The post Rise Together Initiative 2026 first appeared on Families of Veterans Guild.

As part of its overall mission to support the unmet needs of veteran families, the Guild has created The Rise Together Initiative, exclusively for defence and veteran partners, including war widows. This initiative is being predominately funded by a grant formally announced by the Minister for Women, Senator Katy Gallagher, at Parliament House on Monday 3 March 2025 alongside our Board Chair, Tricia Hobson and our CEO, Renee Wilson. This significant moment came after a meeting where Senator Gallagher took the time to engage with veteran partners, listening to their first-hand experiences and insights.

A milestone for defence and veteran partners’ careers and wellbeing

The Rise Together Initiative is a program aimed at empowering defence and veteran partners, providing them with the skills, confidence, and networks they need to build their own careers and thrive. Announced at Parliament House on 3 March, this initiative brings national attention to the often overlooked sacrifices and contributions of defence and veteran partners.

CEO Renee Wilson spoke at the announcement, emphasising that this initiative is about ensuring that defence and veteran partners see themselves as equals within their partnerships and relationships. Too often, their careers take a back seat as they make sacrifices to support their partner’s service. This program aims to balance that equation by offering leadership training, mentorship and career development opportunities.

Rise Together, an initiative that builds career confidence for war widows, defence and veteran partners

The project started with one widow wanting to support other women whose loved one serves or did serve in the ADF, to mitigate the impacts of that service on their careers. This widow has privately funded four Defence and veteran spouses to complete this program and in 2025 will fund another two, together with government funding which means 12 spouses will now have access to this program.

The initiative has been designed to build career confidence for defence and veteran spouses. In 2025 it will improve leadership skills, and career confidence for 12 defence and veteran partners nationwide. Its focus is to empower participants to recognise their value beyond being a veteran spouse, equipping them to excel in the workforce and into positions of leadership.

We are so proud today to demonstrate what we are about as an organisation. The evolution of our work in this area has only been possible through the generous support and wishes of a war widow to ensure defence and veteran spouses have opportunities she didn’t.

Fundamentally this initiative is about women, helping women. It is a powerful story and legacy and serves as an example of what the Guild stands for.

Leadership development through Rise Together

The Rise Together Initiative is a critical step in providing women who make up 90% of defence and veteran partners with the resources to invest in themselves and build confidence in their professional journeys.

By fostering leadership and self development, we aim to break the cycle where these partners put their own careers on hold indefinitely. The program is a game changer, addressing a long standing imbalance in support services, which have historically focused on defence members rather than their families.

As mentioned by our CEO in the announcement, Australia lags behind other nations in providing direct support to defence and veteran partners and families. Current entitlements and benefits are tied to the defence member, rather than extending to families in their own right. The Rise Together Initiative represents an essential shift toward ensuring families receive the recognition and assistance they deserve.

By strengthening the support network for partners, we ultimately contribute to a stronger, more resilient defence community. Families play an essential role in national security and their wellbeing must be a priority.

Click here for more information and to apply for the Rise Together Initiative.

The post Rise Together Initiative announcement at Parliament House first appeared on Families of Veterans Guild.

The Families of Veterans Guild has today opened applications for The Rise Together Initiative in a bid to counter the significant career barriers experienced by hundreds of thousands of Australian veteran spouses.

Veteran spouses represent a highly skilled and often under utilised talent pool. However, their careers are frequently disrupted by the demands of their partner’s military life, leading to “patchy” resumes, unemployment, and underemployment. Indeed, three in four (76%) veteran partners report making employment sacrifices because of challenges unique to this group. This is resulting in a national crisis amidst an already stark skills shortage: the Australian Defence Force partner unemployment rate is twice the national average, with 92% of these affected veteran partners being women.

As part of its overall mission to support the unmet needs of veteran families, and to counter this issue, the Guild has created The Rise Together Initiative, exclusively for defence and veteran partners, including war widows. This initiative is being predominately funded by a grant formally announced by the Minister for Women, Katy Gallagher, at Parliament House earlier today.

The project started with one widow wanting to support other women whose loved one has or did serve in the ADF, to mitigate the impacts of that service on their careers. This widow has privately funded 4 Defence and veteran spouses to complete this program and in 2025 will fund another two, together with government funding which means 12 spouses will now have access to this program.

The initiative has been designed to build career confidence for defence and veteran spouses. In 2025 it will improve leadership skills, and career confidence for 12 defence and veteran partners nationwide. Its focus is to empower participants to recognise their value beyond being a veteran spouse, equipping them to excel in the workforce and into positions of leadership.

We are so proud today to demonstrate what we are about as an organisation. The evolution of our work in this area has only been possible through the generous support and wishes of a war widow to ensure defence and veteran spouses have opportunities she didn’t.

Fundamentally this initiative is about women, helping women. It is a powerful story and legacy and serves as an example of what the Guild stands for.

Renee Wilson, CEO of the Families of Veterans Guild, said: “Veteran spouses face unique career challenges due the nature of a life tied to defence. They have sacrificed much for their partner’s career and Australia but often go unrecognised and unsupported. The Rise Together Initiative is designed to empower these individuals, providing them with the skills and confidence to pursue leadership roles and make meaningful contributions to a workforce in dire need of diverse skills, perspectives, resilience and determination.”

She continued: “As a veteran partner who has been through the program, I highly encourage members of the community to apply via the Family of Veterans Guild website—it is truly transformative.”

If you are interested in signing up or finding out more information, please visit our website here.

The post Media release – Announcement of the Rise Together Initiative first appeared on Families of Veterans Guild.