On the afternoon of 17 June, war widows came together at Government House, Sydney for an afternoon tea hosted by our Patron, Her Excellency the Honourable Margaret Beazley AC KC, Governor of New South Wales. It was the first gathering of our 80th anniversary year and, looking back on it now, a fitting way to […]
The best within us: 80 years on at Government House Read More »
Awareness, War Widows Program
The new Veterans’ Legislation will come into effect from 1 July 2026. There are no changes to existing compensation payments or services. Veterans and widowed partners do not need to take any action for their payments and services provided by DVA to continue. The improved Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Act (MRCA) will recognise medical conditions
New Veterans’ Legislation Read More »
Advocacy, Awareness, Important Updates
Allied health care is essential — and veterans, widows and families deserve certainty On 12 May 2026, the Department of Veterans’ Affairs (DVA) announced a $5,000 annual monetary limit on allied health services for Veteran Card holders as part of the Federal Budget. The proposal Taking effect on 1 July 2027, the cap on allied
A cap on allied health is blunt and poor policy Read More »
Advocacy, Awareness, Important Updates
Sharing our latest wellbeing tips for war widows, defence and veteran families Meaningful friendships are at the heart of wellbeing, yet building and maintaining them can sometimes be challenging. For war widows, defence and veteran families, the demands of service, frequent moves, and periods of separation can make connection feel especially difficult to sustain. Taking
May wellbeing tips for veteran families Read More »
Social Work and Wellbeing, Wellbeing tips
DVA pensions and allowances 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
Entitlements update Read More »
Advocacy, Awareness, Important Updates
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