By Annika Rhoades in Canberra

A new national memorial recognising Australian military personnel killed in training will address a missing piece in defence commemorations.

The memorial, which will be built on Canberra’s Anzac Parade next to other monuments leading towards the Australian War Memorial, was proposed by the Australian Peacekeeper and Peacemaker Veterans’ Association.

It has received a $500,000 government grant to see the project through.

The association’s chief executive Rod Henderson said the Australian Military Training Memorial would be an important space for families and loved ones of ADF personnel killed in training.

Mr Henderson said the seed funding would go towards getting the project going, as well as consultation with veterans and their families “to get an understanding of what it is that they’d like to see positioned here”.

The memorial would address a “longstanding gap” in national commemorations, according to Defence Minister Richard Marles.

“It will take pride of place on Anzac Parade as a reminder to all Australians of the risk and sacrifice Australian Defence Force personnel have made in the past, and for years to come,” he said.

The memorial announcement follows the deaths of two soldiers in separate training exercises earlier in the year.

Corporal Brendan Hannam died in a single-vehicle rollover in the Northern Territory on October 5, and Warrant Officer Class Two Lachlan Muddle, a Special Air Service Regiment operator, died in May after colliding with a fellow soldier during a parachuting exercise.

In October 2025, a soldier died and two others were hospitalised after a truck rolled over during an army training course.

Lance Corporal Jack Fitzgibbon, the son of former defence minister Joel Fitzgibbon, died in March 2024 after a parachuting incident at the Richmond RAAF base outside of Sydney.

Veterans’ Affairs Minister Matt Keogh said on Thursday that around 50 ADF members had died during training in the past 30 years.

“We know as a nation, and those in the defence force, absolutely understand that when we lose the life of any defence force member, it is a national tragedy,” he said.

“It’s really important that we recognise that sacrifice of those in our Australian Defence Force that have died in training.”

The memorial will be placed between Parliament House and the Australian War Memorial, alongside others including the Desert Mounted Corps Memorial and the Australian National Korean War Memorial.

A fundraising campaign will be launched, which Mr Henderson encouraged Australians to back, with the project slated for completion by 2030.

“This is something that we need to take ownership of, and everyone can help support it by having a small little piece of this,” he said.

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