From 20 March pensions and allowances received by some veterans and their families increased with the first full payment made to veterans and their widows on 16 April 2026. 

The War Widow(er)’s Pension has increased $22.60 per fortnight to $1,223.40 and the Income Support Supplement has increased $6.80 per fortnight to $363.80. Wholly Dependent Partner payments under the MRCA have also increased $22.60 per fortnight to $1,223.40. 

These payments include the Energy Supplement paid to DVA pensioners for more information on other pension rates please visit www.dva.gov.au. 

Advocacy regulation 

DVA has released a public consultation paper regarding regulating compensation advocacy services following an ongoing rise in commercial advocates engaging in behaviours and practices that prioritise profit over the health and wellbeing of veterans and widowed partners. 

While we do not provide claims advocacy, we are highly invested in these reforms as they impact the experiences and wellbeing of widowed partners trying to access the compensation system and families of veterans who are engaging with it for the first time. 

DVA is proposing to: 

• restrict exploitative fee practices; 

• ban offshore hosting of veteran data; 

• prevent misleading or deceptive conduct; 

• ensure fee-charging advocates are properly trained, insured and ethical; and 

• avoid over-regulation of ESOs and volunteers. 

We are supportive of reforms that strengthen regulation of the veterans’ advocacy sector, particularly where such reform improves protections for widowed partners and veteran families navigating the compensation system. 

We are concerned that current and emerging commercial advocacy practices disproportionately expose widowed partners to harm. At the time claims are lodged, widowed partners may be: 

• newly responsible for complex legal and administrative processes; 

• managing mental health impacts, caring responsibilities, or income loss; and 

• highly reliant on advice presented as expert, urgent or essential. 

In this context, commission-based fees, contingency fees, opaque contracts and excessive termination penalties pose significant risks. These practices can materially reduce compensation intended to provide long term financial security for families after service related death, and may pressure widowed partners into agreements they do not fully understand or feel able to challenge. 

The proposed reform provides an important opportunity to signal that the compensation system exists not merely to process claims, but to uphold dignity, fairness and protection for those who bear the enduring cost of service. Widowed partners and vulnerable veteran families should never be placed in a position where grief, urgency or lack of system knowledge leaves them exposed to exploitation. 

Booked car with driver updates 

Many of our widowed partners Gold Cards holders use DVA’s Book Car With Driver transport service. Now DVA has introduced another way to access this service by using their My Service Portal. Through the My Service Portal you can now ask DVA to arrange transport for treatment covered by your Gold Card. 

DVA has also changed how you arrange transport back following your medical appointment. Now when you have finished the medical appointment, you don’t have to ring DVA to book your return back home: you can do this by ringing the transport provider. According to DVA, drivers should be giving a right of return card on the journey to the appointment, which has all the information you need to organise your journey back home. When making your return booking, use your right of return card, when calling them, simply quote your DVA number, and a driver will be back to pick you up from the appointment. If the driver has not offered a card, please ask for one. 

We know that the Booked Car With Driver Service from DVA often causes a lot of angst and anxiety for many widowed partners. If you run into any trouble please do not hesitate to give us a call, and one of our Social Workers will help you out, or call DVA directly on 1800 550 455.

The post Entitlements update first appeared on Families of Veterans Guild.

Thank you to the hundreds of you who have embraced our new membership model. Our new membership model is about three things: providing choice to current members, recognising the contributions of WWII widows and our volunteers; and ensuring we know who we are servicing. 

We have almost completed the first stage of implementation, manually renewing the membership and applying the model to almost 300 of you. It has been pleasing to see more than 70 WWII widows and volunteers avail themselves of the free Guild Membership option. 

The next phase of implementation involves the application of the Community Membership option to the broader member base and inviting new community members to join us through our social work and wellbeing services. 

Further below is the membership comparison table for your reference, demonstrating the key differences between the Guild and Community Membership options. While the table notes that The Guild Digest will be distributed in hard copy to Guild Members only, as we are still in the implementation phase we are providing it to all members on our database at this time. Going forward, it will only be provided in hardcopy to Guild Members. 

Community Membership provides a simple way to become involved with the organisation. From 2027 onwards, all people accessing our programs and services will be required to be at least a Community Member. This helps us ensure that everyone we support is a war widow or a family member of a veteran. 

Community Members are classed as ‘non-financial’ members while Guild Members are classed as ‘financial members’ and receive access to additional benefits including participation in Governance processes. 

Life Members are classed as Guild Members and there is no change to their entitlements, support or services from us. 

If you have not yet renewed, and would like to, please give us a call on 02 9267 6577 or email membership@fov.org.au. 

The post Membership update first appeared on Families of Veterans Guild.

While the Government touts a record $53 billion Defence package, the limited funding flowing into the veteran portfolio is being funnelled into the most inefficient part of the ecosystem: government bureaucracy. The Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide identified that it is this part of the sector that veteran suicide, yet this budget doubles down on it instead of allocating any funding to the community organisations proven to actually make a tangible difference. While funding is needed to build the future state – funding is needed now in the community. 

With the Minister for Veterans’ Affairs also being notably absent from the Cabinet table, this Budget – where veterans and their families are barely mentioned – reflects how low down the priority list we are. The Royal Commission acknowledged that supporting families is a direct investment in Defence capability. A high-tech force cannot be built on the backs of families who are quietly breaking.  

The Government may point to the establishment of the new Veteran Wellbeing Agency as a solution, but this group likely won’t be ready to start allocating funding for at least  another 12-18 months. And with conflict continuing to brew in the Middle East, we cannot afford to wait. Our  modest $5.17 million we requested for trauma-informed crisis support, career development for partners, and our vital War Widows Program was ignored. 

While we’re devastated by this result, the Families of Veterans Guild will be working even harder to advocate for our communities’ wellbeing. Because without our support, we will see:

• Increased isolation: Vulnerable war widows nationwide will face loneliness without expanded peer-support.
• Economic Strain: Veteran partners will remain three times more likely to be under- and unemployed, with less support to reclaim their careers.
• Ongoing and widening Mental Health Gaps: Families will continue to struggle through trauma and grief without specialist intervention.

You cannot ask families to sacrifice their stability for national security and then offer nothing in return. We will not stop advocating until every veteran family member is thriving.

The post Building capability on broken foundations: where are veteran families in this budget? first appeared on Families of Veterans Guild.

The post Campaign update – restoring concession equality for NSW war widows first appeared on Families of Veterans Guild.

The 74th annual ANZAC Field of Remembrance was held at St Andrew’s Cathedral in Sydney, where 140 guests came together in person ahead of ANZAC Day. Many more joined us through the live stream, with members gathering in Coffs Harbour, Albury, Laurieton, Nowra and Yass, and 20 others watching from homes across the country. No matter where we were, we were united in the same act of remembrance. 

A service led with meaning

The service was led by Master of Ceremonies, Sarah Loft, who opened proceedings with a warm welcome. Sarah herself understands loss intimately, as her partner, Corporal Alexander Naggs, was among those who perished in a tragic helicopter accident during Exercise Talisman Sabre in 2023. Her presence at the lectern was a reminder of the daily danger faced by the members of our Defence Force and why the ANZAC Field of Remembrance matters so deeply to war widows and veteran families.  

The Very Reverend Sandy Grant, Dean of Sydney, opened proceedings with a welcome and The Lord’s Prayer. Our President, Queen Dunbar, then delivered her welcome address, sharing her reflection about the meaning of the ANZAC Field of Remembrance. Our Patron, Her Excellency the Honourable Margaret Beazley AC KC, Governor of NSW delivered a Bible reading before the Most Reverend Kanishka Raffel, Archbishop of Sydney, delivered an inspirational address on service, sacrifice and the strength of war widows and veteran families. 

The laying of tributes

The service moved through hymns and prayer before arriving at the heart of the ceremony — the laying of tributes. Our Board Chair, Tricia Hobson, laid a wreath on behalf of all war widows and veteran families alongside Mrs Clare Gibson, Assistant Minister, who laid a wreath on behalf of the Cathedral Community. Her Excellency and Mr Wilson were among the first to lay a cross, placing it in recognition of unknown Australian service personnel who made the ultimate sacrifice, followed by government representatives, members of the Australian Defence Force, Consul Generals from New Zealand, the United States, Great Britain and France, as well as representatives from the DVA, RSL NSW, Legacy and Soldier On. 

War widows stepped forward to lay crosses for each conflict — from the First and Second World Wars through to Korea, Vietnam, Malaysia, peacekeeping operations, East Timor, Iraq and Afghanistan. Each was accompanied by a child, grandchild or great-grandchild of a veteran, who placed a sprig of wattle alongside the cross — a moment that reminded us of the memories and resilience carried across generations.  

Personal tributes from war widows

Then came the moments that carry the most meaning: all war widows in attendance stepped forward and laid their own personal tribute to their veteran. The crosses themselves, crafted with care by the St Vincent’s de Paul Society Men’s Shed Haberfield, were adorned with personal messages, rosemary, drawings, and private words dedicated to the ones they loved. 

Then the Field grew further still, as families and members of the congregation were invited to come forward and lay their own tribute in the Field in remembrance of a veteran they love. 

The Ode of Remembrance was recited by Pamela Goddhart-Dodd, followed by the Last Post, a minute of silence, The Rouse, and both the New Zealand and Australian national anthems. The service closed with a deeply moving reading of the poem The Silent Ranks, delivered by Sue Doolin and her grandson, Angus — a tribute to all those who stand beside and behind our veterans, in service and in loss. 

The crosses laid that morning did not remain only within the Cathedral walls. From the following day, they were displayed at the Anzac Memorial in Hyde Park, where the broader community could see the Field, the tributes and the names of those who may not have made it to an honour roll — and where war widows and families loss, grief and sacrifices were in view, for all to acknowledge and understand a little deeper, during ANZAC Day and beyond.  

Watch the service

To make the service as accessible to all in our community, regardless of location and availability, once again the ANZAC Field of Remembrance was recorded. Click here to watch the service.

This year, as our organisation marks 80 years, the ANZAC Field of Remembrance stands as a testament to what we have always known: that remembrance is not a single day. For war widows who miss their veteran, they remember every day. 

The post 74th ANZAC Field of Remembrance – honouring their service and sacrifice  first appeared on Families of Veterans Guild.

This year held particular significance. With the recent expansion of our services into South Australia (SA), we were proud to ensure that war widows and families in SA were represented alongside those in NSW at ANZAC commemorations. Across numerous services and two states, our members stood proudly at cenotaphs, gardens of remembrance, school halls and memorial parks. 

The commemorative activity began on Saturday 18 April at the Kokoda Track Memorial Walkway’s ANZAC Day service where State President Queen Dunbar laid a wreath. The next day, Queen also laid a wreath alongside member Sue Doolin at the Five Dock RSL United ANZAC Service. A moving and well attended service, with local school children participating. Sue’s family — including her son, a Timor veteran, his wife, daughter and grandchildren — stood alongside her as they do each year. 

On Wednesday 22 April, Maureen Moore represented the Guild at the RSL LifeCare ANZAC Day Commemorative Service and Veteran March at the RSL ANZAC Village in Narrabeen, where Brigadier Vincent Williams CSC (Retd.), Acting President of RSL NSW, delivered the ANZAC Address. As both a resident of the Village and a Guild member, Maureen’s presence was fitting. 

Friday 24 April brought two further services. At the Australian Remembrance Foundation’s ANZAC Tribute at the Sydney Opera House — broadcast live on 7Two and attended by thousands of people — Navy widow Jenny Ware represented our community. That same morning, veteran and member Pamela Goodhard-Dodd laid a wreath at the Pittwater House School ANZAC Day Service. 

ANZAC Day itself, Saturday 25 April, was our largest day of representation. At the NSW ANZAC Day Dawn Service at the Cenotaph in Martin Place, State President Queen Dunbar laid the wreath on behalf of war widows and families of veterans, accompanied by Board Chair Tricia Hobson. Across Sydney and well beyond, our representatives stood at services as the sun rose. Michelle Carr was at Chatswood, joined by her children Mason and Monique. Adele Richards represented us at Medowie; Margaret Navas at Bigge Park, Liverpool; Nola Hill at North Ryde; Dell Barrett at Woy Woy Memorial Park; and Merle Kelly, a long-standing local attendee, at Wodonga’s Woodland Grove Cenotaph. Michelle Carr returned later that morning to lay a wreath at the Willoughby Family and Community Commemorative Service. 

In SA, Member Maria Barclay represented our community at two services on ANZAC Day — the RSL SA Dawn Service at the SA National War Memorial in Adelaide, and the RSL SA Service of Remembrance at the Cross of Sacrifice, where it has long been a custom for War Widows SA and Legacy SA to each present a tribute. Maria’s presence at these significant ceremonies marked an important moment: war widows and families in SA now have a continuing representation at their state’s most solemn occasions. 

On ANZAC Day afternoon, war widows and families of veterans joined the ANZAC Day March in Sydney. It is always a proud moment for them to march following our veterans, on such a significant day for all. 

Our final commemoration of the week took place on Tuesday 28 April, when Michelle Carr laid a wreath at the Ravenswood School for Girls ANZAC Day Commemorative Service in Gordon. 

To every representative who represented our community, laying the wreath on behalf of war widows and the families of veterans, thank you. To our members across the country, thank you: we are grateful for the privilege of standing with you. 

The post Representing war widows & families – ANZAC Day 2026  first appeared on Families of Veterans Guild.