By Renee Wilson, CEO, Families of Veterans Guild 

This blog post first appeared in The Canberra Times’ opinion column on 2 March. Read it on the Canberra Times’ website.

Global tensions are escalating and Australia is ramping up its defence spending to record levels, the associated rhetoric from the Albanese Government is clear: people are our most important asset. And on paper, the commitment to the entire defence community appears to be there. Just last week, the Minister for Veterans’ Affairs announced a $739.2 million investment to improve veteran and veteran family wellbeing through proactive treatment and rehabilitation: “The Albanese Government is prioritising the health and wellbeing of our veteran community, with a commitment to providing more effective and efficient support to veterans and families of veterans.”  

Rhetoric vs. reality 

My initial thought when this news broke was, finally! Finally veteran families, whose support and engagement within the veteran system has been limited – and largely unchanged since the end of WWII – have some real support to look forward to.  

I read on and the excitement disappeared. Despite the inclusive headline statement, there is no new wellbeing support, services or funding in this package for veteran families. The funding will provide, “…provision of the treatment and rehabilitation for veterans to reduce the impact of injury on them and improve their lifetime wellbeing…” and “…support for medical practitioners.”  

This is great news for veterans, and after working on veteran policy for many years in the DVA, I am pleased to see new and emerging treatments being embraced. However, as the CEO of an organisation representing veteran families in Australia, and a veteran spouse myself, I’m devastated. Once again, veteran families are seen just as extensions of the veteran in policy, rather than real people whose health, wellbeing and livelihood is heavily impacted as they support their loved ones who serves. They are expected to absorb career setbacks, ill mental health, children heavily affected by the instability and trauma of military life, and costly access to treatment, all while being a lifeline for their veteran.  

1950s policy for families in 2026 

So, why are veteran families invisible to the system? Unfortunately, the reality is our veteran support system is an archaic framework built on traditional patriarchal style values, meaning it’s built and run largely by male veterans with limited diversity in its establishment or design, as a result it views the system through a narrow, veteran-first policy lens.  

War widows were first enshrined in policy in the 1950s, but only as ‘dependent caregivers’. Benefits were strictly tied to a widow’s age or her status as a mother, cementing the idea that a partner’s only value was her service to the veteran and his children. When the Veterans’ Entitlements Act was passed in 1986, it was a golden opportunity for reform. Instead, it froze the family support model in time. While veterans’ clinical needs were updated, this legislation largely preserved the old repatriation mindset: families only exist in the eyes of the government if the veteran is either 100% incapacitated or deceased. Even the new Veterans’ Entitlements, Treatment and Support (VETS) Act, which comes into effect in 2026, fails to break this cycle. While it aims to simplify a complex system, it effectively perpetuates the status quo for families.  

There has been no substantive policy update for veteran families since 1986. It’s 2026. For the 700,000+ veteran families living today, the system is operating on a seventy-year-old assumption that families benefit from veteran entitlements, a very passive approach to policy design and one that results in thousands being left behind and disadvantaged because their loved one serves Australia.  

The system hasn’t kept pace with the changing impacts of war, military service and public policy changes. It hasn’t kept pace with changing needs, demographics and around four generations of families. The result? If you are the family member of a living veteran, your support pathways in the Australian system are limited, and your experiences largely unseen.    

The unseen cost of service on families 

Our 2025 Veteran Families Survey revealed that veteran families have significant, independent wellbeing needs that cannot be met simply by treating the veteran. Veteran family members are twice as likely as the general public to face mental health challenges, and three times more likely to experience under- and un-employment. Despite these findings, the government is yet to respond or offer a plan to support these needs and offset the costs, and sacrifices, of defending Australia borne by families.  

The 2021 Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide was also explicit in its findings: families are central to the veteran system and are under supported. Lieutenant General Natasha Fox, Chief of Personnel, acknowledged that families enable military service, “…you recruit the soldier, but you retain the family”, yet it is not reflected in how we spend our money, or how we care for our veteran communities.  

You can see why my hopes were high when I started to read that media release: maybe it was time, maybe after all these years families would finally be seen. They weren’t.  

Talk to any veteran and they will tell you how much they rely on their family. They are acutely aware of the sacrifices their families have made for them. They want their families supported, not as a byproduct of their own treatment, but as a priority in their own right.  That’s why we’ve been advocating for change and building services in response to these unmet needs for the last 5 years.  

We want to take our support further; we want families to know they have a place, and a voice in the veteran system. We want them to know there is an organisation standing up for them. In this way we can help the Government put some meaning behind their headline, “…more effective and efficient support to veterans and families of veterans.” We can help Australia take care of families, and in doing so support the whole family unit, not just part of it.  

It’s time to invest in veteran families  

The Families of Veterans Guild has put forward a pre-Budget submission for $5.17 million over four years to support families. In the context of a $739 million announcement for medical practitioners, our ask is small. For $1.29 million a year, we can provide specialist social work, career upskilling, and crisis support for over 5,000 family members annually. That is just $223 per family member to keep the unit from reaching a breaking point. By empowering community-led organisations rather than expanding government bureaucracy, we can deliver impact at the speed families actually need. 

It is time to put some meaning behind the headlines. It’s time we saw and supported the wellbeing needs of the families of veterans, not as a bi-product of improving support and treatment pathways to veterans, but open the pathways to them as well. Because defending Australia has real impacts, beyond the veteran.  

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Over 3,000 war widows across NSW are being stripped of their local council rate concessions following the death of their veteran spouse, at an already devastating time for these individuals [1]. The Families of Veterans Guild (The Guild) is calling on the NSW Government to fix this unfair rule and restore concession equality for this vulnerable group.

Section 134 of the Local Government (General) Regulation 2021 imposes an income and asset test on war widows when their veteran partner dies, a test which they do not need to go through when their loved one is alive. This means 35% of NSW war widows are losing this critical concession at what is already the most difficult time of their lives.

This concession results in a reduction in local council rates, covering services like waste, water and emergency levies. The 2025 Veteran Families Survey, commissioned by the Families of Veterans Guild showed that 39% of war widows are already concerned about their financial situation and 37% experienced under or unemployment over the last 12 months. The removal of this financial support places extra burdens on (mostly) women whose income-earning capacity is often limited, increasing financial pressures for those who need support most.

Renee Wilson, CEO of the Families of Veterans Guild, said “This regulatory change from the NSW government is not just stripping away a vital concession from the already vulnerable war widow community, it’s doing so at a time of immense grief when their veteran passes away.”

“To penalise these individuals, who have supported their veteran partners for decades, by imposing new means tests on them simply isn’t fair.”

The Guild highlights that the fix is simple: amend Section 134 of the Local Governments (General) Regulation NSW 2021 and remove the income and assets test for war widows. The financial impact on the government is minimal, as most affected households had previously received the concession.

“We are asking the NSW Government to make a simple change to honour the service of our veteran families and restore the equality these widows deserve,” Renee Wilson continued.

The Guild is urging NSW residents to support the campaign by writing to their local MP.

More information is available here.

Media Release – 30 October 2025

A new report released today by the Families of Veterans Guild profiles the real impact of ADF service on veteran families, including that more than half (52%) have reported mental health challenges in the last 12 months.

The 2025 Veteran Families Survey was commissioned by the Families of Veterans Guild and conducted by global research company YouGov. Surveying nearly 600 family members of current and former defence personnel, 12% of which identified as war widows [1], the research unveils the impact of service on veteran families, including significant financial stress, inadequate access to healthcare, and profound impacts on individuals’ mental health. 

Life for these families is often defined by frequent relocations that disrupt schooling, friendships, and spousal careers, alongside the strain of parental absence during long deployments, making it harder for families to establish community roots and access consistent support. 

Associate Professor Sean Cowlishaw from the Monash School of Psychological Sciences, a leading researcher in veteran mental health and was not involved with the survey, described the unique challenges faced by veteran families. “The impacts of service extend beyond the individual in uniform and deeply affect the whole family. They can become the primary support system, navigating complex mental health needs and behavioural changes while managing their own health and wellbeing. However, the unique needs of these families are often invisible, and it’s critical we better understand these and recognise that supporting veterans means supporting their families.” 

The survey’s key findings highlight: 

• Mental health challenges: More than half (52%) of veteran families have experienced mental health challenges like anxiety, depression, or PTSD in the past 12 months. They are more than twice as likely to report experiencing mental health challenges compared to the general population [2]. Worryingly, only 36% of veteran families agree that Australia’s mental health services are tailored to their unique needs.

• Barriers to healthcare: Almost half (45%) of veteran families reported difficulties accessing general healthcare services like GPs, specialists, and hospitals in the past 12 months. Among the 78% of veteran family members surveyed who have a person with a diagnosed disability or additional needs in their household, one-third (33%) of this group struggle to access the disability or specialist healthcare services they need. 

• Financial and employment instability: A third (34%) of veteran family members say their household has had one or more adults experiencing unemployment and/or underemployment in the past 12 months, a rate over three times higher than the Australian average. Over half (52%) are concerned about their current financial situation.  

• Barriers to accessing industry support: 54% have not accessed any of veteran support services listed in the survey in the past year (e.g., The Department of Veteran Affairs, ADF Family Health Program, Families of Veterans Guild, Open Arms, Legacy, etc.) often due to a lack of awareness or confusion about eligibility.  

• Value placed on life in Defence: The report uncovered that despite the significant hardships experienced by veteran family members, there is immense pride and resilience within this community: 59% of respondents would still recommend a career in the ADF. 

CEO of the Families of Veterans Guild, Renee Wilson, said the report illuminates a truth that is often overlooked, “This survey shows that the service of a veteran is a commitment shared by the entire family but families’ needs are not being met, or even acknowledged. These are not just statistics: they are real Australian families facing immense pressure.” 

In response to these findings, the Families of Veterans Guild has issued five urgent policy recommendations to the Australian Government, calling for the establishment of a dedicated Ministerial advisory body for veteran families, and an Assistant Minister to focus on family policy and support.  

The Guild is also advocating for the expansion of the Veteran White Card for mental health to include spouses and children of veterans. It is also urging the Government heeds the Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide’s recommendation for an immediate and independent review of Open Arms, following the high rates of suicide and mental health challenges within the veteran community, to ensure this government service is meeting the clinical needs of families. 

“This report must be a catalyst for action,” urged Renee Wilson. “We have the evidence. Now we need a coordinated national response to ensure the families who sacrifice so much and enable the defence of our country are supported in every way possible.” 

The report is launching this morning at a roundtable event at Parliament House in Canberra where cross party MPs will hear from a lived experience panel and discuss the report’s findings and policy recommendations for improving outcomes for this community. The report is available below.