Bardia Barracks will be our new Veteran and Family Hub for South West Sydney

To every veteran, partner and family member in South West Sydney: this hub will be for  you.  

On 15 April 2026, we proudly announced that Bardia Barracks will be the site of the future home of our South West Sydney Veteran and Family Hub, bringing practical support closer to where you live.  

We marked the announcement at the heritage-listed Bardia Barracks precinct, then came together with veterans, families and supporters at the Ingleburn RSL Sub Branch Memorial Garden to share what this next chapter will mean for the community.  

We were honoured to welcome Minister for Veterans’ Affairs and Defence Personnel The Hon Matt Keogh MP, NSW Minister for Veterans The Hon David Harris MP, local members of Parliament and local government, representatives from Landcom, Department of Veterans’ Affairs and the Office of Veterans’ Affairs, RSL NSW and its sub-Branches, local veterans and ex-service organisations.  

Bardia Barracks in Ingleburn is set to serve the nation in a new role, providing services to support the NSW veteran community as the base for a new Veteran and Family Hub. The NSW Government, with support from Landcom, will officially turn over the site to RSL LifeCare, where it will form part of the Federal Government’s Veterans’ and Families’ Hub network. 

“More than 19,000 members of the veteran community in South West Sydney will soon have access to wellbeing support closer to home,” Minister Keogh said. “This is part of our commitment to expand Veterans’ and Families Hubs so veterans and families can access the services they need and deserve.”  

For RSL LifeCare, this hub is about making support easier to access, closer to home. Veteran and Family Hubs offer mental and physical health services, advocacy, and employment and housing support, so veterans and families can access practical help in one welcoming place. 

The Bardia Barracks Hub will also feature a multipurpose hall, dedicated meeting rooms, and outdoor social and play areas designed to support community gatherings and strengthen social connection for veterans and families. It will include dedicated spaces that recognise and celebrate the site’s military history and broader heritage, providing community-focused places for visitors to reflect on its past and ongoing significance. 

Bardia Barracks is an important step in growing our hub network. Funded by the Albanese Government, RSL LifeCare is delivering veteran services across the south-western corridor of Sydney through two interconnected Veteran and Family Hubs: the Hawkesbury hub, currently located in South Windsor, with a permanent site being developed in Richmond and the new hub at Bardia Barracks. Together, these two sites will offer a coordinated corridor of wellbeing support for more than 19,000 veterans and families living across Sydney’s southwest and through the Hawkesbury. 

RSL LifeCare was awarded $5.45 million by the Australian Government to establish the Hawkesbury Veteran and Family Hub, as part of the Albanese Government’s broader $46.7 million commitment to establish eight new Veteran and Family Hubs across Australia. This investment will enable two interconnected hubs at Richmond and Bardia Barracks, working in close partnership to strengthen access to care, advocacy and community connection across the region. 

RSL LifeCare Board Chair Sangeeta Venkatesan said the hub will be shaped with veterans and families at its centre.  

“We’ll keep listening to veterans and families as services are shaped, so the Hub is a welcoming place to connect and get help without having to navigate the system alone,” said Ms Venkatesan.  

Bardia Barracks carries a powerful service legacy. Built in 1940 as part of the Ingleburn Army Camp, it trained thousands of Australian soldiers during the Second World War. The facility remained in use until the 1990s, with generations of soldiers training and bunking here before going on to serve in the Korean and Vietnam wars, National Service schemes and the Army Reserves. 

The NSW Government has invested extensively to remediate the site to preserve this important part of Australia’s military history for future generations. Repurposing Bardia Barracks as part of the Veterans’ and Families’ Hub initiative ensures the location remains connected to its proud military heritage, while transforming it into a modern, welcoming space for veterans and their families. 

“Bardia Barracks holds deep meaning for generations who trained and served here. Giving the site a new purpose as a Veteran and Family Hub respected that legacy while creating a connected support service for today’s veteran community,” Ms Venkatesan said.  

When the site is officially turned over to RSL LifeCare, works and heritage restoration will commence to transition the site into a modern hub. We will then fit out safe, accessible, technology-enabled spaces for veteran and family services. We are determined to do this work with integrity and excellence, and we will only open the Hub when it is ready to deliver quality support. 

We warmly thank Ministers Keogh and Harris for their support and for joining us on the day. We acknowledge the Department of Veterans’ Affairs, the NSW Office for Veterans Affairs, Landcom, RSL NSW, local sub-branches, ex-service organisations and community partners, because lasting support for veterans and families is built through genuine partnership.  

We also thank the Ingleburn RSL Sub Branch for generously hosting the community event. 

If you’re a veteran or family member and you’d like to talk with someone, our Veteran Services team can help connect you with wellbeing support, advocacy and local services. You can find information about our Veteran and Family Hubs below: 

Veteran and Family Hubs - RSL LifeCare