Women Veterans Australia (WVA) will expand its national programs in 2026 following the award of funding through the Department of Veterans’ Affairs Health and Wellbeing Grants program, supporting the organisation’s Shadows to Spotlight initiative. The funding will enable WVA to strengthen its work amplifying the voices of women veterans and improving access to connection, support and resources for women who have served. The initiative aligns closely with the findings of the Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide, which highlighted the need for more tailored and gender-responsive support services across the veteran system.
Llani Kennealy, Chair of Women Veterans Australia, said the grant would help address long-standing gaps in visibility and support for women who have served in the Australian Defence Force. “For too long, women veterans have been largely invisible within Australia’s veteran support system. The Royal Commission made it clear that women’s experiences of service, transition and care are different, and our systems must respond accordingly,” Ms Kennealy said. “This funding allows Women Veterans Australia to ensure women’s voices shape the solutions. Shadows to Spotlight is about moving women veterans from the margins to the centre of policy, research and support. It is also about shifting the national narrative, ensuring women veterans are visible in Australia’s story of service and reflected in the policies designed to support those who serve. The experiences of women veterans will shape whether the next generation of women sees a future for themselves in uniform. If we want a strong and capable Defence Force, we must get this right.”
Why female veterans are being left behind
Evidence highlighted through the Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide, alongside emerging research on women’s military service, demonstrates that women veterans face distinct challenges during and after service. Some quick facts:
- According to the Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide women veterans are twice as likely to die by suicide compared to civilian women.
- Women who are medically discharged face significantly elevated suicide risk compared with the broader population.
- Many women report complex transition experiences, including identity disruption, barriers to accessing veteran services, and the lasting impacts of gender-based discrimination and military sexual trauma.
- Women veterans frequently report feeling invisible within the veteran community and support systems, which historically have been designed around male service patterns.
- DVA Women Veterans Policy Forum Reports (2023–2025) consistently identifies visibility, safety, inclusion, and tailored services as systemic gaps for women veterans.
WVA Digital Hub tailored for women veterans, by women veterans
Central to the Shadows to Spotlight grant is a purpose-built digital hub designed to provide a comprehensive suite of resources to female veterans. To ensure the platform reflects lived experience, Women Veterans Australia has undertaken a national digital engagement process with women veterans across Australia. Through targeted online surveys and structured feedback mechanisms, women veterans have been able to directly inform the design, priorities and content of the hub.
Insights gathered through this process, alongside findings from the Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide and emerging research on women’s military service, are shaping the hub’s structure and the resources it will provide. The digital hub will make it easier for women veterans to access information, connection and support at any time. This is particularly important for women balancing caregiving responsibilities, employment, or living in regional and remote communities, ensuring support can be accessed when and where it is needed.
Kennealy says, “Women have served Australia with distinction for generations, yet their stories and their needs remain largely overlooked. Programs like Shadows to Spotlight ensure that women veterans are not just recognised for their service, but properly supported long after it ends.”
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