A partnership between RSL Lifecare and RSL NSW has welcomed a $5.45 million grant from the Federal Government for the development of a Veterans’ and Families’ Hub in Queanbeyan.

The local hub is part of the Federal Government’s commitment to aid the development of 10 hubs of nature across the country. It is to be designed under a hub and spoke model involving veterans’ support organisations.

Expected to open by June 2026, the future hub will support more than 26,000 veterans and their families in the Queanbeyan/ Canberra region.

“It goes off a wellbeing model, a lot of support services they may not already have. These consist of health services, education services, recognition, connection, financial services, connecting to jobs all that type of things to assist with their transition and wellbeing,” says Peter Eveille, Queanbeyan RSL committee member.

Working towards securing the hub for the past 15 months, Mr Eveille says that it will help people exiting the defence force identify what they might want to do and find work.

“Some might need CV writing skills, they can get referrals to TAFE course information, find out what their service skills bring to a job outside. There are a number of organisations that are looking for veterans to be employed, it is just a matter of putting people in touch with the appropriate people to get those services done,” he says.

The services are open to veterans who have formerly served as well, it also can cater to needs they met when they first transitioned to civilian life.

“They can also access the services- health, social support, connection and get their case looked at by advocates and claim for compensation if they’re eligible and join like-minded people that can provide trust and support for them,” says Mr Eveille.

The hub will bring services together in one location, Mr Eveille says at the moment the services are spread out with veterans having to visit different organisations for different needs, whereas the hub will house everything in a centralised location.

Mr Eveille says the Department of Veterans’ Affairs (DVA) identifies a veteran as someone who has served 24 hours in uniform. As far as the advocates are concerned, the veteran is then part of the family and will receive full support from them.

“With the term veteran, they [the public] do think of the more aged, mature type person. Today the vocabulary includes veteran for those people who are serving and for those people who have served both men and women.”

Incorporating the whole veteran community, Mr Eveille says that must include spouses, children, carers and family members, as they provide support to those serving.

“They leave their families more or less alone; it is nice to know from a veteran’s point of view that your family back home would have somewhere to go and be looked after and it could all be done in an environment that’s trusted and helpful. It could leave the veteran clear of mind while they do their duties.”

Times were different when Mr Eveille left the Navy after 20 years of service, he moved into a human resources role within the Australian Government. Back then he says they mainly relied on word of mouth to find employment when leaving.

“We had a divisional system in the navy, we had a chaplain if you got stuck. The service that we rely on today, we didn’t have much of that. We did have the RSL, but we weren’t given a lot of information from the services or from the ADF (Australian Defence Force) in those days. You had to hunt around yourself, or you missed out.”

When families are posted to new areas, places like the future hub can play a big role in them settling into their new homes. They can connect families to community resources, find the right schools and point them in the direction of services that fit the family.

“It can help them fit into the community, to meet up with other groups of like-minded people. There’s all that connectivity that can still go on through the hub and through the volunteers where they can get a little of assistance, so they don’t have to just sit at home,” says Mr Eveille.

Being involved with veteran support services since 1990 Mr Eveille is passionate about giving back to the defence service that gave him a good life. Advocacy work has included being president of RSL ACT and a welfare advocate at the veteran support centre. He encourages other veterans to help in whatever way they can.

“I think it’s just a matter of volunteering and finding out what you can give back to your community. It doesn’t have to be advocacy services to veterans, it might be taking other people’s dog for a walk or just doing small things you can apply and help others.”

The current advocates are getting older, Mr Eveille says they are nearing a time for a well-deserved rest, the younger veterans will have to take over. He knows that during the transition time of looking for work and getting settled in civilian life, it would be hard to take on an advocacy role, but he hopes they would consider it down the track.

“They have to find a little bit of time to give back, sometimes that might not be until they’ve been out for some years but ideally, once they are settled and they can give back they are the ideal people. They can establish rapport with a veteran quite quickly, that rapport leads to trust and once that trust has been established, a lot of work can be done.”

Find out more about the services that RSL Lifecare offers veterans and their families; rsllifecare.org.au

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