Our Board Chair and CEO advocating for defence families with the Governor-General Sam Mostyn AC

In November, our Board Chair Tricia Hobson and CEO Renee Wilson had the honour of meeting Governor-General Sam Mostyn AC. This was a meaningful opportunity to thank Her Excellency in person for her touching War Widow’s Day video tribute and to discuss the current and emerging needs of war widows and defence and veteran families.

As a family member of a veteran herself, Her Excellency has a profound understanding of the challenges faced by the defence and veteran community. She was pleased to learn about the changes we are implementing to better support defence and veteran families. 

Tricia and Renee also discussed the model of care for veteran families and families across Australia and how we are working to change this model of care for defence and veteran families in particular, addressing their needs long before a crisis arises. The current framework assumes veteran families require no support until a veteran passes away.

Her Excellency was also introduced to the incredible history and legacy of our organisation, and our founder, the visionary Jessie Vasey CBE OBE. They shared how for nearly eight decades, we have been dedicated to supporting the widows of war and the women war and defence service leaves behind.

We look forward to keeping Her Excellency updated on our initiatives in the coming year and to strengthening our engagement with her and her office as we advance our mission to support defence and veteran families.

View the Governor-Generals War Widows Day tribute video below.