advocacy

Why is veteran family policy stuck in the 1950s?

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 […]

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Advocacy, Awareness, Important Updates, ResourcesADF families, ADF Member Families, advocacy, Australian veterans, Australian War Widows, defence families, Defence spouse, Families of veterans, Media Release, veteran community, veteran families, Veteran Families Survey Report, veteran family support

March 19, 2026

We want to seem them included in legislation because this is what creates the duty to them

Positive progress but defence and veteran families need more than words

Close but not quite A message from our CEO, Renee Wilson. On Thursday 04 September 2025 The Hon. Matt Keogh MP made this speech to the Parliament, addressing the progress made since the Royal Commission handed over its final report on 4 September 2024. Minister Keogh used the opportunity to address the Senate Inquiry into

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Advocacy, Opinion PiecesADF families, ADF Member Families, advocacy, Australian veterans, Australian War Widows, defence families, Defence spouse, veteran community, veteran family advocacy, veteran support, veterans families

September 5, 2025

Enhancing mental health for NSW veterans and their families

Our submission to the Mental Health Commission dedicated to veterans and their families In June 2025 the Mental Health Commission of NSW released a consultation paper to assist in the development of their new Strategy for mental health and wellbeing in NSW. With 26% of Australian veterans calling NSW home and an estimated 246,000

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Advocacy, Contribution, Important UpdatesADF families, advocacy, defence families, defence families support, Families of veterans, family recognition, legislation, mental health, Mental Health Commission, recognition, senate committee, veteran families, veteran support, War Widows, wellbeing defence

September 4, 2025

Veteran and defence families welcoming the senate committee recommendation for inclusion

Senate Committee recommends historic change for veteran and defence families

Senate Committee recommends historic change for veteran families On 29 August 2025, the Senate’s Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Legislation Committee made a landmark recommendation: that the legislation establishing the Defence and Veteran Services Commission should be amended to specifically include veteran families. If implemented by the government, this will be the first time that

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Advocacy, Contribution, Important Updatesadvocacy, defence families, family recognition, legislation, recognition, senate committee, Senate Inquiry, veteran families, War Widows

September 1, 2025

Support for veteran families: building a better future together

It is hard to know where to start when it comes to advocating on the unmet needs of families. Advocating for the unmet needs of veteran families is both urgent and complex. The current model of care, developed over a century ago in the aftermath of the World Wars, rests on outdated assumptions. Chief among

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Advocacy, Contribution, Important UpdatesADF families, ADF Member Families, advocacy, Australian veterans, defence families, mental health, peer support, veteran community, veteran families, veterans families

July 16, 2025

Reflecting on a year of progress and impact for families of veterans, defence and veteran families.

Advocacy: Reflecting on a year of progress and impact

Over the last 12 months advocacy work has continued to grow as the organisation recommenced Government Relations work, building relationships across all sides of politics to increase the voices and draw attention to the needs of veteran families. Over the course of the year, 33 government relations products were produced including letters, meetings, and presentations,

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