Son of Joel Fitzgibbon dies in parachute incident at Richmond RAAF ...

• In short: Lance Corporal Jack Fitzgibbon has died after being injured in a parachuting incident at Sydney's Richmond RAAF base last night.
• He is the son of former Labor defence minister Joel Fitzgibbon, who paid tribute to his son as a "dedicated highly skilled and courageous soldier".
• The training exercise has been paused and a formal investigation into the incident has been launched.

Lance Corporal Jack Fitzgibbon, the son of former defence minister Joel Fitzgibbon, has died after being injured in a parachuting incident at the Richmond RAAF base last night.

Acting Special Operations Commander Brigadier James Kidd said Defence had initiated a formal investigation.

The training exercise has been halted following the death and the Australian Army has temporarily paused all parachute training. 

The Australian Defence Forces (ADF) this morning confirmed a soldier had been injured in a parachuting incident during a "routine" training exercise at the Sydney base about 6:30pm last night.

The 2nd Commando Regiment soldier Lance Corporal was a "relatively junior" member of Special Operations Command and was a qualified parachutist, Brigadier Kidd said.

"We acknowledge that military training is inherently risky, and we remain committed to constantly training at the highest standard to achieve the level of excellence that we know our nation demands of us," he said.

'We will always remain proud of him'

Mr Fitzgibbon said in a statement that serving in the special forces was his son's dream job.

"We take some comfort from the fact that he died serving his nation in the uniform of the Australian Defence Force.

"Jack was a dedicated highly skilled and courageous soldier. He was an experienced parachutist.

Lance Corporal Fitzgibbon served overseas and in Australia in natural disaster responses.

"Jack was a much loved and respected soldier within the second commando regiment, which is part of the Special Operations Command within army," Brigade Kidd said.

"Jack was loved for his courage, and known for his sense of humour and his service to the country."

The soldier was rendered first aid at the scene before being been taken to Westmead Hospital, the ADF said in a statement this morning.

Mr Fitzgibbon was defence minister in the first Rudd government from 2007 to 2009.