Canberra's Defence community will get a boost from the latest round of federal funding for family support targeting organisations assisting Defence Force members and their families.
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Duntroon Community Centre, run by centre coordinator Nicole Romano, will be able to increase Defence family participation in programs ranging from playschool to book club after it receives a slice of $2 million in grants announced this week by Defence Personnel Minister Matt Keogh.
"Partnering with the Duntroon Community Centre is important to support defence families. This funding will provide targeted education, enrichment, wellbeing and resilience programs," Mr Keogh said.
"For many, Defence is a way of life which involves the whole family. When people put their hands up to protect our nation, we must ensure their family is looked after and these programs will go a long way towards supporting defence children."
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Around Australia, 48 community-based organisations providing value to defence families and building connections will receive the federal grants under the family support funding program.
Sandi Laaksonen-Sherrin, the Defence Family Advocate of Australia, said families were critical to Australia's military capability and the government's plans to grow the size of the Defence Force.
"The ADF are currently facing challenges in recruitment and retention, and transition data cites family and work-life balance as key reasons for people to leave military service," Ms Laaksonen-Sherrin said.
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"Given ambitious growth targets to 2040, the ADF will fail to meet these targets if the family value proposition for serving members is not appropriately addressed.
"Happy, stable families are shown to lead to increased performance, retention and health outcomes in ADF members. Equally, families facing a range of service-related challenges can lead to reduced performance outcomes.
"We will never remove all hurdles or challenges families may face as a result of their loved one's military service. But we can reduce the height and frequency of those hurdles, and prepare families to overcome them."
Canberra MP Alicia Payne welcomed the support for the local families, noting the national capital region was home to a large defence community and their families.
"This announcement is welcome news to those families who will be better supported by the Duntroon Community Centre," she said.
"Our ADF personnel do vital work to protect us all and I'm proud to be part of a government which is committed to backing them and their families."
- Further resources for defence families can be found at Defence Member and Family Support.
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Harley Dennett
Former federal politics bureau chief for the Canberra Times, via a career that's taken me from rural Victoria to Washington DC. Telling the stories of my local LGBTI community brought me to political journalism, where I've covered eight budgets, four national elections in two countries, Defence, public service and international governance.
Former federal politics bureau chief for the Canberra Times, via a career that's taken me from rural Victoria to Washington DC. Telling the stories of my local LGBTI community brought me to political journalism, where I've covered eight budgets, four national elections in two countries, Defence, public service and international governance.
