criminal charges beyond the civil defamation findings has not been disclosed. How Roberts-Smith's bail conditions will impact his ability to prepare for the criminal trial remains unclear, as does the timeline for the criminal proceedings and potential trial.
Whether there are other Australian soldiers under investigation for similar war crimes in Afghanistan is not fully known, though Oliver Schulz has been charged. The impact this case will have on Australia's military reputation and veteran community is still unfolding.