You may have booked holiday leave to take advantage of the plethora of public holidays around Easter — and ANZAC Day may be one of them, dependent on your state. Last year, events and ceremonies commemorating ANZAC day were cancelled due to COVID.
This year, as a lot of states and territories celebrate the downward trend in COVID cases — sorry Queensland — and as vaccinations have begun rolling out, ANZAC Day has been given the official go-ahead on Sunday 25 April…dependent on the state.
Yes, just like there are different border rules for each state (looking at you again, Queensland), there are different rules for public ceremonies this ANZAC Day.
Here’s a breakdown, via state and territory:
New South Wales
Both marches and dawn services, along with other commemorative services, will be going ahead in NSW — with a cap of 5,000 people. Social distancing and contact tracing will be in place.
If you’d like to register to march, the RSL NSW page has an option to do so. If you’re just looking to attend something at your local RSL, each local branch has details available.
ACT
An ANZAC Day Dawn Service will be held at the RSL War Memorial as a ticketed event. It’s capped at 4,200 for the Dawn Service, and 3,000 for the National Ceremony. Tickets for the former at available at the ACT RSL website and tickets for the latter are available on the Australian War Memorial website.
Queensland
The information given for Queensland was prior to the snap lockdown, so it may be better to check closer to the event.
Prior to the lockdown, however, QLD Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk announced via Twitter that all services, marches and public commemorations will proceed as normal, with no restriction on numbers.
Victoria
Melbourne’s ANZAC Day Parade will proceed, but with a capped number of marchers. The route will be shortened, and veterans are required to socially distance whilst marching, sorted into groups according to age and coronavirus risk.
It’s the same at the capital’s Dawn Service (1,400 people) and CBD Parade (5,500 marchers). If you’re interested in going, applications open on April 15th on the Shrine of Remembrance website — issued on a first come first serve basis.
Information for local services are available on the RSL Victoria website and differ for each site.
Western Australia
The RSL WA’s full service will return in 2021, but like many other events, will be capped. Perth’s Dawn Service is limited to 10,000 people, and patrons need to register online.
If you’re looking for your local area, it can be found on the RSL WA website.
South Australia
ANZAC Day events in Adelaide will be proceeding; this includes the RSL Youth Vigil, Dawn Service, March and Service of Remembrance.
RSL South Australia, in terms of local events, says to contact local organisers directly to find out if/how they are proceeding.
Tasmania
Limited numbers are available for the Hobart ANZAC Day parade, and other commemorative services. If you wish to participate, you will have to register your attendance — which will become available on the RSL Tasmania website.
Northern Territory
Commemorations are returning to normal, but no detailed information about sub-branches has been made available as of yet. It’s advised to call your local branch for more information.
Read more stories from The Latch and subscribe to our email newsletter.