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This website was first published on Anzac Day 2019.  News from the Legion is updated on this page.

The 2020 AGM HAS BEEN CANCELLED due to  COVID19 restrictions and the significant risks to our elderly members

What the Budget means for the veteran community
News from the Department
New Veteran Cards on the way
Using your Veteran Card
DVA services during the holiday season
100,000 applications for veterans’ recognition
Veterans on track to save over $2.3 million
Commonwealth Seniors Health Card gets a facelift
Prepare for the bushfire season
How to contact DVA
Coronavirus effect on veterans’ pensions
Veteran Wellbeing Centres well underway
Education Schemes
Countdown to inclusion of veterans in Census
Nominations for PM’s Veterans’ Employment Awards now open
Misleading advertising by third-party organisations
Nine advisers for Council for Women and Families United by Defence Service

Where you can find help
Connecting with DVA
Financial support from the Government
Veterans stepping up during COVID
Chief Health Officer — My experience with COVID-19
Engaging with your health professionals
Veterans can access Personal Monitoring Technology through DVA
Meeting your rehabilitation needs
Residential aged care

Mental health support for the veteran community
What is Veterans’ Home Care?
Navigating DVA’s aged-care services
Senior Mental Health Advisor — Finding meaning among the chaos
DVA support for homeless veterans
A new online program to connect young people
New mental health hotline service
Active Choices: a new physical activity program
Veteran Health Check

Australians remember our Second World War veterans
VP Day in Darwin
AFL and NRL honour Second World War veterans
Princess Anne talks to Australian veteran
How Australians marked the 75th anniversary
It’s all over
Commemorative medallion
Five brothers who made it through
Cornelis Geelhoed — An extraordinary 100 years
Teddy Sheean awarded Victoria Cross
Vale Mostyn Berryman
Correction

Queensland War Widows are Zooming!
Uni students do ‘tele-placements

TPI Federation contact details
Support our veterans’ families — Become a Legatee

A hand up, not a hand-out
Veteran advocacy tough but rewarding

Deputy Secretary Vicki Rundle PSM
Veteran Family Advocate Gwen Cherne
Defence Engagement Commissioner Stuart Smith
Safeguard your home for summer
Dolls’ houses for needy children
Veteran involved in USS Peary propeller find

Rookwood’s ‘Old Army’ Anglican Section refurbished
As a nation we unite for our fallen
Monash personal papers now freely available via Trove
COVID-19 and War Graves
Vietnam Veterans Day in northern Australia

Do you know this veteran?
Items for sale

We are still awaiting a definitive announcement regarding ANZAC Day activities. If it is allowed to proceed then in Sydney:

Sydney's ANZAC Day March gives participating veterans and the general public an opportunity to honour those who served in the defence of Australia or its interests, especially remembering those who paid the supreme sacrifice or otherwise suffered as a result of their service.

The Order of March will be WWII veterans followed by Navy/Army/Air Force (in conflict order), civilians in support of Australian Troops, descendants of Australian veterans, Commonwealth and allies.

The ANZAC Day March begins at 9am at the intersection of Martin Place and Elizabeth Street. It travels down Elizabeth Street and finishes at the end of Hyde Park at Liverpool Street.

At the conclusion of the parade, at approximately 12.30pm, a commemoration service is held next to The Pool of Remembrance at the ANZAC War Memorial in Hyde Park South.

• More than $1 million to honour Australia’s military history — 14/01/2021
• Remembering the Battle of Bardia, 80 years on — 02/01/2021
•  https://www.dva.gov.au/newsroom/latest-news-veterans/office-australian-war-graves-delivering-solemn-promise
• https://www.dva.gov.au/newsroom/latest-news-veterans/30th-anniversary-operation-desert-storm-0
• https://www.dva.gov.au/newsroom/latest-news-veterans/recipients-latest-saluting-their-service-grants-announced

• 105th anniversary of the evacuation of Gallipoli — 19/12/2020
• Statement from Minister for Veterans’ Affairs and Minister for Defence Personnel — 18/12/2020
• RSL Victoria to lead Veteran Wellbeing Centre in Wodonga — 17/12/2020
• Joint media release — Greenslopes Red Cross site to be rejuvenated for the community — 14/12/2020
• Joint media release — New Open Arms office for Rockingham, WA — 13/12/2020
• Australian War Memorial development project update — 11/12/2020
• Joint media release — SA Veteran Wellbeing Centre service providers secured — 10/12/2020
• Veteran entrepreneurs join employment advisory committee — 05/12/2020
• First psychiatric assistance dog provided in South Australia — 04/12/2020
• Help is available, please reach out — 02/12/2020
• Australian students connect with the Second World War — 02/12/2020
• https://www.dva.gov.au/newsroom/latest-news-veterans/changes-support-mental-and-physical-health-aged-care-residents
• https://www.dva.gov.au/newsroom/latest-news-veterans/support-homeless-veterans
• https://www.dva.gov.au/newsroom/latest-news-veterans/research-future-capacity-advocacy-workforce
• https://www.dva.gov.au/newsroom/latest-news-veterans/support-available-following-release-igadf-afghanistan-inquiry-findings
• https://www.dva.gov.au/newsroom/latest-news-veterans/compassion-resilience-and-support
• https://www.dva.gov.au/newsroom/latest-news-veterans/prime-ministerial-advisory-council-veterans-mental-health
• https://www.dva.gov.au/newsroom/latest-news-veterans/meet-xena-our-newest-psychiatric-assistance-dog
• https://www.dva.gov.au/newsroom/latest-news-veterans/thank-you-australias-lions-clubs
• https://www.dva.gov.au/newsroom/latest-news-veterans/australia-put-la-nina-watch-are-you-prepared
• https://www.dva.gov.au/newsroom/latest-news-veterans/additional-economic-support-payments
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• Applications open for Younger Veteran Grants — 30/11/2020
• Letter to the Editor: ADF personnel need our support — 24/11/2020
• War Widows' Guild celebrates 75 years of support — 23/11/2020
• New Justice Portal to help veterans — 23/11/2020
• Statement — IGADF Afghanistan Inquiry findings — 19/11/2020
• Last surviving brother of five receives a Commemorative Medallion — 17/11/2020
• Applications now open for veteran and community grants — 17/11/2020
•  https://www.dva.gov.au/newsroom/latest-news-veterans/milestone-second-world-war-record-digitisation
• https://www.dva.gov.au/newsroom/latest-news-veterans/first-veteran-wellbeing-centre-now-open
•  https://www.dva.gov.au/newsroom/latest-news-veterans/soldier-encourages-veteran-and-family-employment
• https://www.dva.gov.au/newsroom/latest-news-veterans/gallipoli-scholarship-fund-applications-open
• Veteran Central opens for business — 12/11/2020
• Supporting the wellbeing of veterans and their families — 12/11/2020
• New alumni network for Australian Veterans’ Children Assistance Trust — 10/11/2020
• Ministerial statement – Fourth Annual Statement on veterans and their families — 10/11/2020
• Australia pauses for our fallen personnel — 09/11/2020
• Reflecting on Indigenous military service this NAIDOC Week — 09/11/2020
• Grants help preserve Australia’s wartime heritage — 05/11/2020
• Letter to the Editor — Remembrance Day — 03/11/2020

• https://www.dva.gov.au/newsroom/latest-news-veterans/joint-transition-authority-established
• Better transition outcomes for veterans — 29/10/2020
• Unmarked First World War graves now identified — 27/10/2020
• National network of Mental Health First Aiders — 24/10/2020
• Letter to the Editor — Veterans’ Health Week — Social connection — 23/10/2020
• Stay connected this Veterans’ Health Week — 23/10/2020
• RSL LifeCare at centre of wellbeing for regional NSW veterans — 20/10/2020
• Joint media release — Nominations for Veterans’ Employment Awards now open — 19/10/2020
• Arms wide open to more veterans two years on — 18/10/2020
• Look out for your mates on World Mental Health Day 2020 — 10/10/2020
• Statement — Report provides further understanding of defence and veteran suicide — 09/10/2020
• Interim response to Productivity Commission report and findings from the TPI Review — 08/10/2020
• Supporting veterans’ mental health and employment — 06/10/2020
• Appointment of interim National Commissioner welcomed — 01/10/2020

• Open Arms greeted in Mount Pleasant Western Australia — 30/09/2020 
• Joint media release — Tasmanian veteran support services one step close — 24/09/2020
• New Open Arms office in Melbourne — 21/09/2020
• Overseas Australian sites recognised in Tripadvisor awards — 17/09/2020
•  Joint media release — Open Arms Ipswich move — 13/09/2020
• Remembering our nation's peacekeepers — 13/09/2020
• Letter to the Editor — World Suicide Prevention Day — 10/09/2020
• Australians recognise our fallen on Remembrance Day 2020 — 09/09/2020
• Letter to the Editor — Remembering our Peacekeepers and Peacemakers — 08/09/2020
• Funding available for Veterans' Health Week activities — 07/09/2020
• Merchant Navy Day remembers merchant mariners’ vital wartime service — 02/09/2020
• Australia’s Second World War defenders remembered — 01/09/2020

• Remembering the service of our Malaya and Borneo veterans — 30/08/2020
• Legacy Week — Supporting our veterans' families — 29/08/2020
• Welcome step towards suicide prevention for defence personnel and veterans — 27/08/2020
• Letter to the Editor — Remembering the service of our Malaya and Borneo veterans — 25/08/2020
• Veterans deliver new Australian War Memorial carpark — 25/08/2020
• Significant new appointments to help shape the future of veterans' support — 23/08/2020
• Veteran Family Advocate appointed — 22/08/2020
• Veterans and their families have their say on research and telehealth hub — 19/08/2020
• Veterans and their families seeking help during COVID-19 — 18/08/2020
• Honouring those who served in the Vietnam War — 17/08/2020
• 75 years since the Second World War ended — 14/08/2020
• Letter to the Editor — Recognising the contribution of our Vietnam Veterans — 14/08/2020
• Media Statement — 10/08/2020
• Op-Ed — 75 years since the end of the Second World War: Honouring the one million that served — 10/08/2020
• 105th Anniversary of the Battle of Lone Pine — 05/08/2020
• Two new providers of psychiatric assistance dogs to support veterans — 05/08/2020
• Letter to the Editor — One In A Million — Recognising our Second World War history — 03/08/2020
• Letter to the Editor — New GP hotline to support veteran mental health — 03/08/2020
• Practical steps to support veterans' mental health — 03/08/2020
• Joint media release — One In A Million — Recognising our Second World War veterans — 02/08/2020
• Council of the Australian War Memorial appointment — 01/08/2020
• Anzac360 app explores the Fall of Singapore — 01/08/2020

• Women and Families Council boosted with skills and expertise — 31/07/2020
• New initiative strengthens housing support for veterans — 29/07/2020
• Commemorative Medallion and Certificate recognise Second World War veterans — 29/07/2020
• Australians remember the 'Forgotten War' on Korean Veterans' Day — 26/07/2020
• Letter to the Editor — 60th anniversary of the end of the Malayan Emergency — 24/07/2020
• Commemorating the end of the Second World War, 75 years on — 20/07/2020
• Local organisations receive funding to support veterans’ health and wellbeing — 08/07/2020
• $4.2 million to support advocacy services for veterans — 07/07/2020
• Free suicide prevention training for the veteran community — 07/07/2020
• Letter to the Editor — Medallion and certificate recognise Second World War veterans — 06/07/2020
• Veterans' views sought to shape future engagement — 02/07/2020
• Joint media release — War Memorial re-opens in time for school holidays — 01/07/2020

• To our Reserve Forces — Australia says thank you — 30/06/2020
• Look out for your mates — support available for veteran mental health — 26/06/2020
• Funding boost for veteran care — 26/06/2020
• Joint media release — Supporting the Tasmanian ex-service community — 25/06/2020
• 70 years since the start of the Korean War — 24/06/2020
• Letter to the Editor — Look out for your mates — 22/06/2020
• Census night 2021 will count our veterans — 19/06/2020
• Australia’s communities preserving our military history — 14/06/2020
• Boost to local communities supporting veterans’ health and wellbeing — 02/06/2020
• 75 stories in 75 days — the Second World War 75 years on — 01/06/2020
• More than $1 million in mental health support for younger veterans — 01/06/2020

• Recognising the role of United Nations Peacekeepers — 28/05/2020
• Keith Payne VC documentary premiere — 27/05/2020
• Remembering our First Nations people who have served — 27/05/2020
• Joint media release — Veterans’ contribution to Australia’s workforce recognised — 15/05/2020
• The capture of Wewak remembered 75 years on — 14/05/2020
• Statement — Vale Dr Patrick Simon AO — 14/05/2020
• Joint media release — New facility for the Oasis one step closer to completion — 14/05/2020
• Veterans' mental health and wellbeing at forefront of new Government strategy — 12/05/2020
• Thanking and remembering our nation's military nurses — 11/05/2020
• Veterans take home their assistance dogs — 10/05/2020
• Family violence support for veterans and their families — 08/05/2020
• 75 years since Victory in Europe declared — 07/05/2020
• Remembering the largest naval battle fought near Australia — 04/05/2020
• Letter to the Editor: Victory in Europe Day — 01/05/2020

April 2020

• Commemorating the Battle of the Atlantic — 30/04/2020
• OBOE operations remembered 75 years on — 30/04/2020
• Anzac Day 2020: commemorating the 105th anniversary of Gallipoli from home — 24/04/2020
• Kapyong Day commemorates a significant battle of the Korean War — 24/04/2020
• The Royal Australian Mint commemorates the 75th anniversary of the end of the Second World War — 23/04/2020
• Open Letter — A message for veterans and their families — 22/04/2020
• Honour the service and sacrifice at home for Anzac Day — 20/04/2020
• Statement - Findings from the Jesse Bird inquest — 07/04/2020

March 2020

• Mates4Mates delivers top end veteran support — 28/03/2020
• Western Australia Veterans' Wellbeing Centre on track — 27/03/2020
•  2020 Anzac Day Schools’ Awards focus on Second World War — 23/03/2020
• Veteran pensions set to increase — 20/03/2020
• 2020 Prime Minister’s Veterans’ Employment Awards ceremony cancelled — 19/03/2020
• Anzac Day 2020 services — 18/03/2020
• Understanding and preventing veteran suicide — 16/03/2020
• Health and stimulus packages support veteran community — 16/03/2020
• International Women’s Day – celebrating those who served — 08/03/2020
• Supporting local communities to remember our service personnel — 06/03/2020
• Joint media release — Feasibility study to strengthen supports for Canberra’s veteran community — 05/03/2020
• Supporting Australian communities for Anzac Day 2020 — 05/03/2020
• Planning and arrangements for overseas Anzac Day services 2020 — 05/03/2020

FEBRUARY 2020

•  Our nation remembers Rwanda peacekeepers 
•  Saluting their Service Grants applications close 31 March 
•  Australia remembers the bombing of Darwin 
•  Operation Hammersley remembered 50 years on 
•  Veterans to be counted on 2021 Census 
•  Community organisations supporting veteran health and wellbeing 
•  Honouring our National Servicemen 
•  Letter to the Editor: 50th anniversary of Operation Hammersley during the Vietnam War 
•  Sale RSL honours the service of Sister May Hennessy 
•  Supporting at risk veterans transitioning to civilian life 
•  RFI - Rehabilitation in the Home Program 
•  Statement 
•  Powerful new body to tackle ADF and veteran suicides 

JANUARY 2020

• Disaster assistance- bushfire crisis 
• Replacements for medals lost or destroyed in bushfires 
•  Prime Minister’s Veterans’ Employment Awards Finalists 
•  Support available to veterans affected by bushfires 
•  Access to emergency medications for bushfire affected veterans 

DECEMBER 2019

•  104 years on since our troops left Gallipoli 
•  Australia honours our Rwanda peacekeeping veterans 
•  Joint communiqué – Veterans Ministerial Council 
•  Australian War Memorial Director appointed 
•  25th anniversary of Operation TAMAR, Rwanda 
•  Simpler access to medical treatment for veterans 
•  Open Arms community and peer program expands nationally 

NOVEMBER 2019

• Joint media release — Australian War Memorial Development Project 
•  Veteran employment celebrated 
• Commemorating the service and sacrifice of our fallen 
•  Local communities benefit from funding boost for commemorative grants 
•  Joint media release — Respect and recognition for Australian Veterans 
•  Communities salute service men and women 
•  Commemorative projects showcase community spirit 
•  Open tender for psychiatric assistance dogs for veterans 
•  Veterans to play key role in memorial development project 
•  Expanding access to low cost home insurance for veterans and members of the Australian Defence Force 
•  Release of reports from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare 

OCTOBER 2019

•  Appointment to Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Commission 
•  Joint media release — Local support for veterans in Townsville 
•  Increased veteran satisfaction with DVA services 
•  Joint media release — Australia Zoo supports ex-service community on Sunshine Coast Veterans Day 
•  Letter to the Editor — Remembrance Day 
•  Veterans’ Health Week focused on mental wellbeing 
•  Anzac Day Schools' Awards winners showcase creativity 
•  Greater recognition for veterans and their families 
•  Council of the Australian War Memorial appointment 

SEPTEMBER 2019

•  Assistance dogs to support veterans with PTSD 
•  Government seeks input into mental health and wellbeing strategy and national action plan 
•  Veteran pensions set to increase 
•  Remembering the vital role of Australia’s peacekeepers 
•  Government taking action to support veteran employment 
•  Remembrance Day mail out encouraging younger Australians to learn about wartime history 
•  Funding for organisations to support our veteran community 
•  Commemorating Battle for Australia Day 
•  80 years on from the Second World War Australia remembers 
•  The role of our merchant mariners remembered 

AUGUST 2019

•  Supporting veterans' families this Legacy Week 
•  Malaya and Borneo veterans commemorated 
•  Joint communiqué — Veterans Ministerial Council 
•  Younger Veterans' Mental Health Grants 
•  Vietnam Veterans' legacy remembered 
•  From coast to country: Mobile service centres take government services to the bush 
•  AWM Director thanked for outstanding achievements 
•  Victory in the Pacific Day - remembering the end of the second world war 
•  Honouring women’s contribution to our defence 
•  Support for military families in coping with trauma 
•  Leopold War Memorial receives Armistice grant 

JULY 2019

• Women and Families United by Defence Service Council members announced
• Nation pauses to remember the Korean War Armistice
• Open Arms retains mental health accreditation
• Mental health and suicide prevention a welcome national priority
• Productivity Commission report into Compensation and Rehabilitation of Veterans released
• Minister welcomes support for veterans from Governor-General
• Making it easier for veterans to access support
• Veterans to benefit from more assistance

JUNE 2019

• Australia marks Reserve Forces Day
• Outgoing Repatriation Commissioner thanked for dedicated service
• 100 years since the signing of the Treaty of Versailles
• Veteran Treatment Cycle initiative
• No changes to Victoria Cross recipients’ travel entitlements
• Veteran Mental Health and Wellbeing Summit statement
• Veterans' Mental Health Summit to inform government's strategy
• Free annual health checks for personnel leaving defence force
• More than 75,000 veterans using DVA online services
• Assistance dogs-in-training to support our veterans
• Veterans’ Health Week to focus on mental health
• New National President for the RSL appointed
• Letter to the Editor: Veteran Mental Health Support
• Veterans gather to commemorate Battle of Binh Ba 50 years on
• Commemorating the 75th anniversary of the D-Day landings

Press releases from the Minister for Veterans' Affairs:

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Press releases from the Shadow Minister for Veterans' Affairs:

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 Vale `Cootamundra Sub-Branch President. The funeral for Allan Miller was held on 25 June 2020 and was attended by sub-branch members. The Legion flag was laid on Allan’s coffin and Mr Miller’s family were given an Australian National Flag and $100.
 

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