Veteran & Family Hub Highlights for 2024

2024 has been a year of milestones for our Veteran and Family Hub Network.  From celebrating the 1st anniversary of our Hub in the Northern Beaches, celebrating the 2nd anniversary and refurbishment our Riverina Hub, and of course opening the brand-new hub which services the Central Coast region, our team are thrilled to be even more accessible to veterans and their families.

The Hubs are a true place of connection and community for our veterans and their families.  They can visit the Hub and make use of the facilities as they need to and also access the support offerings which are available to them – from claims and advocacy support, wellbeing and financial, housing or education and more.

In 2024, our Veteran & Family Hubs:

• Welcomed over 3,600 visitors
• Received a satisfaction rating of ‘satisfied’ or ‘very satisfied’ from 98% of visitors
• Hosted 366 on-site events
• Took part in 104 off-site events

Here’s a snapshot of some of the key moments in our Hubs in 2024:

Shoalhaven Veteran & Family Hub

The Shoalhaven Hub team have introduced a number of new initiatives this year to welcome and connect with the veteran community.  Young and old veterans and family members are always welcome and enjoy their time with the team.  Here’s a few event highlights:

• Sunday Brunch Club – a new initiative in 2024, which promotes a range of key activities.  Sundays at Shoalhaven are bright and fantastic!
• Forge – a new 2-day wellbeing workshop which was sponsored by Shoalhaven Suicide Prevention Awareness Network (SSPAN).
• ADF Child of the Medalion Ceremony – hosted by Defence Member and Family Support (DMFS), this award commends children for their resilience and personal growth when responding to challenges associated with military family life.

This year, the Shoalhaven team welcomed more than 4000 veterans or family members to access services or attend events. To stay up to date on the Shoalhaven Hub, please click here.

Riverina Veteran & Family Hub

The Riverina Hub celebrated its second anniversary and also the finalisation of their refurbishments thanks to a grant from the Department of Veterans’ Affairs.  The community celebration was enjoyed by all, and it was great to see veterans of all ages come together.

A special event was also held to celebrate International Women’s Day, where our Hub team invited women in Defence to come together for lunch and to hear from some incredible role models in the veteran community.

Central Coast Veteran & Family Hub

Launched in September 2024, the team has already made such great connections with the local veteran community. The team has been busy delivering presentations to key community organisations including Rotary and other ESO’s such as Legacy to educate the community about the support available at the Hub.

In the 3 months since it opened over 200 people have visited the Hub, and more than 65 Veterans and their families attended the recent Christmas party. The Hub was mentioned in Federal Parliament by Emma McBride MP, Assistant Minister for Mental Health, who reported on her visit to the Hub where she joined the walking group and morning tea.

In 2025 the Hub will host its first Women’s High Tea in recognition of International Women’s Day as well as taking the BBQ trailer to the Central Coast Peninsula to stage a social event for veterans and their families who cannot make it into the Hub.

Northern Beaches Veteran Wellbeing Centre

Northern Beaches Veteran Wellbeing Centre has been supporting the veteran community for one year, and this year we received recognition in NSW State Parliament of the and the great work we do for veterans and their families.

Easter came early to Little Diggers preschool at Narrabeen with 100 lucky kids enjoying hunting for Easter Eggs, colouring in books and even a visit from the Easter Bunny.

Relaxing sessions of Yoga were held for the first time this year for a 6 week program. Frontline Yoga provided classes for veterans and their families.

One of the many highlights was the Dad & Dave’s Brewery community event in early November.  The team was invited to host an information stall, where customers were able to make direct donations or purchase raffle tickets in rolling meat tray raffles held throughout the afternoon. During November, a portion of sales was donated directly to RSL LifeCare. The stall held on site was popular handing out jellybeans, colouring in books and balls for the kids as well as merchandise for the adults. It was a great way to get into the local community and was so successful that the Centre has been offered a further fundraising opportunity during a Manly home game in 2025. This is a wonderful community partnership, and we cannot thank Dad and Dave’s Brewery enough for their support in 2024.

The Centre finished the year running Christmas photos for veterans and their families at Dee Why Beach in conjunction with the Families of Veterans Guild.  22 defence families registered for our Inaugural event and more than 50 children received a special gift from the Northern Beaches Veteran Wellbeing Centre.

The Centre will kick off next year with a Defence family bowling day at Timezone in January with 40 families booked in for Ten Pin Bowling.

To stay up to date on our Northern Beaches Veteran Wellbeing Centre, please click here.

Hunter Veteran & Family Hub

The Hunter Veteran and Family Hub has been operating a temporary office at Newcastle for some time with a permanent Hub Manager, Hayley Catford, appointed in December this year.  We are currently recruiting for a Claims Advisor and Engagement and Community Officer, which we expect to complete in early 2025.

Our team at the Hunter have been supporting clients and visiting them in the community.  In addition, we’re pleased with the progress that is being made to establish a new permanent Hub in Maitland.  For news and updates about the Hunter Hub, please click here.

Queanbeyan Veteran & Family Hub

This Hub will open in early 2025, with a newly recruited Hub Manager, Richard Norris at the helm.  Recruitment is underway for a Claims Advisor and Engagement and Community Officer which is expected to be completed early in 2025.

We are looking forward to engaging with the local veteran communities in this region, to ensure that the Hub meets the local needs.

To stay up to date on Queanbeyan news, please click here.

Hawkesbury Veteran & Family Hub

We’re pleased to announce that we are now off and running with the development of the Hawkesbury Veteran & Family Hub, which will provide support services from Hawkesbury to South Western Sydney .

We are now recruiting for team members to operate the Hub, and are excited to build out a caring and expert team of dedicated professionals.  Keep your eyes on our careers page, and please feel free to share the job advertisements with interested contacts.   Click here, and add ‘Hub’ into the search bar to see the relevant roles available.

On 23^rd January 2025, we will host a Community Consultation at the Windsor RSL and we invite all interested local community members to attend. Click here for more information about the event.

To stay up to date on Hawkesbury Hub news, please click here.

North Coast Veteran & Family Hub

In 2025, we’re pleased to announce that our newest Hub will open in the North Coast region, supporting clients from the Tweed and North Coast districts.

We’ve been liaising with the local veteran community to ensure the services meet their needs – as with all of our Veteran and Family Hubs – it is a community centre for veterans, which we build together.

We are excited to announce we will establish a temporary Hub, in early 2025, located at 145 Wharf Street Tweed Heads, as we pursue a long term solution.

To stay up to date on North Coast Hub news, please click here.

If you’re interested in working with us, we have a number of roles available at our Veteran & Family Hubs. Click here, and add ‘Hub’ into the search bar to see the relevant roles available.

Like to know more about all of our veteran support team updates? Read our 2024 update here.

Our efforts are proudly supported by funds from RSL NSW and its sub-Branches, and the services we provide would not be possible without the generous support of our donors.  

If you or someone you know is in need of assistance, don’t hesitate to get in touch with us at [email protected], or call 02 8088 0388.

If you’d like to stay up to date on what the team is doing, please subscribe to our regular newsletter updates.