Western Australian veterans and their families will benefit from a new multipurpose hub, Veterans’ Central, which is being built at ANZAC House with support from a $4.6 million Lotterywest grant.
WA Premier Mark McGowan toured the ANZAC House construction site to inspect progress works and provide the Lotterywest grant in the lead-up to Anzac Day.
The State Government’s $4.6 million grant, through Lotterywest, will go towards the construction and fit-out of a dedicated Veterans’ Central, which will house a range of services for veterans and their families in one place, making it easier for veterans and their families to engage in ex-service support when they visit.
ANZAC House will include office space for the Returned Services League WA (RSLWA) staff and office holders, a club area for members, a function room and a café along with the new Veterans’ Central.
Meeting local construction company PINDAN workers on site, the Premier was able to see the start of construction and view the latest artist impressions, which includes an extra storey to ANZAC House, taking it to a seven-storey building from its original proposed six-storey plans.
Five months since the sod was first turned, construction of the state-of-the-art building is progressing well with about 20 per cent of works complete.
This grant towards establishing the specialised one-stop shop for WA veterans is in addition to Lotterywest support totalling $814,802, which has been provided for 2019’s Anzac Day commemorations across the State.
The RSLWA State Branch was established in 1916 to support war veterans and their families.
Its current membership includes around 10,000 Service and Affiliate Members that belong to a network of 132 sub-branches.
RSLWA staff and volunteers are currently based in leased premises in the Perth CBD while ANZAC House is being constructed which is expected to be complete for Anzac Day 2020.
In a rare occasion and upon invitation, the Premier will speak at 2019’s Anzac dawn service as part of a schedule of commemorative events for Anzac Day.
Source: WA Government