One Australian Army soldier has died and five others were injured during a training exercise at the Mount Bundey range southeast of Darwin, the Department of Defence said on Tuesday. The incident occurred on Monday at the sprawling live-fire facility used by Australian and allied forces, but officials released no details on the cause pending investigations.
Northern Territory Chief Minister Lia Finocchiaro said emergency crews airlifted the wounded to Royal Darwin Hospital on Monday evening. Two soldiers arrived by helicopter around 7:30 p.m. local time and three more by fixed-wing aircraft about two hours later, she told reporters citing defence briefings.
Investigations underway
NT Police Commissioner Martin Dole said officers were sent to Mount Bundey to support Defence’s probe and the coroner. “We can’t comment on the cause of the injury to the defence personnel but we are assisting and were helping to investigate on behalf of the coroner,” Dole said, according to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
A Defence spokesperson confirmed the fatality and injuries but declined further comment, a standard posture while next-of-kin notifications and safety reviews proceed. The Australian Defence Force routinely suspends similar activity after serious accidents until commanders sign off on revised risk controls.
Mount Bundey, roughly 100 kilometres southeast of Darwin, is among the country’s busiest combined-arms training grounds. Its remote scrub and weapons-impact areas host live-fire drills that mirror deployment conditions, but the same realism has made the range a recurring focus when exercises go wrong.
Pattern of training deaths
Monday’s death is the second fatal accident involving an Australian soldier in 2025. Warrant Officer Class Two Lachlan Muddle of the Special Air Service Regiment died in May after a mid-air collision during a parachute jump at Jervis Bay in New South Wales.
Mount Bundey itself has a grim history. In 2017, Private Jason Challis was killed during a live-fire exercise when he was struck in the head. A coroner later described the drill as “shambolic” and partly the product of a culture that resisted rehearsals for combat-like scenarios. The Defence Department later pleaded guilty in the Darwin Local Court to failing to meet workplace health and safety duties, a rare criminal admission for the institution.
That precedent means this week’s accident will draw scrutiny from veterans’ advocates, the federal opposition and workplace regulators over whether recommended safety reforms were fully implemented. The Commonwealth WHS regulator has jurisdiction over defence establishments, and any repeat failures could trigger heavier penalties or court-ordered undertakings.
Political and community response
Finocchiaro said the territory stood ready to provide medical and logistical support but stressed that Defence leads the operational review. Darwin hospitals regularly train for mass-casualty events linked to military exercises, given the concentration of bases across northern Australia.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s office had not issued a detailed statement by mid-morning Tuesday, though leaders typically contact bereaved families before commenting publicly. Opposition defence spokespeople are likely to demand a parliamentary briefing on training risk, especially with the AUKUS submarine build-out increasing pressure on the army to accelerate readiness.
For now, the identity of the deceased soldier has been withheld until relatives are informed. Defence is expected to name the unit involved once ceremonial protocols allow, giving Australians a clearer picture of which capability — infantry, armour or joint fires — was on the range when the incident unfolded.