Macedon Ranges Shire Council has long supported ANZAC Day services across the shire through assistance with funding for traffic management and in-kind support, including Malmsbury and Kyneton as well as Woodend, Gisborne, and Romsey-Lancefield.
As part of the recommendations endorsed at Council's 23 July meeting, Council will be reopening the ANZAC Day Commemorative Services Support Fund grant for an additional 10 days and Council officers will continue to work with Kyneton and Malmsbury event organisers on common-sense solutions to ensure these events can continue to go ahead in 2026.
To ensure Council's support was being consistently and transparently documented, in March 2025 Council endorsed a move to a grant-based process for 2026 events and onwards, aimed at assisting with the costs of traffic management needed to run an ANZAC Day service.
In assessing the recent grant applications against the ANZAC Day Fund criteria, there were unfortunate conflicts with the Kyneton and Malmsbury applications – auspiced by the Kyneton RSL – and Council's Gambling Harm Minimisation Policy, which came into effect in July this year. This was acknowledged at the July 2025 Council Meeting.
Due to these challenges, Council is affording local groups conducting ANZAC Day services the opportunity to still apply and have their services funded for 2026.
We never intended to cause any unnecessary stress through this grant process and regret that the organisers have felt this way. Council will collaboratively work with the groups to keep the ANZAC Day march tradition happening in our Macedon Ranges communities.
Unfortunately, a Victorian Government department change several years ago has placed extra pressure and costs onto event organisers, requiring all traffic management plans to now be designed and conducted by qualified personnel (as opposed to volunteers or local emergency services).
This strict requirement does not acknowledge quieter, lower-risk proceedings like many in the Macedon Ranges and came with no additional funding support from the Victorian Government, another example of cost-shifting and ultimately leaving others including Council to bear the cost to ensure that events could go ahead.
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