Our campaign to restore concession equality to war widows on council rates in NSW is gaining momentum. Since December 2025 we have engaged with 90 Councils and State Government representatives. 

Our second round of engagement has now commenced. This round of engagement provides costings of the proposal, allowing Councils and the State Government to understand the impacts of our request. 

Changes we are seeking 

Currently, section 134 of the Local Government Regulation limits eligibility for full local government rate concessions to war widows/widowers who would qualify for a Pensioner Concession Card (PCC). In practice, this income and assets test means some war widows in NSW lose a concession they previously received as a household once their veteran spouse dies. We want to see this removed from the Regulation so that the concession is available to all DVA recognised war widows/widowers. 

We have identified that there are 3,227 recognised war widows across the state who are currently ineligible for the council rate concession, while more than 6,000 war widows across the state receive the concession. 

Costs of expanding eligibility 

Funding of rate concessions in NSW is shared between State and Local Government with the State Government contributing 55% of the required funding and Local Government contributing 45%. 

The total cost to the NSW State Government of implementing the change to s134 is up to $754,311 with the remaining $616,500 to be shared among 128 local councils in NSW. The total cost of the change we are seeking is estimated at $1.37 million per year. 

While some war widows become ineligible for the concession because they inherit their partner’s assets, many do not. In an environment where the cost of living is ever increasing, the concession conferred by s134 of the Regulation offers a significant and material difference in the lives of more than 3,000 war widows across NSW. 

Responses to date 

After bringing this issue to the attention of Councils and Mayors around the state, not only have we gained the support of many, but some have gone further. Ryde Council has chosen to implement the concession for all war widows in their area. Additionally, the Hills Shire Council has advised that they provide an additional rebate available to war widows in their area on their rates. For more information on both please contact Ryde Council on 02 9952 8222 or at cityofryde@ryde.nsw.gov.au and the Hills Shire Council on 02 9843 0555 or at council@thehills.nsw.gov.au. 

Additionally, Majors of Hawksbury and Yass have passed formal resolutions supporting this change. We’ve also had multiple Mayors and State Members write to the Minister for Local Government in support of this change. Including the Minister for Veterans, The Hon David Harris MP. 

The Minister for Local Government, the Hon Ron Hoenig MP has responded to both the Guild, some of our members, and Councils, noting a review of the Local Government Regulation is currently underway and our proposal is being considered as part of that process. 

Further, State Shadow Minister for Veterans and Local Government Tim James MP is supportive of the proposal and we are grateful for the additional attention he and his office are helping us bring to this issue. 

While we are not quite there yet, momentum is building and we continue to advocate for change. You can continue to support this campaign by sending letters of support for this change to the Office for Local Government at olg@olg.nsw.gov.au or continue speaking with your State Member. 

By Renee Wilson, CEO, Families of Veterans Guild 

Yesterday the Australian Government announced the biggest peacetime defence spend in our nation’s history. Nuclear submarines. Ghost Shark drones. Hypersonic missiles. A strategy built for what is looking to be the most challenging era since World War II for our nation. 

Buried deep in the document, there is a short section about people — our “most important capability” — with a thank you to ADF members and their families for their “continued commitment and service.” A thank you. After everything they give and will be expected to give. I am sure it is appreciated, but where is the firm commitment of an investment in people and their families in the $53bn boost to defence?  

The 2026 National Defence Strategy set out yesterday should be a wake-up call for Australia. We are living in dangerous times and need people willing to stand in the path of that danger. Their families will also need to make extraordinary sacrifices so Australia can remain strong, peaceful, and secure — these families will carry the long-term consequences of their loved ones’ service. In the 98-page document families are only mentioned four times.  

Meaningful action for families is a national imperative 

Like in the Strategy, people are repeatedly described as Defence’s most important capability, yet they remain chronically underinvested in. While the rhetoric around people and defence and veteran families is shifting — with families finally starting to receive more airtime in Defence and veteran circles — it is time to move beyond words and turn that recognition into meaningful action and investment.  

Meaningful action has been lacking for defence and veteran families for some time because the system of care and its key players assume:  

1. Family support must be conditional on what has happened to a veteran.
2. Families are supported when the veteran is supported.
3. Families do not need support because they did not serve.  

Our 2025 Veteran Families Survey conducted by YouGov, which spoke with nearly 600 family members of current and former ADF personnel, tells a different story. More than half (52%) of Australian defence and veteran families experienced mental health challenges. Anxiety. Depression. PTSD. They are twice as likely to face these challenges as the average Australian. Yet only 36% believe Australia’s mental health services service their unique needs. 

Almost half also reported difficulties accessing basic healthcare. GPs. Specialists. Hospitals. Not specialist trauma care — basic healthcare. Furthermore, a third of those with a person with disability in their household couldn’t access the services they needed. 

And Veteran families aren’t just sacrificing their health; they’re sacrificing their livelihood as well. Our survey showed they experience unemployment at more than three times the rate of the general population. Three times. Unsurprisingly, more than half are worried about their finances, which no doubt is being exacerbated by the current impact of the fuel crisis on our economy. 

These are not edge cases. These are the families of the people we are now asking to crew our submarines, operate our drones, and staff the force that will supposedly deter conflict across the Indo-Pacific. 

A self-reliant Australia must support defence and veteran families 

The 2026 National Defence Strategy speaks of self-reliance. Of denial. Of deterrence. But there is nothing self-reliant about a force whose families are quietly breaking under the weight of service. There is no deterrence without retention. And there is no retention without genuinely supporting the people who sit at home through deployments, pack up their lives for the fourth posting in six years, and watch their own careers slowly disappear. 

The Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide was explicit: families are central to the veteran system and are under-supported. That was not a suggestion. It was a finding. 

We have the evidence. We have the data. We have the voices telling the government exactly what they need. What we do not yet have is veteran and defence families being recognised as the defence capability priority that they should be — not a welfare afterthought, but a core pillar of current and future capability. 

The Families of Veterans Guild is calling, again, for a Ministerial Advisory Body dedicated to the needs of veteran and defence families. We are calling for the Veteran White Card for mental health to be extended to immediate family members. We are calling for family support to be named — explicitly, funded, and measured — in the next iteration of this strategy. 

The Strategy and Integrated Investment Program contain a very serious $425 billion commitment to keeping Australia safe. We do not dispute the need. But you cannot build a force of that scale and ambition while continuing to treat its families as an afterthought or feel-good statement.  

The families of our veterans and serving members enable defence. They champion it. They dedicate their lives to it. It is time the defence and its strategy said so — and tangibly proved its commitment. 

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.