Serving your country in uniform is a rewarding career but relocations, deployments and time away from loved ones can take a toll on family life and leave Defence families feeling disconnected from their communities.
That's why the Albanese Government is investing more than $2.3 million in 25 grassroots support programs that are strengthening ADF families' resilience across the country.
From working with the North Queensland Cowboys to life skills courses for Defence kids in Rockingham, the funding means ADF families can access specialised family supports as well fun and inclusive social programs.
The funding is being delivered through the Defence Community Grants offered to locally-based non-profit organisations as part of the Defence Family Support Funding Program.
The Minister for Defence Personnel Matt Keogh and the Member for Leichardt Matt Smith announced the program's latest round of funding at Far North Queensland Legacy Club in Cairns.
The Club will receive $83,333 to deliver its Legacy Links program, which helps Defence families in Far North Queensland build stronger social connections, improve wellbeing and navigate key life transitions associated with Defence service.
A list of the not-for-profit organisations who are receiving FSFP funding is available on the Defence Community Grants: Family Support Funding Program website.
Quotes attributable to Matt Keogh, Minister for Defence Personnel:
"The ADF's greatest capability is our people and we know military life places unique stresses on families.
"Building happier, healthier family relationships through the programs we're funding today is a really important way of easing those stresses.
"These are successful programs that build resilience through a combination of specialised support services and fun social connections with local communities.
"I thank the grassroots organisations who are delivering these programs for the wonderful work they are doing with ADF families right across the country."
Quotes attributable to Matt Smith, Member for Leichardt:
"The brave members of the military face a great deal of stress in their professional roles, which can often be passed on to partners and family in unique and unprecedented ways, particularly if they are required to move home.
"ADF families can now access specialised support, community groups and social programs that will help build new bonds when Defence members are relocated in the line of duty.
"Here in the Far North, the Legacy Links initiative reduces isolation, enhances resilience and ensures families feel supported, informed and connected throughout key Defence life transitions.
"FNQ Legacy should be commended for their work in this space as a worthy recipient of grant funding from the Albanese Labor Government."
Defence Family Support Funding Programme Grant Recipients:
Location |
Organisation |
Grant $ |
Program |
| National | Australian Military Wives Choir (AMCW) | $119,300 | The Australian Military Wives Choir (AMWC) is a choir of female singers with significant relationship to a serving ADF member, providing opportunity for friendship, increased confidence and competence. They also raise community awareness of challenges faced by ADF families. The AMWC is a national organisation providing an immediate community to family members posting to locations nationally. |
| National | Australian War Widows NSW Ltd | $35,597 | This project will deliver a national online wellbeing and education program that connects Defence families regardless of location, posting cycle, or circumstances, offering wellbeing events and education sessions. Combining live, interactive facilitation with mailed wellbeing packs, the program provides accessible, stigma‑free opportunities for connection, skill‑building, and early intervention, supported by qualified social workers and specialist facilitators. |
| National | NRL Wheelchair | $133,333 | The program seeks to deliver a national NRL Wheelchair participation and community engagement program that supports currently serving Australian Defence Force (ADF) members, veterans, and their families to strengthen wellbeing, resilience, and social connection in response to the unique demands of military life. Through "Come and Try" participation days and targeted social, peer-support, and educational activities, the program provides accessible and culturally appropriate pathways for Defence families to engage in sport, enhance mental wellbeing, and reconnect with community during service, following injury, or through transition. |
| National | The Fathering Project | $130,000 | Defence Fathers & Families is a national, blended support program that strengthens the wellbeing, resilience, and parenting confidence of ADF fathers and their families by addressing the unique pressures of Defence life, including prolonged absences, relocations, and operational stress. Adapting The Fathering Project's evidence‑based Connect Program and community fathering model for Defence contexts, the initiative delivers online group programs, peer‑led Defence Dads groups, on‑base education sessions, and targeted engagement across priority locations. |
| National | Relationships Australia Inc | $100,000 | This project tailors the proven Neighbours Every Day campaign to better support ADF members and families by delivering "Town Hall" sessions in key Defence communities. It will surface lived experiences, identify connection challenges, and co‑design meaningful solutions. The initiative aims to strengthen belonging and improve social support through periods of relocation, transition, and deployment. |
| Adelaide | Shooting Hoops Foundation (Adelaide 36ers not- for-profit program) | $133,333 | The Adelaide 36ers Shooting Hoops Foundation's Wellbeing & Positive Connections Program strengthens wellbeing, resilience and sense of belonging for ADF families in South Australia by creating meaningful, inclusive community connections through sport, education and lived‑experience leadership. Responding to Defence families' challenges-including relocation, separation, social isolation and limited youth engagement-the program delivers school‑based resilience initiatives, mentoring from Adelaide 36ers athletes and veterans, and accessible family connection events that foster confidence, emotional regulation and peer support. |
| Adelaide | YMCA of South Australia Youth and Family Services Inc. | $69,517 | The YMCA Defence Communities Program strengthens wellbeing, belonging and social connection for Defence families through a suite of family camps, fun days and youth-focused Explorers programs designed to build community and long‑term support networks. Explorers' day programs create opportunities for Defence children aged 5-12 to build resilience, confidence and friendships with peers who understand the challenges of relocation and parental deployment. |
| Albury Wodonga |
Albury Wodonga Volunteer Resource Bureau | $132,000 | The Defence Families Resilience and Empowerment Project supports military spouses in Albury‑Wodonga to build confidence, skills and community connection through a structured 10‑week employment and empowerment program with childcare provided. By equipping spouses with practical job‑readiness capabilities, linking them to local volunteer and employment opportunities, and fostering new social networks, the program strengthens wellbeing, independence and resilience within Defence families. |
| Brisbane Ipswich |
Salute For Service Australia Ltd | $100,000 | Salute For Service Australia Ltd proposes Defence Family Connect: Local Resilience, Safety and Community Pathways, a place‑based program designed to strengthen resilience, safety and local connectedness for ADF families navigating mobility, absence and disrupted support networks. Through facilitated resilience workshops, structured Family Navigation Clinic Days and a practical co‑designed Defence Family Toolkit, the project provides an integrated, trauma‑informed pathway that builds coping skills, fosters peer connection and reduces the burden on families to self‑navigate fragmented support systems. |
| Cairns Townsville |
Far North Queensland Legacy Club Inc | $83,333 | Legacy Links - FNQ Legacy Family Connect, Resilience & Transition Support Program, is a community‑based initiative designed to strengthen connection, resilience and wellbeing for ADF families across all stages of service in the Far North Queensland region. The program will deliver a regular facilitated Defence Family Social Group supported by a moderated online community to provide continuity of connection, local information and peer support. Backed by FNQ Legacy's trusted reputation and established safeguarding frameworks, this initiative reduces isolation, enhances resilience and ensures families feel supported, informed and connected throughout key Defence life transitions. |
| Canberra | Gungahlin Defence Families Playgroup | $14,000 | The Gungahlin Defence Families Playgroup (GDFP) is a long‑standing, community‑led initiative that has supported ADF members, veterans, and their families in North Canberra for more than 20 years. Focused on families with children aged 0-5, GDFP provides an accessible, low‑cost and reliable support network that helps families navigate the challenges of Defence life, including frequent relocations, limited local support networks, and service‑related absences. |
| Canberra | Relationships Australia Canberra & Region |
$69,117 | The Defence Youth Connections Program supports Defence‑connected students in Years 7 and 8 through a structured, nine‑month series of after‑school sessions designed to strengthen social connection, resilience, and wellbeing during a key developmental transition. Facilitated by trained youth professionals, the program blends guided activities with informal social time to reduce isolation, build confidence, and foster genuine peer relationships in the context of frequent relocation and limited online connection pathways. |
| Darwin | Lutheran Community Care Incorporated | $126,858 | Lutheran Care will deliver a 16‑month, place‑based Defence family support program from its strategically located Berrimah facility The initiative combines structured parenting programs, facilitated deployment‑support groups, rapid integration assistance for newly posted families, community connection events, playgroups and digital engagement platforms to ensure ongoing support regardless of shift patterns or deployment status. |
| Darwin Tindal (Katherine) |
The Top Ender Magazine | $87,095 | The Top Ender Tri‑Services Magazine is a not‑for‑profit publication created by Defence families for Defence families, delivering trusted, locally relevant information to more than 3,000 households across the Top End each quarter. The magazine provides practical relocation guidance, wellbeing content, community connections, historical features, youth‑focused activities and direct links to support services, helping Defence families feel informed, included and supported. |
| Hunter | Hunter Region Botanic Gardens | $9,667 | Hunter Region Botanic Gardens (HRBG) proposes to enhance the wellbeing of Defence families by providing a number of free Family Passes, offering year‑round access to tranquil natural spaces that support relaxation, exercise, and mental restoration. Complemented by ADF‑exclusive community events, free access to workshops and wellness activities, and participation in ADF open days, HRBG will create inclusive opportunities for connection and respite. |
| Northern Territory | Relationships Australia Northern Territory Inc |
$85,717 | This project will create an innovative digital resource library-centred on a professionally produced 12‑episode podcast series-to address the unique wellbeing challenges faced by Defence families living in the Northern Territory. Drawing on Relationships Australia NT's long‑standing expertise supporting Defence personnel through Open Arms, the podcast provides accessible, stigma‑free guidance on local services, deployment‑related stress, community connection and practical adjustment to NT life, while simultaneously strengthening the capability of local service providers. |
| Nowra Wagga Wagga Sydney |
RSL NSW | $133,333 | Thrive Tribes for Defence Families is a place‑based wellbeing and community‑building initiative delivered across selected NSW garrison locations in partnership with RSL NSW, providing Defence families with an evidence‑based wellbeing education program that strengthens resilience, confidence, and coping capabilities. Centred on the independently evaluated How to Thrive for Individuals program and the BEACON Framework™, the initiative combines practical skills development with intentional community connection through a flexible mix of face‑to‑face workshops, online sessions, and digital learning. |
| Perth | Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender & Intersex Rights in Ageing (GRAI) Incorporated | $20,000 | Pride in Service Book Club is a place-based, facilitated peer-connection program designed to support LGBTIQA+ ADF members, Defence families that include LGBTIQA+ members, and allies (note participation in the project is available to persons 18 years or older). The program will be delivered through monthly, in-person book club sessions in the Perth/Peel regions, creating culturally safe spaces for connection, reflection, and shared experience. Each session uses shared reading as an accessible, non-clinical tool to support reflection, discussion, and peer connection. Reading materials are carefully curated to prompt conversation about identity, relationships, resilience, family life, and lived experience rather than literary critique. |
| Puckapunyal Seymour |
Gnarly Neighbours | $133,333 | The project delivers free, year-round programs to support Defence children and families in the Puckapunyal-Seymour region, fostering resilience, confidence, and community connection. Weekly after-school sessions at The Neighbourhood youth hub combine skateboarding, creative workshops, and social activities to help young people build friendships and a sense of belonging. In-school programs at three high-Defence-enrolment schools support integration and engagement, while holiday programs keep families connected during breaks. |
| Rockingham | Ngala Community Services | $107,408 | Defence Kids - Connected & Confident is a targeted social‑emotional wellbeing program for Defence children aged 8-12, designed to build confidence, emotional literacy, coping skills and peer connection in response to relocations, deployments and disrupted social networks. Delivered in small groups by qualified Ngala practitioners using evidence‑informed, trauma‑aware and culturally respectful practice, the program combines weekly workshops, optional one‑to‑one mentoring and parent engagement sessions to strengthen skills at home. |
| Sutherland Shire Georges River Bayside Randwick |
Sutherland Shire Family Services Inc (The Family Co) | $126,284 | The Family Co - Defence Family Support Hub is a wraparound, multi-access service supporting the wellbeing, resilience, and social connection of Australian Defence Force families. Delivered by experienced staff across two locations, the Hub services families in the Sutherland Shire, Georges River, Bayside, and City of Randwick LGAs-areas with limited Defence-specific supports. Through tailored group programs, outreach, referrals, and online engagement, the Hub responds flexibly to the challenges of Defence family life while improving access to community and specialist services. |
| Sydney | 3Bridges Community Limited | $70,000 | The 3Bridges First Circle project will deliver intensive, early‑intervention support to Defence families with babies over two years, strengthening secure attachment, parental confidence, and healthy early development during a period of heightened vulnerability. Through flexible home‑based and community‑based supports-including parent mentor visits, specialised playgroups, evidence‑informed parenting programs, and family support worker assistance- the project meets families where they are and responds to the unique pressures of Defence life. |
| Sydney Melbourne Perth Darwin Adelaide |
Waves of Wellness Foundation Ltd | $108,000 | Waves of Wellness Foundation (WOW) will deliver surf therapy programs nationally for Defence families, providing evidence‑based early‑intervention mental health support that strengthens wellbeing, reduces isolation, and builds resilience during transitions. Each 8‑week program combines learn‑to‑surf instruction with guided mental health discussions, CBT‑based tools, and peer connection, facilitated by trained surf instructors and dual‑qualified mental health clinicians with lived experience of service‑related challenges. |
| Townsville | Cowboys Charity Limited | $92,253 | The Cowboys Community Foundation (CCF) will deliver a place-based wellbeing and connection project for Defence families across North Queensland, focusing on Townsville, Cairns and selected remote locations. As the community arm of the North Queensland Cowboys, CCF is uniquely positioned to engage Defence families through trusted, non-clinical and family-friendly settings that reduce barriers to participation and support early, preventative wellbeing. Delivered in partnership with local Defence Member and Family Support (DMFS) teams, the project responds to the unique pressures of Defence life, including mobility, separation, transition and isolation. |
| WA wide (online) Perth |
Women's Legal Service WA | $129,251 | Women's Legal Service WA will deliver a 16‑month hybrid legal education program tailored for women in ADF families, providing practical guidance on family, domestic and sexual violence, mobility‑affected family law, and safe pathways to support. Through workshops-in‑person across key Defence catchments and online-alongside reusable resources, including a Defence‑adapted Parenting from Afar through Connection and Trust (PACT) guide and companion microsite, the program offers confidential, independent legal education that reduces barriers to help‑seeking in close‑knit Defence communities. |
