Visualisation: Where are veterans located across NSW?
Use this interactive map to find where veterans are living across NSW, and inform outreach to those living in your local area.
By Lachlan Haycock
At a glance:
- Census data has revealed how many veterans are living in different Local Government Areas across NSW.
- Large quantities of veterans live in regional centres such as Dubbo and Bathurst, and in proximity to Veteran and Family Hubs operated by RSL LifeCare Veteran Services with the support of RSL NSW.
- Any of them could be seeking services and support. That’s where RSL sub-Branches, family and friends can provide essential assistance.
Veterans live in communities all across the state, but only some of them are active RSL sub-Branch members. Knowing the number of veterans living in each region can help RSL sub-Branches with their outreach efforts – and can help the friends, families and colleagues of those veterans to connect them with essential support and services.
The most recent Census was the first to include a question on military service and revealed that more than 500,000 Australians had previously served or were currently serving in Defence. The Royal Commission into Veteran Defence and Suicide has called for further data about veterans to be collected in the future, including the year of discharge.
To inform outreach to veterans in your local area, here’s a snapshot of where veterans are living across the state, followed by four key trends in the data.
Use the below visualisation to view the number of veterans in each Local Government Area (LGA). You can zoom in to inspect smaller LGAs in metropolitan areas.
3 key insights from the data
Serving members. The bulk of current and ex-serving personnel can be found in LGAs that are home to military bases, such as Blamey Barracks at Kapooka near Wagga Wagga and Holsworthy Barracks in Sydney’s Sutherland Shire.
But don’t wait until they transition out of Defence before attempting to engage or support the veterans in your communities; sub-Branches and individuals can reach out at any time.
Regional centres. According to Census data, more than 1,000 veterans apiece live in LGAs surrounding Dubbo, Tamworth and Bathurst.
Those numbers might not reach the heights of metropolitan areas, but there are still thousands of veterans who might be seeking services, support, mateship and camaraderie that their local sub-Branch could offer.
Veteran and Family Hubs. The Shoalhaven Veteran and Family Hub, located in the City of Shoalhaven LGA and operated by RSL LifeCare Veteran Services with the support of RSL NSW, is designed to offer support and services to veterans across the region, even as far as Goulburn and Yass.
In the City of Shoalhaven alone, there are more than 5,700 veterans who could be connected to the centre via their local sub-Branch.
The map below depicts the locations of all current and planned Veteran and Family Hubs operated in NSW by RSL LifeCare Veteran Services. This includes future locations in the Tweed-North Coast, Queanbeyan, Hunter and Hawkesbury regions.
All across the state
Consider where else there is a high concentration of veterans. There are more than 1,200 current and ex-serving members living in Bega Valley, for example, and more than 1,600 in Albury.
If your sub-Branch is located in an area with fewer veterans, remember that any of them could be seeking the support and assistance that comes from being an RSL NSW member – so just reach out.
Use the map on the Find a sub-Branch page to locate the nearest sub-Branch to your home or workplace, and connect with like-minded veterans today.
RSL NSW welcomes veterans of any service length and background to join the organisation. Access support services and become part of a like-minded community of peers by becoming a member of RSL NSW.
