The nation's capital will mark the 97th anniversary of the Gallipoli landing in very chilly conditions for the dawn service at the Australian War Memorial.
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The service, which begins at 5.30am tomorrow, is expected to attract up to 20,000 people in temperatures of just two degrees Celsius, with rain forecast.
It will be followed by the Anzac parade and service, also at the War Memorial.
The event is traditionally attended by the prime minister and governor-general, but neither will be present for the second year running.
Prime Minister Julia Gillard and Governor-General Quentin Bryce are heading to Gallipoli.
There, they will join the thousands of young Australians who travel to Turkey for Anzac Day, an occasion when the nation acknowledges the service and sacrifice of Australian Defence Force personnel.
Veterans Affairs Minister Warren Snowdon will be commemorating Anzac Day at the Australian Memorial at the French town of Villers-Bretonneux.
In Afghanistan, East Timor and the Solomons, there will be dawn services and Anzac commemorations and even some sporting activities at Australian bases.
But for many troops in Afghanistan, Anzac Day is like every other day, with no let-up in operations and patrols.
Defence Minister Stephen Smith will attend the Anzac Day dawn service at Port Moresby's Bomana War Cemetery, marking the 70th anniversary of the fighting on the Kokoda track.
From there he will head to the Solomons to spend some time with 84 Australian soldiers who form the Australian component of the Regional Assistance Mission to the Solomon Islands.
Mr Smith said it was just three years out from the centenary of Anzac Day.
''Anzac Day has also come to be a day where we acknowledge our nation's values and virtues, the notions of mateship of a fair go, the great Australian tradition of a sense of humour in adversity,'' he said.
In Singapore yesterday, Ms Gillard laid a wreath at a war memorial to honour the sacrifices made by Australian soldiers and nurses to defend the island nation.
Almost 15,000 Australian soldiers and nurses were captured by the Japanese when Singapore fell 70 years ago and about 500 survive.
Ms Gillard laid the wreath at the Kranji War Cemetery.
Australian forces defended the Malay Peninsula, and later Singapore itself, after the Japanese entered the Second World War in early December 1941.
Of those who were captured when Singapore fell on February 15, 1942, a third died in captivity.
AAP
