Ipswich to be home to the Office for Veterans

Queensland’s new Office for Veterans will be based in Ipswich.

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said after extensive lobbying by Jennifer Howard, the Member for Ipswich, the office will be established in the region.

“Jennifer made it quite clear to me that there are advantages to having the Office for Veterans in Ipswich,” the Premier said.

"Ipswich is a well-established defence hub and home to Australia’s largest RAAF base and Rheinmetall Defence Australia’s new headquarters, making it an ideal location to lead whole-of-government coordination on veterans’ matters.

“I’ve listened to Jennifer and I’m pleased to say the Office for Veterans will be located in Ipswich.”

Ms Howard said the move made sense.

“We’re a growing region and we need this kind of support from the government,” Ms Howard said.

“Around 5000 people are employed at Amberley airbase and this will allow greater support for our growing defence community.”

The Office for Veterans will continue and expand the Veterans’ Employment Pathways Program which, over the last year, has been supporting the employment of veterans within the Queensland public service.

The Palaszczuk Government’s Veterans’ Employment Pathway Program has been an overwhelming success, with 388 veterans employed in the Queensland public service since the program began in July last year with nine of those positions in Ipswich.

The Office for Veterans will be a single point of contact for veterans’ organisations wishing to communicate with the Queensland Government and will also support a range of commemorative activities.

And the Office for Veterans will continue to deliver the Queensland Veterans’ Memorial Grants Program, which provides funding to restore, conserve and create monuments, memorials and other sites that acknowledge the contribution of our veterans.

Media Contact: Chris O’Brien 0419 774 004