Soldier dies during parachute training incident at Jervis Bay – the second such death in two years

An army soldier has died during a parachuting training course at Jervis Bay airfield, Defence has announced.The soldier died during the training incident on Monday evening.“One other Australian army soldier was injured and did not require hospitalisation,” Defence said in a statement on Tuesday.The federal government frontbencher Mark Butler said Monday’s death was a “very deep tragedy”. The defence department said further updates would be provided “when possible”.ADF soldier Jack Fitzgibbon, the son of former Labor defence minister Joel Fitzgibbon, died in early 2024 during a parachute incident during a routine training activity in Sydney.The 33-year-old was injured in March 2024 at the RAAF airbase at Richmond, about 50km north-west of Sydney’s CBD. He received first aid at the scene and was taken to Westmead hospital in a serious condition but later died from his injuries.Parachute training was paused for two months, and investigations were launched by the NSW coroner and the Inspector General of the Australian Defence Force.Another army soldier died and two others were injured during a training accident in north Queensland in October 2025.That soldier was fatally injured in a vehicle rollover at the Townsville Field Training Area.Two soldiers were also killed in a truck rollover south of Townsville in August 2021.The defence department was charged in September 2023 with breaching federal work health and safety laws over the 2021 incident.